Dream Express, which has the local broadcasting and distribution rights for Ultraman and other Japanese animation characters, plans to export its first Thai animation, "The Salads", jointly developed with Igloo Studio.
Krit Sakulpanich, managing director of Dream Express, said the company had set up a wholly owned subsidiary, Byte in a Cup, to export Thai animations to overseas markets.
"We and Igloo have jointly developed 'The Salads' animation, which has been divided into 26 episodes of 15 minutes each," Krit said.
The company and Igloo will jointly own the right to "The Salads" TV series, while Igloo itself will own the rights to the characters.
Krit said the company would launch roadshows to introduce "The Salads" to new markets, including France's Cannes Film Festival in October.
"Thai animation people have good minds and skill in art. They can produce quality animation using the same technology used by other professional animation studios around the world," he said.
"We have talked with local TV stations, agents and studios in the US, Brazil, Japan, South Korea and Malaysia about selling licences for 'The Salads' animation for local broadcast and merchandising. We aim for 'The Salads' to generate Bt50 million in sales for the first year, of which Bt40 million will come from overseas markets."
Krit said Dream Express had |been in the business for 12 years, buying local broadcasting and distribution rights for superhero and animation films and television series from Japan.
"We will gradually increase the amount of characters and merchandise in our portfolio."
He said the company would launch "The Salads" Thai cartoon animation on a local TV channel this year, together with other cartoon animations and superhero TV series from Japan, including "Battle Spirits", "Bakugan Part 3" and "Masked Rider Decade".
Krit said the company had 12 or 13 Japanese cartoon and superhero characters in its portfolio, including Ultraman, Gundam, Masked Rider, Bakugan and Pretty Cure.
He added that "The Salads" would be the company's first cartoon characters developed in Thailand and exported abroad.
Dream Express achieved Bt200 million in sales last year. The company expects to achieve Bt250 million this year.
Krit said the company was preparing a special team to carry its licensed cartoon and superhero content into new digital media, such as Internet streaming, mobile telephones and iPads, to offset the slowdown of physical products such as video compact discs and digital video discs.
