Hong Kong-born animator Raman Hui Shing-ngai has hit the big time in Hollywood. Shrek the Third, which was released on May 18 in the US, recorded the best-ever opening weekend for an animated film in North America with US$122 million. The movie, which Hui co-directed with Chris Miller, revolves around the lovable green ogre (voiced by Mike Myers) and his wife Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz). Fiona's father, King Harold (John Cleese), is seriously ill and summons his son-in-law to temporarily rule the Far Far Away kingdom. Meanwhile, the jealous Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) convinces all fairy-tale villains, such as Captain Hook, the Wicked Queen, the Headless Horseman and a stepsister of Cinderella, to fight for their own happy ending and help him conquer the kingdom. Hui, who was in Hong Kong earlier this month to promote the movie, said the film is like a big fairy-tale party. 'There are so many characters,' he said. 'It's like you haven't seen them for a while and they all come together and have a party. It's very entertaining and has a lot of new elements.' Hoping to repeat the box-office success of the Shrek films, cinemas have been flooded with animations based on fairy-tale themes or that make fun of pop culture. Hui and his team of animators decided to make the latest instalment a character-based comedy. 'We made fun of pop culture in Shrek, and it's the same with Shrek 2,' said Hui. 'But since then a lot of animated movies have tried to do the same thing, so we felt the need to look for new elements. 'In Shrek the Third, a lot of humour is character-based. We put them in different situations and many funny things happen. 'We are not particularly worried [about the saturation of similar animated films]. The most important thing is to continue doing things that we find exciting and funny.' But the work was not always fun, especially when Hui, who spent almost three years on the project as director, had to be involved in all phases of production. He had to oversee everything from the editing, lighting and special effects to post-production work. He also had to head a crew of 300 film-makers, including 40 animators. Fortunately, Hui, who has worked on Shrek films at DreamWorks for nine years, is familiar with the story and characters. Also, his work environment encourages open-mindedness and creativity. 'Animators have many things in common, which transcend race and nationality,' said Hui. 'The company is like the United Nations. We have animators from the US, Hong Kong, Korea, Spain, Japan and France.' Animation is powerful, says Hui, because it can break down barriers between people. 'It makes me happy to see people of different races and ages in the cinema having a good time watching the Shrek films. It gives me a lot of satisfaction.' He advises young animators not to give up because there's a bright future for them if they work hard. 'Previously, I never thought about what I could do in the future. I just tried my best every time I had an opportunity,' said Hui. 'I think there will be many opportunities for animators in Hong Kong and on the mainland, where the development of animation is at the preliminary stage. The future relies on them [young animators], and if there's anything I can help them with, call me and I'll come back.' Shrek the Third opens on June 28
