Kampung Boy (TV Series 1997–1999) Poster

(1997–1999)

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8/10
Kampung Boy, hillbilly lifestyle, Malaysian style.
starbucker_usj14 August 2006
Set in a rural "kampung" (village) in Malaysia, Kampung Boy is a two-season animated series about a young Malaysian boy, "Mat" (pronounced as "Mutt") and his two boy-buddies "Tak" (pronounced as "Tuck") and "Bo". Mat is a naive and somewhat mischievous boy, while Bo is the bright one and Tak, well, a self-proclaimed genius.

Mat lives with a younger sister, Ana and his parents Yob (dad) and Yah (mom). Opah is Mat's superwoman paternal grandmother, always at hand to offer good words of wisdom. Opah has a close friend in Pak Din, a village elder who is also grandfather to Mat's heart-throb, Normah.

Yob (Mat's dad) is a half-baked inventor, conjuring up devices which are neither necessary nor worthy of any use. Yah, his wife however, is a well-mannered, calm and motherly woman, always seeing the foolishness of her husband as something neither harmful nor tolerable! The series begins with Normah, Pak Din's orphaned granddaughter, moving to the kampung to live with him. Up till then, Normah was a city girl much used to the modernity of life only found in big cities. Moving to the rural kampung means a lot of getting used to the laid-back, unsophisticated and "hillbilly" lifestyle. She fitted in awkwardly, but with the help of Mat, Ana, Bo and Tak, she soon blended in. Pay special attention to Mrs. Hew, the children's school teacher… She's hilarious! Kampung Boy showcases lots of real-life ups-and-downs of rural lifestyle in the typical kampung. Dato' Lat, the creator of Kampung Boy, is a very popular cartoonist in Malaysia. His comics appear regularly in Malaysian newspapers, always poking fun at Malaysians, the Malaysian attitude and plain everyday life in Malaysia.

Politicians are always the target of his jest, but he does it in such cheeky way that gains him admiration, love and respect instead of hatred and ill-feelings.

I had the golden opportunity of working with Dato' Lat, Michael Geisler and Frank Saperstein on this project, and I must say it was the least painful experience albeit sleepless nights and countless change of plans.

Viewers who like Kampung Boy would also like Dato' Lat's print comics, easily obtainable from any Malaysian bookstores. Kampung Boy the TV series was shown on Nickelodeon in Asia. It was also dubbed into Bahasa Malaysia (the Malaysian national language) and Cantonese (for airing over Malaysia's ASTRO).
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6/10
Unique, Great Commentaries, Comedic but Lack of Representations
sisubalan26 October 2022
Unique hand drawn animation style with great line of voice castings - match perfectly with the characters and bright tone of the animation flow. Very slice of life (depicting everyday livelihood of kampung/villagers situated in malaysia). There werent that much of representation of other cultures- indian, chinese and other ethnics including immigrates. Solely focusing in malay ethnicity which was not a bad thing entirely but it wouldve been better. Love the bright tone of this cartoon and highly comedic. Its very entertaining, appealing for both adults and childrens. Some good commentary like differences in living environment at village vs urban or city areas, touch on pollutions, important of friendship and family, education system as well as economic. Great way of exposing children on these issues. Amazing intro song that highly catchy, memorable and very unique. Highly recommended.
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