When the co-founders of indie prodco Bang in Bangkok (BiB) present their original family feature film Up Chao to potential investors at Annecy next week, they’ll be leaning into an important differentiating factor: The project is one of the first globally produced animated movies set in modern Thailand, based on a concept from a Thai creative.
“This movie follows the [successful] trend of culture-based animated movies—like Coco, Wish Dragon, Vivo and Raya and the Last Dragon—resonating with global audiences,” says BiB co-founder and creative producer François Belot.
Based on artwork and an original idea developed by character designer and BiB co-founder Wanchana “Vic” Intrasombat (Wish Dragon), Up Chao tells the coming-of-age story of a teenage Thai boy named Fua, who sets off on an epic adventure after he magically paints eight ancient…
