Wang: I don't think so. We just moved our low-end production there to save labor costs. We have kept our creative team in Taipei. One thing that the local industry should be cautious about, however, is the competition from across the [Taiwan] Strait, because the Chi-nese government is also eager to promote its animation industry. Although Chinese-produced cartoons and animated films are not as sophisticated as ours in terms of storylines and drawing techniques, they'll soon catch up as they have a huge market -- a 1.3 billion population to support their industry.
I think it will take them 10 years to reach Taiwan's [current] level. Therefore, Taiwanese companies should seize this time to develop their own films in order to remain competitive in the world market.
TT: The rise of South Korean pop culture, especially entertainment and online gaming, has attributed to the strong support from that country's government. Taiwan's government is also keen to push the digital-content industry, which encompasses animation. Do you think the government has done enough to achieve this goal?
Wang: I think the government has tried very hard to promote the industry. For example, we were given a NT$15 million grant to develop the "Monkey King." We appreciated the help from the government, but the grant was just too small. Since the officials in charge also have little experience in or understanding of animation, they also have difficulty integrating the resources we need. In addition, the government seems to have put most of its eggs into the online-gaming basket, which [most people] consider will rake in the cash more quickly.
For now, my only hope is that our projects will be the success we expect; then the government will be more willing to allocate money to us.
RSS