If I Am Not in the Advertising Program, I Would Be in….

If I am not in the Advertising Program, I would be in the animation arena. Although I don’t have the skills to draw a fascinating character and come up with a strong visual design, I appreciate the hard work of animators in creating multiple images or frames which give an illusion of movement to convey a stronger and compelling story.

As someone who grew up in Asia, I had the privilege of watching anime films and shows created by Japanese animators. Believe me, I watch anime shows every day. Those shows were the only reason why I had to go home early when I was in elementary and high school. Some of my most favourite anime shows or movies in 1990s-2000s include Dragon Ball Z, Lupin III, One Piece, My Neighbor Totoro and a lot more.

As technology improves and numbers of animators increase, animation shows and movies improved a lot in many ways (e.g. 3D, HD and etc.). However, there is one thing that remained in the field of animation – capturing the audience’s emotion and attention or what I call “the sweet spot”.

Today, I would like to share with you 4 of my most favourite animation movies that were created:

1. Lion King: This was the first animation movie that made me cry especially when Mufasa, Simba’s heroic dad, was thrown off a cliff and crushed to death. Simba, as an innocent child, didn’t have an idea what death is. And he grew up without his dad around him. Sad movie! 
2. Toy Story 3: Who loves “goodbyes”? Nobody! I teared up when Andy had to go to college and leave his toys. That was heart-breaking. 
3. Big Hero 6: Do you still remember when Baymax sacrificed his life in the outer space just to save Hiro? Again, “goodbyes” are very powerful. 
4. KungFu Panda: This movie didn’t make me cry but it inspired me to treasure each moment in my life. I remember Master Oogway before he vanished in a haze of peach blossoms and told this line to Po “There is a saying: yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.” I consider this line as one of my mottos in life. Sweet! 

Now let’s go back to my main statement, “If I am not in the Advertising Program, I would be in the animation arena.” Animation gives me so much inspiration in thinking differently and embracing possibilities. As a matter of fact, most of my works in my portfolio or my creative projects were inspired by an animated character or scenario. Animation and advertising have in common. You create one simple and big idea, execute it in an authentic way and connect deeply with your main audience.

So if you are not in the industry or program that you are in today, which profession/program would you choose and why?