Finding a way to survive
After 12 years without a Golden Horse nomination, Taiwanese animation finally returned to the awards with Chiu Li Wei’s Barkley.
Chiu has been working on original animated properties for more than 20 years, but his working life has also included a stint in Hollywood as a 3D-animation researcher under a Ministry of Economic Affairs program, a term as an artist-in-residence in New York, and several years as a teacher. “[Original animation] is lovely to think about, but grueling to make. There’s a marked contrast between the joy of one and the pain of the other.” But Chiu knows he’ll never stop animating.
Chiu established studio2 Animation Lab to feel his way into the business while also doing work. The studio’s first project was an adaptation of Lin Liang’s Little Sun essay collection, which it made into an animated series in cooperation with screenwriter Hao Kuang-tsai. It was only after entering the business side of the industry that Chiu began to understand the rights market: how to participate in rights fairs, how to value products in the development stage, and how to draft rights-related contracts.
The Little Sun won a Golden Bell award and sold well in Southeast Asia, but this story of an Asian family was unable to break into the American and European markets. Chiu therefore changed direction on the Barkley the Cat TV series, pushing culture to the background and characters to the foreground.
Barkley is a city cat who unexpectedly finds himself in a rural area, where his interactions with the country folk give rise to a series of heartwarming stories. The show’s plots touch on issues such as the differences between city and countryside, and environmental protection. For example, an episode called “Lost Bear” introduces a bear whose home has been destroyed, and who must therefore venture out of the mountains to ask people for food. In the end, the villagers help the bear build a new home. Interesting plots and positive messages have enabled Barkley the Cat to win over audiences at home and abroad. In fact, the show has already been licensed in more than 30 countries.
In 2014, Chiu followed up on Barkley the Cat with Weather Boy, a show centered around the issue of global warming. The show’s protagonist is Jimmy, a boy whose father’s weather research takes the pair of them on international adventures. The series features other characters from Taiwan, as well as scientists from the US and France. “We made adjustments during the show’s development, thinking about how to forge connections to foreign markets,” says Chiu.
Chi, the protagonist of On Happiness Road, returns to her hometown from the US looking for answers to life’s questions. (courtesy of On Happiness Road Productions)