Despite a full year of online distance learning, UiTM’s animation students managed to produce 41 student projects to showcase at the 16th Animation Kingdom Festival.

In 2021, these students have been forced to produce their final year projects without stepping foot on campus.

Although they were working from home, they have managed to put together rich story-animations around the theme of Neon Punk.

The array of films also touched on a variety of subjects related to family, loneliness, justice, rapid development, dystopian robots, fantasy worlds, and paranormal activity.

“The results were surprisingly good although the semester was conducted fully through online distance learning.

“Some also showed impressive quality, which testifies their potential to join our local animation industry as future talents,” said Aimi Nabila Anizaim, animation lecturer at FiTA.

Aimi Nabila, who is among the festival’s directors, said the virtual event was not designed to pick out winners. Instead, each project would get a chance to receive feedback from a panelist of industry experts.

After taking a look at the showcase, we’ve picked seven top picks to promote and support these budding animators!

Here are 7 student animation films from UiTM you can watch with the whole family.

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1. Companion

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Copied and pasted from Eksentrika.

The film is about stray puppies and their cute antics to get adopted by humans.

A conflict arises when one of them receives interest from a potential pet owner but not the other.

The characters, known as Shiba and Beagle have wacky movements.

Their comedic actions to attract the attention of passers-by in the animation gave us a bit of a chuckle!

Everything from the character design, storyboard art and choice of props in this animation were by Syazwani Jusni, Ummi Syaza Hannan Mohd Khairi and Nur Hani Nabilah Yaakop.

See their Behance portfolio here.

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2. Hope

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Slimy characters are usually depicted as antagonists in films and games.

This animation however, was a breath of fresh air with characters that displayed humanistic qualities such as curiosity and protectiveness.

This is despite them originating from a shitty background.  (Watch the film to get the pun!)

This animation stood out among the other animations for its use of dot matrix lighting.

Creators, Izzat Izzudin Ismail, Muhammad Adib Daniel Mohamad Nasahruddin, Noormuhammad Hakim Noorehan and Rabiatul Syahirah Zunidy gave thought to details such as adding texture to the film and making their characters look like they were lit from within.

See their Behance portfolio here.

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3. Kanca

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This film pits together opposite characters of an introvert and an extrovert.

At first, they do not get along but eventually, come to appreciate each other’s company.

This film is somewhat reminiscent of Toy Story.

Its square-shaped characters, Toto and Kromo also appear to have strong potential for being turned into plush merchandise!

Kanca is the brainchild of Muhammad Ismail Mohamad Hussaini, Muhammad Izuan Hafifi Norhayazi, Muhammad Hafzhan Karim and Muhammad Al-habib Awang Melan.

See their Behance portfolio here.

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4. Mat Lambat

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The main character’s personality and background are based around the ‘rock kapak’ culture of the 90s.

This unique film includes a rock music soundtrack and pays homage to Metallica in the form of a poster incorporated as props in a scene.

Watching it would likely take some Malaysian millennials on a nostalgic trip down memory lane.

The storyline is also relatable; working at the last minute only to experience interventions that make the task harder to complete!

We are not sure if the resulting film was inspired by true events but the end product by Muhammad Afiq Illiya Abdul Halim,  Muhammad Fareez Mohd Salleh and Nurul Izzah Ahmad Termidi is worth watching.

See their Behance portfolio here.

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5. Shooting Star 

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This film has a heartwarming ending.

The three female talents behind this animation are Iklil Fatiha Mohd Fauzee, Nurul Zulaikha Ihsak and Nur Durratul Aishah Mohamad Fairuz.

The main characters in this story are stellar spirits set in a mythical forest.

They are reimagined to have large, cute eyes and take some inspiration from the animated character of Joy from Pixar’s Inside Out.

The sound effects and background music were notably well-designed and paired well to create a therapeutic effect.

See their Behance portfolio here.

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6. Tih Lepak

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This one is probably for the furries!

Like Shooting Star, this film is also set in a fantasy forest but incorporates elements of kampung culture.

This is evident in the way the father character, Pak Aynan, is designed to wear a kain pelikat.

In one of the scenes, a pestle and mortar, a must-have utensil in Malay kitchens, was featured as a prop.

The animators pulled off some complicated, high-action skits too, especially near the ending, where the main character does a backflip and makes explosive jumps.

The creators of this film are Muhammad Fazullah Mohd Razali, Muhammad Idlan Arfan Imran, Muhamad Hakem Kamal Ariff, and Nadim Mushry Mohd Nazife.

See their Behance portfolio here.

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7. Two Can Play

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This film about a doll and a ghost could easily be mistaken to be of Japanese origin.

Creators, Nurul Ain Sazali, Nur Ayu Mohamad Zamri and Nur Dania Mohd Ezham went to lengths to depict a traditional Japanese style.

This was carefully detailed through the animation’s clothing, set, and soundscore.

The team also experimented with various colour schemes and looked at anime characters for inspiration.

The choice to blend 2D characters with a 3D-rendered background was also well-executed.

See their Behance portfolio here.

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The Animation Kingdom Festival is a specific platform for Diploma and Degree students from the Faculty of Film, Theatre & Animation (FiTA) to exhibit their final films of 2D & 3D animation.

This is the third time that the Animation Kingdom Festival has taken place 100% virtually.

If you’re interested, you can check out the rest of the final year projects at the 16th Animation Kingdom Festival on YouTube and Behance.

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We’d love to promote more local arts & culture events! If you have an event you’d like us to list, you may submit it here.