Entertainment giant Walt Disney Co will team up with several Japanese companies to produce animated features in Japan, a leading market for such films, a Disney official said yesterday.
Disney will work with Toei Animation Co, Madhouse Co and Jinni's Animation Studios, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to talk to the media.
The Nikkei, Japan's leading business daily, reported the move was aimed at bolstering Disney's efforts to gain wider acceptance of its animated programming in Asia. The company official declined to provide details.
With Madhouse, Disney will produce a TV program Stitch!, an offspring of the Lilo & Stitch series, to be aired in Japan, the official said. With Jinni, Disney will make a short animation film Fireball, she said.
The Nikkei said the partnerships would allow Disney to tap local talent and computer graphics technology to produce programs targeting audiences in Japan and elsewhere in Asia.
These programs will be broadcast via satellite and terrestrial channels, but Disney will also look into delivering content to mobile phones, the report said.
Disney has its own animation and movie channels in more than 100 countries, including Japan, where it launched Disney Channel in 2003. The company also started offering a cellular phone service here this month.
The Nikkei quoted an unidentified executive at Disney's Japanese unit as saying that the move would "position Japan as a new base for content creation."
Toei Animation, meanwhile, will tap Disney's distribution network to expand its overseas reach, the report said.
The US firm will continue to look for partners, but it doesn't have plans for any acquisitions or capital tie-ups for now, Nikkei said.
For Disney, a longtime producer of hit shows in the US, this will mark the first time that it has gone offshore with the core production processes for major programs, the report said.
The studio has tried to penetrate the global animation market by exporting programs, but has concluded that production should be localized from scratch so that its shows will be widely accepted in different countries and cultures, according to the Nikkei.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS