From Jumbo To Red And White: One For All Damages The Expectation Of Indonesian Animated Film Lovers

JAKARTA The presence of Red and White: One for All is considered to have lowered the standard of Indonesian animated films, which were predicted to accelerate after the success of the Jumbo film.

The celebration of Indonesia's 80th Anniversary was marked by a broadcast of the film Merah Putih: One for All. This film raises the national theme and tries to tell the adventures of looking for the missing Red and White flag in a village. The eight children assigned to the mission then had to overcome various challenges.

But instead of raising a sense of nationalism, the film Merah Putih: One for All has been flooded with criticism, even since the appearance of the film's posters and trailers.

Film directed by Endiarto with the support of the Film Center Foundation H. Usmar Ismail harvests blasphemy. Starting from poor image quality, rumors about government assistance amounting to Rp6.7 billion, to public surprise about the film Merah Putih: One for All received slots showing in Indonesian cinemas even though there were hundreds of other films lining up.

The animated film in Indonesia began in 1955 with the presence of Si Doel Choosing the work of Dukut Hendonoto or familiarly called Pak Oot. This two-dimensional black and white film was made as part of the first general election campaign.

The development of animation continues to the small screen with the series Si Huma which aired on TVRI in 1983. It also marks the beginning of children's animation on national television before finally animated shows such as Satria Nusa and Si Kancil Adventures appeared in the 1990s.

After that, animated films that won awards for various festivals and enlivened cinemas such as Battle of Surabaya, Si Juki the Movie: Final Day Committee, Knight Kris, Riki Rhino, Nussa, and latest the most phenomenal animated film, Jumbo.

Ryan Adriandhy's jumbo film officially became the highest-grossing film of all time with a total audience reaching 10,073,332, removing the KKN in Penari Village from the top rank.

Jumbo's success is also touted as a milestone in the revival of Indonesian animated films. With great hope, animated films in the future will be able to beat the quality of Disney or Pixar films.

However, just a few months after Jumbo took off the screen, the Red and White appeared: One for All which in terms of quality is considered far below Ariel Noah's voice film, Bunga Citra Lestara, Prince Poetiray, and Quin Salman.

The film Merah Putih: One for All was immediately criticized. With trailers and posters, many netizens assess that the visual quality is far from feasible for big screen standards, especially if you remember the budget which reportedly reached Rp6.7 billion.

The producer, Toto Soegriwo, then clarified the allegation that the film received disbursement of funds from the government. He also asked the public not to participate in spreading false information, and to stop all forms of blasphemy and slander.

Yusron Fuadi, director and lecturer Animasi, Game, and Multimedia at the University of Gadjah Mada (UGM) Yogyakarta. According to him, the animation quality of the film is considered not suitable to be shown in theaters.

"If the quality is not standard on the big screen, it's still like pre-visualization or storyboard but simple animation," he said.

With a budget that is reported to have reached Rp6.7 billion, according to Yusron, it is natural that the public reacted strongly. According to him, such a large fund is actually sufficient to produce quality animation, as long as the story is made efficient, the number of characters is limited, and does not force the use of top actors as voice actors.

"There are many things that can worsen the final result. But if in the end the image remains ugly, that is the most visible evidence," he said.

The success of the Jumbo film which comes with the achievement of the quality of the story and the top animation can also be the background for the public's strong criticism of the film Merah Putih: One for All, according to national film observer Benny Benke.

Jumbo, which has successfully penetrated the Malaysian market and several neighboring countries, has become a benchmark for Indonesian animated film lovers.

"It could be (benchmark), because it has already been given a suggestion, especially films from Hollywood whose quality we know are like that. Jumbo is also extraordinary, played in Malaysia, several neighboring countries, and maybe later some Europeans will also approach it," said Benke.

"Yabenchmark-nya di situ mereka secara tidak langsung ingin mendapatkan paling tidak se-level dengan yang sudah ditonton. Itu hal yang biasa saja," lanjut Benke.

Benny explained, indirectly, the audience expected quality that was at least the same as Jumbo. Moreover, the film managed to reach more than 10 million viewers, although that number reaped debate over its authenticity.

"What is certain is that the cinema screen may not be as massive as possible, let's say compared to Jumbo," he said.

The same thing was conveyed by the Lecturer of the Department of Communication, UGM, Budi Irawanto. Despite the various accusations directed at the filmmakers: One for All, Budi considers the quality of this film to be far from public standards. Moreover, the audience has been presented with Jumbo standards and exposed to well-known studio quality films, such as Ghibli, Disney, and Pixar.

"With us, there has just been an echo or hypeJumbo, yes, which is indeed a production value, yes, a story, then this is very okay visually and everything," said Budi.