One of the goals we set for Katakune was to create a high quality show that would train a child’s focus.

This is the main reason why we chose to have a unique white background as opposed to a colorful and cluttered environment. By having a white background, kids will focus on the stories and the action in the foreground instead of being distracted by unnecessary elements and colors in the background.

It is proven that many TV programs nowadays over-stimulate the young preschooler’s mind and that may have a negative impact on his ability to concentrate and learn later on. As such, we are very careful to ensure that Katakune is not only fun and educational to watch, but also safe to watch.

Yet, there needs to be enough colors and elements to attract the child and pique his interest in the show.

Therefore, besides irresistibly cute and colorful characters, we took great pains to design hundreds of uniquely never-seen before props. Through the combination of good story-telling, high quality animation, colorful character designs and uniquely designed props, we are confident that preschoolers would love to watch Katakune.

Production Notes: Quite honestly, having a stark empty white background is much harder to work with and balance than having proper environments. We had to think about staging and setup more as we had to be even more concerned about how the composition of every scene would look so that they don’t look funny. This also meant having to introduce more soft shadows so that the characters don’t look like they are floating in white space. Eventually this resulted in more rendering time on the machines, but for a great looking show it’s well worth the trouble!

Production Notes: We didn’t want kids to feel bored with the characters looking the same throughout the 520 minutes, so we decided to give every character a wardrobe with several different outfits to ‘change’ throughout the show. This also keeps the show fresh and interesting for the kids.

Production Notes: As this is a cartoon show for preschoolers, we designed every single prop to be rounded and colorful. We want licensing partners to feel at one glance that these are immediately translatable to toys in real life!

Production Notes: It was necessary and important for us to place the characters into the sets we designed to see if they look coherent together. Sometimes our designers can really go into orbit and it takes something down-to-earth like this to see if they are going in the right direction.

Production Notes: We try to re-design normal looking everyday mundane objects to make them look interesting so that kids can look at these things in a different light. Through this they get to learn more about their environment and appreciate things around them.

Production Notes: We also re-design vehicles to make them look really cute and interesting.

Production Notes: Even food and furniture in the show is designed uniquely to fit the mood and look of the Katakune animated series!

The very first thing we did during the official production phase was to create and design more characters to surround Katakune. First we designed his best friends - Louie, Benny and Tyko. Later on we added many more characters who all had roles to play in Katakune’s world - Tazzleland. Read on to discover the characters we created for Katakune!

Katakune
He is the star of the show, the adorable silkworm who is always eager to discover new things. In the process of experimentation, Katakune learns a lot about the environment, caring for his friends and taking care of himself.

Louie
One of Katakune’s best buddies, Louie is a delightful bee who’s always ‘beezy’ with something. If he’s not busy helping people then he’s busy with learning new things. He’s also part of a baseball team with Tommy and Roger and they call themselves the Bee Squad.

Benny
Another of Katakune’s best buddies, Benny is a beetle who’s absolutely fascinated with oriental stuff. Benny has a very mild temper and absolutely refuses to be rushed.

Tyko
Quite the opposite of Benny, Tyko can’t stand being slow. Although quick tempered and impatient, Tyko’s full of good cheer and has a good heart, He’s also one of Katakune’s best buddies.

Grace
Grace is a beetle who owns the only cake shop in Tazzleland. She bakes really good cakes but is ever worried that she’s not doing a good enough job. Katakune and his friends often visit her and give her warm words of encouragement, with which she reciprocates with her wonderful cakes.

Thomas and Willy
Thomas and Willy are twin penguin brothers although one is blue and the other red. They are full of entrepreneurial spirit and drive. You can always count on them to start up a new store to sell you the latest gadgets or toys!

Ronald
Ronald is an aircraft buff and like Ronko, he loves modifying his shells. In Ronald’s case, his preferred choice of vehicles are aircrafts because he likes the feeling of soaring freely in the sky. Heli-shells, airpad shells , propeller shells - you name it, he’s done it. Equally as and if not more knowledgeable than Ronko, Ronald is more subtle in offering his views. He is usually peace-loving and quiet, but once engaged in an argument with Ronko, he tends to speak more sense than the latter. Ronald is also a teacher in Tazzleland School where Katakune and his friends study.

Ronko
Ronko is sloooow and he hates it. Fortunately Ronko is an expert on shell modification and he uses this knowledge to convert his shell houses into vehicles to help him get around in a speedy fashion! In comparison to Ronald who’s an expert in aircraft design, Ronko is more of an expert in automobile design. Ronko feels that he has vast knowledge and experience to share with his friends and often offer his ‘2 cents’ worth’ which usually turns into a lecture.

Tommy
Tommy’s ultra confidence in himself stems from his perfect physique and superb skills. He comes across as being downright arrogant at times but very often even his competitors have to admit that Tommy is truly the best. As the Captain of the Three Bees Squad, Tommy looks set to make TBS number one!

Roger
Roger is TBS’s forward. He’s your strong, silent type who’s really dependable as a friend and on the field. Roger may not look very bright most of the time but when he’s out on the field, you will see a different Roger altogether!

Dr. Marshy
He’s the resident doctor in Tazzleland. He’s always armed with a needle and not exactly Katakune’s favorite person, but Dr. Marshy is really very kind and caring.

Woody
Woody the Woodpecker is the resident handyman in Tazzleland and the person you look for when you need a fence fixed or some plumbing done. He can be quite crossed at times, especially when Katakune and his friends goes about town breaking things!

Woofy
Woofy looks like a dog, but isn’t really a dog. He is actually an uncompleted piece of work from a comic artist who began work on another character before completing his work on Woofy. Woofy came to Tazzleland and was later adopted by Katakune. Woofy has an insatiable appetite, and his mouth is a black hole that can just about woffle down anything and everything!

Snowy
Snowy is a snowman adopted by the Penguin Brothers. Being a snowman, his greatest fear is melting and he constantly stays in the cool comfort of the Penguins’ igloo. It may sound strange, but Snowy actually shivers whenever he hears Momo is nearby as he has melted quite a few times due to Momo! Fortunately the Penguin Brothers know how to restore Snowy to his original state. Snowy loves to watch documentaries, especially if they’re about the arctic! As a result he is now an expert in arctic weather, icebergs and polar bears!

Momo
Momo is a real Sun. But because he’s still a kid, he doesn’t have to work in the sky yet. He spends most of his time asking his friends if he can visit them, but he’s really not the most welcomed visitor as he tends to set things on fire accidentally. It also does not help that he is quite the glutton. Momo is still unable to control his heat entirely and sometimes burns his friends. Quite understandably, he is banned from entering the Penguin Brothers’ igloo and from getting anywhere near Snowy

Ocky
Poor Ocky was caught by Katakune on Katakune’s first fishing trip! Luckily for Ocky, he doesn’t like moving a lot anyway, so staying in his tiny fish bowl isn’t all that bad really. Besides, Katakune’s mother cooks really well, so Ocky gets to enjoy good food all the time. On weekends Katakune brings Ocky out to swim in the sea, but being the lazy fish he is, Ocky doesn’t really appreciate the gesture!

Spikey
Spikey is a cactus adopted by Katakune. He is different from other cacti because he doesn’t have any spikes on him and he is a lot more colorful than the average cactus. However utter the word ‘bald’ and he will most probably sulk the whole day. Spikey loves serenading guests with his guitar solos. However, his performances are really a hoax as his guitar is in fact a CD-player.

Puffy
Puffy is really younger than Duffy but he behaves like the elder brother because he is much smarter and a better flying expert than Duffy. Puffy sometimes takes advantage of Duffy’s slow-witted and kind nature, but Duffy doesn’t really mind because he looks up to Puffy. Puffy is an expert on flying. He has researched and developed many unique flying techniques and he is considered to be a hero amongst his winged friends. Puffy doesn’t mind sharing his techniques because he just love showing off his innovative flying skills.

Duffy
Duffy is an orphan and was adopted by Puffy’s parents when he was still a baby chick. He looks to Puffy as his best friend and little brother. Growing up with birds gave him some skills in flying. Although Duffy’s flying skills are limited to gliding, this achievement is already sufficient for the other chickens to look up to him. Due to his slow-witted nature, he constantly makes mistakes but tries to make up for it by being exceedingly helpful. Duffy sometimes can be a little naive and tends to believe everything others tell him.

May 2006 - It was almost an entire year’s worth of very hard work producing mock episodes and convincing investors but miraculously we managed to garner the funds we needed to produce 520 minutes’ worth of the Katakune animated series. Katakune’s charm worked!

After successfully attracting the Media Development Authority of Singapore and a team of angel investors to support us, we were able to assemble a team of strong creative talents from Singapore and China to begin work on creating an animated series for Katakune.

Amongst the chief team members are:

Aldric Chang - Executive Producer and Creator

Xavier Feng - Creative Director and Creator

Adrian Chye - Chief Financial Controller and Producer

Zhou Jian Min - Head of Production

Galen Toh - Assistant Financial Controller and Project Coordinator, China

Aric Lim - Multimedia Manager

Christopher Yap - Music Director

Wei Chen Geng and Sol Foo - Scriptwriters

Louise Lee - Production Coordinator

And a team of talented designers and animators…

Katakune officially began production in May 2006! The race had finally begun!

Somewhere in 2005 - Before we officially looked for investors, we decided to produce a mock episode of Katakune to test out the concept.

The result is something called ‘My Pumky Bank’.

Looking back at it now, it wasn’t great, but we don’t think that it was too shabby either.

We wanted to position Katakune as a preschooler cartoon series that taught preschoolers all sorts of EQ and IQ based knowledge in short and sweet 2 minute ‘bite-sized’ animations. So in the first few episode we decided to pick ‘doing chores for pocket money’ and ‘money-saving’ as the main themes of the episode.

Unfortunately when we officially began production and the process became mature, it became clear that ‘My Pumky Bank’ was not suitable for the new format. However, it does bring back many fond memories and mean a lot to the people who believed in Katakune from the very start.

More importantly, this was one of the episodes that convinced a team of investors and finally the Media Development Authority to support us.

Please tell us what you think of it

In 2002, one of the creators of Katakune - Aldric Chang - visited China to get his education in 3D animation.

Why he chose China to study animation and why he switched from being a music producer/songwriter to animation is another story, but fate so determined that he went to an animation school in Beijing.

Xavier Feng - the other creator of Katakune - happened to be an instructor of that particular animation school at that time. Interestingly, Aldric was also in China for the purpose of recruiting talents to help him when he set up his animation studio upon his return to Singapore and Xavier struck him as somebody who could help him.

Recognizing Xavier as immensely talented and dedicated to animation and design, Aldric became firm friends with Xavier during his stay in Beijing. On a chance occasion, Xavier showed Aldric his collection of design artwork and animation. Out of the multitude of amazing artwork, Aldric spotted a gem.

There was something about this cute creature that made Aldric linger at it. For some unfathomable reason Aldric had a premonition that this worm was going to be the star of an animated series and he made a remarkably insensible statement to Xavier announcing his premonition. Yet this worm was without a name and just ‘one of Xavier’s many designs sitting in his computer’ at that time.

Katakune in his earliest days, all alone and without any friends

With that, he returned to Singapore and establish Mediafreaks Pte Ltd - one of the better known 3D animation studios in Singapore today.

In the next few years that followed, Aldric maintained a working relationship with Xavier whilst he focused on building Mediafreaks. In 2005, Aldric finally felt that Mediafreaks was ready to diversify and he decided to expand Mediafreaks to go into content creation. Katakune became his first digital star!

Aldric got together with Xavier (who has by now also his own studio) to co-develop Katakune into a full-fledged animated series complete with full stories and a group of other cute cuddly friends.They invested some money of their own and assembled a team of investors who enabled them to develop Katakune properly and produce 20 sample episodes. They later also received investments from the Media Development Authority of Singapore and embarked on the journey to produce 520 minutes of the Katakune animated series for preschoolers in High Definition!

Katakune was born!!! Katakune finally got his name and was officially a silkworm (he was just a worm previously and being given a proper race means a lot to Katkaune :P).

Looking back now, Aldric feels that it could have been a self-fulfilling prophecy. He had always believed in miracles and when he first started Mediafreaks, although he had no idea how he would develop a cartoon series which costs millions to produce, he knew he would get there. It was a lot of hard work and faith. And without the MDA of Singapore, the investors who believed in them and their supportive colleagues, Katakune would still be languishing in Xavier’s computer, never to meet the rest of the world.

Today, Katakune is no longer alone. He has over 20 friends in Tazzleland and he is eager to spread what he learns to preschoolers all around the world!

Aldric Chang

Creator | Executive Producer for Katakune

Aldric Chang, an animation industry professional with many years of experience, is Founder and Managing Director of Mediafreaks Pte Ltd and CEO of Mediafreaks Cartoon Pte Ltd and Character Farm Pte Ltd.

He is a self-confessed workaholic creative entrepreneur who has written and produced music, casual games, animated cartoon series and over a hundred animation projects. He is an expert on the principles of Internet Marketing and consistently uses it to grow his businesses. He has over the past few years grown a 2-men animation firm into one of the most recognized animation companies in Singapore today . His company Mediafreaks is a unique vehicle combining animation and entertainment supported by the principles of internet marketing and multiple revenue streams. Aldric Chang is currently focused on growing Mediafreaks into an entertainment behemoth with a solid structure that feeds on a passive income besides a service revenue stream.

Mediafreaks is dedicated to creating quality animation and innovative multimedia solutions for both broadcasting and marketing needs. Clients include Discovery Channel, National Geographic, Darlow Smithson Productions, Southern Star Australia, Natural History New Zealand , National Geographic, Pilot Pen, Hewlett Packard, Disney, Bang Singapore , E. Excel etc.

Mediafreaks Cartoon and Character Farm produce their own original content in the form of cartoon anima ted series and manage their life cycles in broadcast distribution, sales and licensing cum merchandising.

Aldric has headed and overseen the production of more than over two hundred projects to date.

Prior to establishing Mediafreaks, Aldric wrote and produced music professionally. Some of his music credits include the writing of songs for singers Sun Ho, Jade Kwan, Zhou Ling, Huang Ming Hao, etc.

XAVIER FENG

Creator | Creative Director of Katakune

Xavier brings with him over 10 years of experience in the CG industry. Xavier is responsible for delegating the production pipeline for Katakune’s animated series and overseeing the good quality of produced work. Xavier oversees the production of Katakune and leads both the creative and technical teams in accomplishing the task of delivering 520 minutes’ worth of high quality original HD animated content.

Xavier is a certified Lecturer and Engineer for Autodesk’s 3ds Max and extremely well versed in the intricacies of the software. Having published several books on 3D animation in China , Xavier also holds a consultancy position as the Head of Department of CG Education in the China Academy of Art based in Hangzhou . He is highly regarded as a talented educator of CG education and is responsible for training CG lecturers and setting the course curriculum.

Prior to his teaching career at the Academy and his position in Wogee Toons China, Xavier held several lecturing positions at universities and private schools teaching the finer skills of CG and animation.