This being 2012, a lot of people are obsessing over the end of the world, but here in Thailand a lot of new and exciting things are just starting, one being the local animation industry. Six years after Khan Kluay, it seems we’re finally producing full-length animations we can honestly say are world class. Echo Planet set the bar reasonably high earlier this year, but Yak takes things to a whole new level.
The film is the brainchild of writer, composer, thinker and co-founder of entertainment giant WorkPoint, Prapas Cholsaranon, who’s just mad about the ancient Ramayana epic, especially the giant, Tosakan. He teamed up with Chaiyaporn Panichrutiwong, Thailand’s leading animator, to make this film adaptation—a massive project that took six years to complete. Interestingly, the film transports the story to a world of robots, where the giant Tos fights with the smaller Hanuman as he tries to rule the world and destroy Ram, the boss of Hanuman. The great war between them ends when both are destroyed by the arrow of Ram. A million days later, the two enemies awake chained together with their memories completely wiped. Thus begins an unlikely friendship as the two set off on an action-filled adventure to try to free themselves.
Prapas’ animation is simply masterful, breathing new life into the traditional tale. While it’s easy to look at Yak as another cartoon for children, there’s plenty here for adults. The story starts at a frenetic pace, but soon finds its groove, introducing colorful characters like Sanim, a child robot who has no friends because of her rust, or the scene-stealing Brooks The Climber (voiced by famous stand-up comedian Udom Taepanit) who contributes a bunch of witty one-liners. Arguably the most impressive thing about Yak, though, is the message it conveys about humanity: everyone has a bad side but should be given the chance to be judged by their actions.
You may be surprised that Ram, the supreme leader, is here portrayed as an omnipotent being, not dissimilar to Skynet in Terminator or the sentient machine of The Matrix: it’s a bold concept but it does allow Prapas to focus on his leads. It’s little challenges like this that make Yak a bit tricky for very young audiences; everyone else is in for a great adventure.