Southeast Asia’s animators are smashing box office records — and redefining local storytelling

Orientul Mijlociu

Filmmakers in Malaysia and Indonesia are developing characters and stories that have hit a sweet spot with local audiences. What’s next? JOHOR/JAKARTA: After seeing reels of the animated film Papa Zola The Movie trending on social media, Singaporean engineer Muhammad Latif Mathan caught it with his two sons in Johor Bahru during the December school holidays. “My kids usually can’t stop playing with their gadgets, but for this movie they were glued to the (big) screen most of the time,” said