ANIMATION shorts from all over the world will be shown in a TV programme beginning this Sunday. World Animation has been produced by Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), and the 13-episode series is a sequel to last year's 8 Beat. Executive producer Liz Wong Lo-tak said the 10-minute episodes would include independent animation shorts from different countries such as the Netherlands, Germany, France, Australia and Taiwan. 'Last year, the programme was more about the skills of producing different kinds of animation such as water-and-ink films from China and three-dimensional puppet animation,' she said. 'The year's programme is not about skills at all.' The production team picked interesting works with the help of animation Web sites and animators they met at the International Animation Festival held at the Hong Kong Arts Centre last year. Outstanding creations by college students such as those from the Royal College of Art in London are also likely to be featured in the show. The first episode, hosted by Canto-pop diva Kelly Chen Wai-lum, is about object animation. Routine from the Netherlands and local production My Fantasia, which is a tribute to Disney's Fantasia, use simple everyday objects to convey their message. The show, conducted in English, also aims to influence young people to watch more English TV programmes as a way to improve their language skills. The hosts include local idols such as Gigi Leung Wing-kay, Jade Kwan Sum-yin and Ronald Cheng Chung-kei. 'Originally, we wanted to teach English through the programme. However, we gave in because we found it very difficult,' Wong said. Animations from award-winning Taiwanese Shi Changjie and Dutch master Sander Alt will be featured in the second episode, hosted by Kwan. World Animation will be broadcast on Sunday from 6.50pm to 7.00pm on TVB Pearl
