In 1956 Harry Belafonte made the first album to sell one million copies in the US in a single year. The album's title? Calypso. The world was ready for a new voice, a reality they had never experienced before. The world got a taste of Caribbean Soul, our soul... and they can't get enough.
It is 2012 and once again the planet craves a new voice; not for music, but for animation. Once again, the Caribbean will answer the call. Reporting for duty is a coalition of Trinidad and Tobago's top animation designers. Each artist has realised a fully formed animated vision reflecting the beautiful, unique (and like calypso), universally demanded voice of the Caribbean. These visionaries are a "Global Animation Trinidad Delegation"; a Trinidad Dimension in visual entertainment. They are Trini –D, and it's time you meet them.
Full Circle Animation: Founded by Camille Selvon Abrahams, Trinidad and Tobago's premiere 2D animation studio has created "Krik Krak Anansi", a series about a young spider learning about life with his forest friends with mischievous antics that live up to his namesake. Mathew Hudson: This veteran animator, known for commercial campaigns like the Lucozade Stick-Man has created a new show "Breadfriuit" which follows the misadventures of a pothound named Potts and his friends as they go wild in their neighbourhood in a hilarious never-ending quest for adventure, fun and a free meal.
Kevin Bhall: "Temple in the Sea" was created by Kevin, who's described as a young phenom animator and he uses gorgeous animation styles to weave a rich, timeless legend from the true story of Trinidad's Sewdass Sadhu, who built our nation's actual Temple in the Sea. Kelsey Noel: This young man has created a unique an utterly breathtaking and lush tropical "moving illustration" style to tell the story of Cyborg Chicken, a being hatched from an egg mutated from toxic chemicals who protects his kind from natural and man-made dangers alike.
Victor Bolabaille: As a 3D animator extraordinaire, Victor brings us "Dreams vs Reality". Our heroes Sue Raj and Manicou must battle the corrupt political villain Marvin by defeating his schemes in reality and the world of dreams. Seon Thompson: Understanding that Caribbean culture is told as well as shown, Seon designed his series Protest to be based on adapting our treasure trove of spoken word performances into aniated shorts. In addition to the Caribbean the series adapts international spoken word poetry into onscreen stories as well.
Omar Lewis: A lecturer at UTT's Animation Program and a published children's book, author and illustrator, this fine artist and animator has created "The Wonderful World of Myat". Myat is a girl who lives in a mythical realm with her family as she experiences amazing adventures. Oh, and she can fly like a bird and swim like a fish! Omar remarks: "The beauty of Trini-D is that we have the freshness and creativity that comes from us being independent artists, but we also have the institutional support of our nation. This is really happening!"
This statement happens to be true. E-Teck, Invest TT and others are all coming together to finance pilot episodes plus trips to international entertainment industry venues that will bring Trini-D to the world. This will all lead to these marvellous projects being launched for audiences worldwide. In 1956 our culture created the first one-year one million selling album. Let's see what kind of history we make this time.