Upin & Ipin: The Lone Gibbon Kris

Upin & Ipin: The Lone Gibbon Kris (Malay: Upin & Ipin: Keris Siamang Tunggal) is a 2019 Malaysian Malay-language computer-animated adventure film. The film follows the adventure of the twins and their friends in the fantastical kingdom of Inderaloka, where they have to save the kingdom from the evil king called Raja Bersiong. It is the third feature film based on the animated TV series Upin & Ipin by Les' Copaque Production, after Geng: The Adventure Begins in 2009 and Upin & Ipin: Jeng Jeng Jeng! in 2016.[Note 1] With a budget of RM20 million, it is the most expensive Malaysian animation and film ever made.

Upin & Ipin: The Lone Gibbon Kris
Official Theatrical release poster
MalayUpin & Ipin: Keris Siamang Tunggal
Directed byAdam B Amiruddin
Syed Nurfaiz Khalid B Syed Ibrahim
Ahmad Razuri B Roseli
Story byHjh Ainon Bt Ariff
Nur Naquyah Bt Burhanuddin
Aliya Bt Nazlan
Based onUpin & Ipin
Animated series by Burhanuddin Radzi & Ainon Ariff
StarringAsyiela Putri Azhar
Ahmad Mawardi Abdul Rahman
Mohd Amir Asyraf Mohd Noor Rashid
Fakhrul Razi
Ernie Zakri
Irfan Fahim
Edited byAhmad Razuri Roseli
Music byAndrew Bong
Production
company
Les' Copaque Production
Distributed byGolden Screen Cinemas (Malaysia)
MNC Pictures (Indonesia)
CineScreen (Philippines)
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (International)
Release date
  • 21 March 2019 (2019-03-21)
Running time
100 minutes
CountryMalaysia
LanguageMalay
BudgetRM20 million
Box officeRM26.20 million
(US$6.26 million)

Its original Malay-language version is released on 21 March 2019 in Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore. The film has grossed around RM26 million in Malaysia, making it the second-highest grossing local animation film in Malaysian cinema.[1]

The film won the Best Feature Film at the 2019 Montreal International Animation Film Festival.[2]

Synopsis

5-year-old twins Upin and Ipin and their fellow friends: Ehsan, Fizi, Mail, Jarjit, Mei Mei and Susanti live in the village Kampung Durian Runtuh. One day, they stumble across a mystical Malay dagger named the lone gibbon kris. The kris is magical and opens a portal that transports the whole gang to the Kingdom of Inderaloka. As they try to find their way back home, they meet several classic characters from the Malaysian and Malay folklore. Together they have to help restore the kingdom back to its past glory and fight back the evil king, Raja Bersiong who is hatching an evil plan to destroy the kingdom.

Voice cast
  • Asyiela Putri Azhar as Upin & Ipin
  • Ahmad Mawardi Abdul Rahman as Raja Bersiong
  • Mohd Amir Asyraf Mohd Noor Rashid as Mat Jenin
  • Irfan Fahim as Belalang
  • Fakhrul Razi as Nakhoda Ragam
  • Ernie Zakri as Bawang Putih & Bawang Merah
  • Muhammad Fareez Daniel as Ehsan
  • Muhammad Musyrif Azzat as Mail
  • Muhammad Hafiz Hassan as Jarjit
  • Tang Ying Sowk as Mei Mei
  • Rufaidah Mohamed Fadzil as Fizi
  • Andhika Astari and Siti Nor Adwin Bt Safie as Susanti
  • Ahmad Razuri Roseli as Pak Belalang
  • Siti Hasmah Taiban as Mak Deruma
  • Siti Khairunnisa Binti Mohamed Riduan as Kak Ros
  • Hjh. Ainon Bt Ariff as Opah
  • Hj. Burhanuddin Md Radzi as Tok Dalang

Production

The production took 5 years to complete, and the cost is almost RM20 million, making it the most expensive Malaysian film ever made. Producer of Les' Copaque Production, Burhanuddin Md. Radzi revealed that there are some scenes that were finished earlier and were changed afterwards as the scenes did not live up to their set standards. One of the examples was changing the same scene 80 times until someone from the 200 people of the production team almost resigned. They have been challenging themselves to highlight Malay folk tale and culture in the film, taking Star Wars as a good example of putting something imaginary in a film.[3] English dubbing has been made in Los Angeles for international releases.[4][5]

Music

The lead composer for this film is Sarawak-born Andrew Bong. As the lead composer, he said that composing original music that can move people’s emotions is a challenge while it is even more challenging to write the right music to fit a film. He was first approached by the producer, Burhanuddin Md. Radzi to compose Hollywood-style score but still includes traditional Malay elements.[6]

Two main official theme songs of the film are "Keris Sakti" by Fakhrul Razi and "Buai Laju-Laju" by Ernie Zakri. Fakhrul Razi, a Bruneian singer, was approached by Hjh Ainon Ariff the creative director to sing the song as she wanted a singer that can sing with Bollywood-style after he was viral in India the previous year. He also was given the opportunity to voice Nakhoda Ragam in the film. Ernie Zakri, a Malaysian singer who is famous for her high-pitch vocal performance in AJL32, was also given the opportunity to voice Bawang Putih and Bawang Merah after she finished recording the song in the studio.[3]

Release

The first official trailer was released on 6 September 2018.[7] The second official trailer was released on 8 January 2019.[8] It was released in Malaysia, Brunei, and Singapore on 21 March 2019 in original Malay-language. Vietnamese dubbed version was released on 26 April 2019 in Vietnam, while the Indonesian version was released on 9 May 2019. It is also one of the very few Malaysian films that can break into Indonesia's biggest cinema operator, Cinema 21 along with Polis Evo 2.[9]

It was released on 28 August 2019 in Philippines with an English dubbed. Its Mandarin version is scheduled to be released soon in China by 2019.[10] The film was released limitedly on 9 November 2019 in Los Angeles, US, in order to meet the nomination criteria of Academy Awards. The film was submitted for consideration in the Best Animation Film category in the 2020 Academy Awards, but was not nominated.[11]

Reception
Days of screening Cumulative sales in Malaysia
4 days (24 March) RM5.3 million
(US$1.26 million)[12]
7 days (27 March) RM12.1 million
(US$2.88 million)[13]
21 days (10 April) RM25 million
(US$5.96 million)[14]
68 days (27 May) RM26.20 million
(US$6.30 million)[15]

The film was shown in Malaysian cinemas for 2 months.[16] It grossed around RM26.19 million in Malaysia, becoming the second-highest grossing local animation film of all time in Malaysian cinema. It is also the fourth-highest grossing local film of all time.[1]

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Nominee Result Ref(s)
2019 Asian Academy Creative Awards Best Feature Film - Malaysia Upin & Ipin: The Lone Gibbon Kris Won [17]
Beijing Animation and Game Industry Awards Best Animation of The Year Upin & Ipin: The Lone Gibbon Kris Won [18]
2020 Malaysia Film Festival Best Animated Film Upin & Ipin: The Lone Gibbon Kris Nominated [19]

Notes
  1. A feature film titled Laksamana Upin & Ipin was previously planned in 2011, but it was eventually cancelled.

References
  1. "Upin & Ipin: Keris Siamang Tunggal collects RM25mil in ticket sales". New Straits Times.
  2. "International award for 'Upin & Ipin: Keris Siamang Tunggal'". New Straits Times. 11 September 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  3. "Upin & Ipin kian hebat" Harian Metro. 17 March 2019. Retrieved on 26 July 2019.
  4. "New ‘Upin & Ipin’ movie is most expensive Malaysian film ever" The Star. 21 January 2019. Retrieved on 26 July 2019.
  5. "'Upin & Ipin' go trilingual in newest adventure". New Straits Times. 7 March 2019.
  6. "Bong grateful for chance to be lead composer" The Borneo Post. 12 April 2019. Retrieved on 26 July 2019.
  7. "Upin & Ipin : Keris Siamang Tunggal (Trailer 1)" YouTube. 6 September 2018. Retrieved on 26 July 2019.
  8. "Upin & Ipin Keris Siamang Tunggal Cinema Trailer" YouTube. 8 January 2019. Retrieved on 26 July 2019.
  9. "#Showbiz: Mischievous twins' latest adventure proves a winner" New Straits Times. 19 April 2019. Retrieved on 2 August 2019.
  10. "Upin & Ipin: Keris Siamang Tunggal heads for China's cinemas". The Star.
  11. "Upin & Ipin movie submitted for Oscars". The Sun. 18 October 2019.
  12. "#Showbiz: Upin & Ipin rakes in RM5.3mil in 4 days" New Straits Times. 26 March 2019. Retrieved on 31 July 2019.
  13. "‘Upin & Ipin: Keris Siamang Tunggal’ earns RM12.1mil in 7 days" Star2.com. 29 March 2019. Retrieved on 31 July 2019.
  14. "‘Upin & Ipin’: Keris Siamang’ collects RM25m in ticket sales, goes international" Malay Mail. 11 April 2019. Retrieved on 31 July 2019.
  15. "MALAYSIAN BOX OFFICE" Finas. Retrieved on 16 August 2019.
  16. "Dengan ini secara rasminya, filem UPIN & IPIN KERIS SIAMANG TUNGGAL telah pun tamat tayangan di pawagam-pawagam di seluruh MALAYSIA. Filem ini berjaya bertahan ditayangkan di pawagam selama 2 bulan" Facebook. 27 May 2019. Retrieved on 31 July 2019.
  17. "CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2019 ASIAN ACADEMY CREATIVE AWARDS REGIONAL WINNERS!". Asian Academy Creative Awards. 12 December 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  18. "'Upin & Ipin: Keris Siamang Tunggal' Wins Beijing's Golden Wing Award". Rojak Daily. 19 November 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  19. "67 filem rebut 32 kategori FFM31" (in Malay).
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