Animated Pakistani film 'The Donkey King' will push you to follow your dreams

Film-maker Aziz Jidani says the donkey is in no way similar to Shrek's donkey!

KARACHI: It's about time the Pakistani film industry turned its attention towards animated projects.

Last year, Allahyar and the Legend of Markhor did rather well at the box office, performing much better than was expected of the small project.

Its animations were praise-worthy, some might even say of Pixar-quality. And one could only have hoped for animation in Pakistan to improve thereafter.

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Fortunately for us, The Donkey King is making sure that comes true. Geo Films and Talisman Studios has released the teaser for their upcoming animated project and needless to say, it looks great!

From the short clip, we gather that The Donkey King is based on a donkey and his dreams for life. While we are definitely getting major Shrek vibes from the protagonist Mangu Mangu Jan Mangu, what struck us about the teaser is the attention to detail in the 50-second clip.

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The music is fun and light-hearted - just what the makers might have been going for. However, we're sure that we will be getting a positive message in the film too.

The director of the animated film, Aziz Jindani told The Express Tribune that the idea of The Donkey King was coined back in 2003.

"I was working with Commander Safeguard team back in 2013," the 39-year-old film-maker said. "That's when the idea of an animated film that can be relevant to not only kids but adults as well. A story that is appropriate for all ages."

 

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The IBA graduate, who pursued animation as a passion went on to address the resemblance of his main character to Hollywood's Donkey.

"I won't say that it's similar in any manner. Mangu is very different in terms of attitude and style than Shrek's donkey," he continued. "Mangu is a dreamer. He is adamant to change his life and not live with what he's born with. That's what makes the film special."

So is that what he's going for as the message in the film?

"Well, one of the messages is to not stop dreaming," he told us. "We'll later reveal the actors who have voiced the characters. I think if we revealed that right now it would have deluded the characters."

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The Donkey King is slated to release on October 13 this year. In the meantime, you can watch the teaser here:


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