A team of erasers in ‘Operasi Koperasi’ for PETRONAS’s Merdeka film

In the spirit of Merdeka, Ensemble Worldwide together with PETRONAS have released another fully animated film, titled Operasi Koperasi. Inspired by the nostalgic Malaysian childhood game “Lawan Pemadam” meaning “Battle of Erasers”, the film’s fresh take on unity explores PETRONAS’ 2020 Festive Campaign theme of “Our Unique Family” further.

The film revolves around the characters of 14 state flag erasers – each representing the 14 states in Malaysia. When three of the erasers fall off the shelf, panic ensues, and the remaining erasers deliberate over an impossible rescue mission.

With teamwork and ingenious contraptions, the erasers manage to reunite with their family members. The film ends with them celebrating a successful operation, but with rain pouring down ominously and yet another obstacle ahead, the erasers band to face it together.

“School is when you truly learn how to be Malaysian and with schools opening up again, the one lesson that all kids look forward to, is friendship,” said Executive Director of Ensemble Worldwide, Chan Woei Hern. “We fight, we compete, we disagree, but when it comes down to it, we’re in it together.” 

The film went live on PETRONAS’ official YouTube channel and Facebook Page on 24^th August and has quickly garnered over 1.5 million views across both channels. The 60-second commercial version will be on air on TV till 16^th September.

“There were just so many little touches from the team, our partners and clients that made a world of difference,” Woei Hern said. “We all had a lot of fun with the storyline and little nuances of languages across the states and more importantly, it was a truly Malaysian effort behind-the-scenes too.

The first day #OperasiKoperasi went live, the post received more shares than like and according to Woei Hern, that’s when the team knew they had something really special. 

“To see the public chime in, respond and react to the film is the best reward for all of us,” he added.

The film was directed by Ismail Kamarul and produced by Reservoir World with post-production from Astatica and audio production with Kena Sound/ Scifi Studio. It features 14 diverse characters and showcases dialects from different states, voiced by everyday Malaysians.

Watch the film below:

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