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MUMBAI: India?s budding young animators are kicking up a creative storm in Asia with the highest number of entries submitted on Toon Creator - an innovative online platform powered by Cartoon Network and Hewlett Packard (HP) that invites kids to create their own toons.
Since its launch on June 30 at CartoonNetworkAsia.com, over 100,000 new animations have been submitted from around the region with page views totaling 3.2 million and over 530,000 unique users. Indian kids? animations comprise an impressive 30 per cent of all submissions while over 2,40,000 new, unique India users have been registered on the website to check out the talent.
Kids have also embraced the Toon Creator Awards, Cartoon Network and HP?s inaugural online animation contest. Here, young animators are challenged to create a 25-second ending after viewing a five second mini-cliffhanger from either a Ben 10: Alien Force or Chowder episode.
With close to 20,000 individual and over 3,000 school contest entries received and submissions increasing by the minute, Toon Creator Awards is proving a popular platform for kids aged six to 14 to nurture their creativity and express themselves through technology.
Benjamin Grubbs, Regional Director for Turner Entertainment Interactive Media said, ?The response to the Toon Creator Awards has been fantastic and we are excited that it has captured the imagination of kids from over 18 countries and territories throughout the Asia Pacific region. What?s outstanding is the creativity and enthusiasm of kids from India as they shine with highest number of entries from the region. We have seen some excellent submissions appearing online and if these are anything to go by, the Indian animation industry has a very bright future with a huge talent pool!?
Ajay Mohan, Vice President, Marketing, Personal Systems Group, HP Asia Pacific and Japan said, ?We are delighted that kids across the Asia Pacific region have embraced the Toon Creator Awards and are overwhelmed with the talent, creativity and imagination they have shown through their submissions. Over the years the development of technology has given people of all ages the ability to express their creativity in new ways and it is a pleasure to see it in action.?
Toon Creator Awards is open to applications for both school and individual categories until September 30, 2009. Cartoon Network and HP are teaching children how easy it is to use Cartoon Network?s animation software through live demonstrations at participating schools. HP computer booths have also been set up in selected schools in participating countries to allow students to use the software, with mentors on hand to guide them through the process.
Amazing prizes are up for grabs and winners from each category will be determined by a combination of online votes and a professional judging panel from HP and Cartoon Network. Individual country winners will each receive a HP Touchsmart PC and automatically qualify for the regional competition to win a HP connected home grand prize. The ultimate regional Toon Creator Award winner will see their dreams become a reality with the winning project broadcast on Cartoon Network. The school with the most registered entries will also win three HP Touchsmart PCs for their computer lab.
