While Pogo is only starting to taste the success of Cosmos-Maya’s Tik Tak Tail that was launched this September, it is back with another silent slapstick comedy, Andy Priki, created by Mangaluru based AUM Animation Studio.
Comprising of 13 episodes in season one, Andy Pirki is a 3D animated show that revolves around a pink dinosaur (Andy) and a caveman (Pirki) who develop an inimitable bond because of their unique circumstances. The 3D animated show will launch on 3 December and will be telecast on weekends from 9:30 to 10 am. The half an hour slot on Pogo will see three seven minute stories from the series running back to back.
Kids in the age group of six to seven are the “bulls-eye” target audience. “A 70-year old iconic show Tom & Jerry has no age group. Since Andy Pirki is also a silent show, there is no age barrier as such,” says Turner India executive director and network head (kids, South Asia) Krishna Desai. So while they target kids with the show, they also hope that young, old, teenagers and adults will enjoy it.
A lot of shows have been created surrounding the relationship between humans and dinosaurs. What is so special about this one? “Almost everything!” exclaims Desai.
Desai and his team at Pogo were impressed with a few elements of the show. Its first area of uniqueness comes from two misfits banding together- Andy, an extinct pink dinosaur with its own quirks and Pirki, a caveman who has a child trapped in his short stature. “The setting of the show is in jungle and natural areas but you also have storytelling themes which are contemporary,” Desai explains. In one episode, viewers will see both friends devouring a pizza. “That is the second factor which attracts us to the show.” The third part is the execution of the show, in terms of timing. “Timing is extremely critical in animation. The way the gags are timed is the heart of Andy Pirki.” The fourth factor is the music. “The show being silent comedy, beautiful music is incorporated. Absence of dialogues gave us a chance to create a nice original score.”
How will Andy Pirki then compliment Pogo’s slate of shows? “For both our channels (Cartoon Network and Pogo), we stay away from education and edutainment. Andy Pirki does not really teach you anything. It is very colourful and has optimistic outlook,” he highlights.
AUM Animation has worked on the creative aspects of the show with inputs from Turner, while Turner has incurred the production cost. The IP however is owned by AUM.
“The initial idea to produce Andy Pirki came to us in the inception year of AUM Animation Studios in 2009,” exclaimed AUM Animation Studios MD Shreekaanth Dass. “Andy Pirki has already won multiple industry awards for best animation in India and international markets. We are excited to bring this fun-filled, action-packed entertainer series to the audience through Pogo. The characters have a lovable persona of their own that promises to take them on a fantasy quest.”
AUM had approached Turner a year and a half ago with only sketches. But Turner saw in them the potential to grow . “We saw the potential of a show and gave it a green light. We saw something really nice about the concept and passion of creators, e-learning….” After various discussions and creative session, the property was brought to its current stage.
For now, AUM and Turner want to see how the show performs in India but since it is a silent comedy with characters that are universal, they do not seem to hesitate for launching it outside of India.
