International Animation Day: Why is animation still overlooked & underexplored in Tamil cinema?

With Inside Out 2 turning out to be 2024’s highest-grossing film, The Wild Robot being unanimously acclaimed, and Kung Fu Panda 4 and Despicable Me 4 being huge commercial successes, it’s safe to say that animation is continuing to thrive in American cinema. Even though animation is heavily consumed and adored in other parts of Asia, Indian cinema hasn’t fully tapped into the potential of the medium to date. This International Animation Day, we chat with the creators of Tamil animated movies about why animation remains overlooked and underexplored here.

Rajinikanth’s Kochadaiiyaan (2014), India’s first photorealistic 3D animated movie, remains a landmark film in Indian animation as it tried to take animation into the mainstream space. Its director, Soundarya Rajinikanth, delves into why animated films aren’t frequently made in India and shares, “The Pixars and Disneys of the world keep churning out such amazing stories in animated content format but, unfortunately, we are not there yet.”

WHEN A 12-YEAROLD MADE AN ANIMATED FEATURE!Among the handful of animated movies made in Tamil is Kundan Satti (2023). Its director, PK Aghasthi, was just 12 years old when the film was released. She initially wanted it to be an animation book, but eventually made the story into a feature film. Aghasthi tells us that she watches a lot of Disney movies, which led her to make an animated feature.

TOO COSTLY...A widely agreed-upon explanation for the lack of animated films here is that they are too expensive to make. Kundan Satti’s producer SA Karthikeyan says, “I was shocked to hear about the expense that goes into making an animated film. The cost is much more than live action.”

‘ANIMATION ISN’T BOMMA PADAM OR CARTOONS’Inimey Nangathan (2007) is the only Tamil movie to win the National Film Award for Best Animated Film (a category that has since been discontinued). Its producer, Sridevi Rao, tells us, “No one knew about 3D animation in 2007. Back then, people used to refer to animation as bomma padam. After Inimey Nangathan, I reached out to many to make another animated film, but no one was interested in investing.”
“Can cartoons be considered animation? Yes. But people broadly associate the whole world of animation with cartoons,” says Soundarya and adds, “There are so many versions of animation like 2D, 3D, hybrid and stop motion.”

WHAT’S THE WAY AHEAD?Soundarya believes filmmakers and production houses should try attempting animation films that aren’t just mythological. “If you notice films like Coco and Inside Out, they are stories about human emotions. If we start exploring such stories, I believe we can begin a parallel industry for animation in India,” she shares.

Sridevi also holds a similar opinion, stating that there is huge potential for animation. The producer says, “Even today, no one is interested in making an animated film. But all I have to say is that I made a film 17 years ago and people still remember it. So, it is the film that does the talking, irrespective of it being animation or not.”

On animation going mainstream in India, Soundarya opines, “I believe it’s just a matter of time before that happens. I also want to urge creators to try thinking in animation and not just in live action. If more creators start thinking in that medium, industry will automatically open up to animation.”

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