MediaCorp, Madhouse Team for New Anime Feature Film

SINGAPORE,
May 12: MediaCorp is collaborating with the Japanese animation company Madhouse
on Yona Yona Penguin, a new 3-D
CGI anime feature film.

Yona Yona Penguin was created and produced by Madhouse and French
company Denis Friedman Productions. The film is directed by Rintaro, a Japanese
animator who created Astro Boy
and directed numerous anime films, including Galaxy Express 999, Harmagedon and Metropolis.

Yona Yona Penguin tells a story about the adventures of three
characters from three different worlds who travel to an enchanted land.
Produced at a budget of $13 million, Yona Yona Penguin will be presented in two original versions:
Japanese and French with English-language subtitles. It is targeted for
worldwide theatrical release in the middle of 2009.

Lucas Chow, the CEO of
MediaCorp, said: “We are very excited to be part of this project. As an
investor in the film, we see this as a first step to a potential long-term
collaboration with Madhouse, one of the most reputable animation companies in
Japan. As the distributor in Singapore and Malaysia, we will use our multiple
platforms to publicize the film, aiming to bring the film to as wide an audience
as possible.”

Added
Jungo Maruta, the CEO of Madhouse, “We believe that Japanese animation is
enjoyed among the variety of world-class content. We are very excited to
partner with MediaCorp on our first 3-D CG Japanese animation—Yona
Yona Penguin. We believe that the
collaboration is one step forward in taking Japanese animation to the
international markets.”

—By Irene Lew