Cartoon Network’s Silas Hickey scouts Filipino talents

NEW CARTOON hits made in the Philippines? That’s not a far-fetched scenario, says Cartoon Network Asia Pacific branch creative director Silas Hickey.

He believes that the country — which currently provides animation services for Cartoon Network — could be more than just an outsourcing destination.

“For the first time in the history of the company, we’ll be making projects in Asia that have export potential not just within the region, but also in the US and in Europe. We’re open to co-producing with local studios,” Hickey said.

The executive was in Manila recently to scout for animation talents. One of the driving forces behind his visit was the slew of impressive submissions and pitches they received from Filipinos for Cartoon Network’s 2006 talent search, “Short New Asia Pacific Cartoons (Snaptoons).”

Hickey, who is based in Hong Kong, said that co-producing with the Philippines is a very enticing prospect from a geographical and practical point of view.

But more than the technical expertise, what Hickey looks for in an animation studio is the ability to work with minimal supervision, and provide creative dimensions to potential projects or properties.

“We’ve always had insatiable appetite for making new stuff, so they also need to be good storytellers,” he said.

<strong>Original stories and characters</strong>

Aside from animation artists and studios, Hickey was also looking for writers and directors who can give original and compelling stories, which he can adapt into animated productions. It would be a big plus, though, if he could find everyone under the same roof.

“I usually team up different studios or people for a project, but it would be much better if there’s someone who can do it all,” he said.

Hickey admitted that finding good stories is the most taxing aspect as a creative director. “If it was easy, we should be seeing a lot more hit shows coming out frequently. And you don’t.”

He pointed out that “if the story is really interesting, people will still watch it even if the animation is quite crappy. I’ve seen some really badly executed stuff, but have great stories.”

For the Asia-Pacific region, Hickey leans more toward producing action-adventures and slapstick comedies.

“In Asia, more so than the Middle East or Latin America, we’ve got such a wide variety of languages. That’s why we’re more interested in physical humor because it travels so easily. Something in the same vein as  ‘Tom and Jerry,’” he explained.

But whatever the genre may be, one thing should be consistent with all the pitches and story proposals, he said. They should be character-driven.

“We’re more about funny, inspiring, strong characters that are beautifully designed. It should be the choices that the characters make and the things that happen to them that advance the story, rather than a narrative of events told through a series of big action sequences,” he said.

A good example, Hickey said, would be “Johnny Bravo” who, despite seeing himself as God’s gift to women, could not attract any.  His bulging muscles and suave ways belie the fact that he’s a one big mama’s boy. Created by Fil-Am animator Van Partible, “Johnny Bravo” is said to be one of the most successful and iconic Cartoon Network series ever.

Although Hickey didn’t want to disclose the animation studios in his agenda, he said that he doesn’t have a quota on how many he will hire. “If we find 10 amazing studios, then great,” he said.

<strong>Contemporizing local tales</strong>

Wherever Hickey travels, he checks out the local bookstores for fresh ideas. He expressed interest in contemporizing Filipino tales and folklores such as the “Ibong Adarna” and “Juan Tamad.”

Given the right material, he said that he could give our local tales the same kind of treatment and twist he gave “Roll No. 21,” which was based on the Indian literary epic “Mahabharata.”

“We’re very culturally sensitive with the approach. We worked with Indian writers so we know how far we can push the series. And if we find interesting Filipino stories, we’ll be working with Filipino creators and writers as well,” he said.

On his next visit to the country, Hickey wants to do a more thorough research about our local comic book industry, to see if we have some series or characters worth reinventing.

“We’re really hoping that we meet some of these Filipino comic book artists. And if we find them, I’d jump on the opportunity to turn their works into cartoons,” he said.