You know who Motu Patlu are but lots of others don’t. Well, large parts of the world just got to know them! And it’s thanks to the world’s number one YouTuber PewDiePie (real name- Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg). He recently uploaded a video on his YouTube channel (also called as PewDiePie) calling Motu Patlu (sarcastically):
- “A fantastic anime”
- “one of the greatest creations of Nickelodeon since the 90s”
- “to its very core, just a fine animation”
- “probably one of the greatest animations” he has ever seen
- “the greatest anime of all time”
- “the greatest thing that has ever happened”
He starts with saying that his life “changed for the better in every single way” since he discovered Motu Patlu. He then goes on to explain the character of Motu and his addiction to the Indian fast food item samosa, which he pronounces “samocha.”
His wry wit then targets the attention to detail in the animation, making a special mention of how the eyes of the characters have been done.
Many might take this as a pat on the back for Nick India as well as Mumbai Anish-Mehta headed Cosmos Maya, its creator. However what’s not so pleasing is that PewDiePie makes some brazen accusations and not-very-appropriate comments. Like “with Motu Patlu, animation is progressing in a third world country.”
A clear indication that he is ignorant of the quality of animation being produced in India and the fact that it is no longer a third world country; rather it is amongst the world’s fastest growing economies. Clearly, somebody needs to give him a business book or some articles on how the nation has grown in recent times and has become an emerging global superpower over the past four to five years.
It is quite evident with the manner he talks that Kjellberg is blank about the animated shows produced in India. With Netflix signing a deal with Green Gold Animation for Mighty Little Bheem, and many international buyers showing interest in Tik Tak Tail and Trigo being selected in the top five at the 2017 MIP Junior International Pitch, India definitely cannot be described as just “progressive in animation.”
The video has received 1.24 million (about 12 lakhs) views in just 15 hours, and with 57 million subscribers to the channel, the numbers are only going to increase.
However, if you take this positively, any publicity is good publicity. With this naive attempt, people may start exploring Indian animated shows and in the process, realise what we are hinting at.