Sing to the Dawn (2008 film)

Dawan is a teenage girl who lives with her brother, father and grandmother in a small village in Batam.

Pairot is an entrepreneur and cruel landlord who is visually styled after Elvis Presley. Pairot extorts the villagers with an oppressive land tax. He claims to own the entire land of the village, and tells the villagers that he has a document from King Ramelan, the former ruler of the village. The village is unaware that Pairot is planning to evict the villagers and destroy the village to build a city with hotels and casinos.

After learning about Pairot's evil plans, Dana, with the help of her sister, struggle to save her beloved village. With help from Grandfather Wiwien, Dana tries to find the King's original will.

As a woman, Dawan's life is filled with difficulties and sadness. Dana is forced by her father to follow the village's patriarchal tradition. Her father has wanted to marry her off to Pairot's son, Benz.

Dawan and Kai are assisted by a group of jungle animals who can talk to each other, including bird parrots named Kakatu, crow named Minah, lizards, and bear named Tante Bear.

Accompanied by their animal friends, Dawan and Kai win scholarships and thwart the landlord's plan.

Sing to the Dawn was produced by Infinite Frameworks (IFW), an animation studio based in Batam, Indonesia.{{cite web|url=http://thejakartaglobe.com/artsandentertainment/indonesian-produced-animated-film-takes-kids-on-3-d-adventure/332449|title=Indonesian-Produced Animated Film Takes Kids on 3-D Adventure|last=Thee|first=Marcel|date=September 29, 2009|access-date=November 28, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100103030650/http://thejakartaglobe.com/artsandentertainment/indonesian-produced-animated-film-takes-kids-on-3-d-adventure/332449 |archive-date=3 January 2010|url-status=dead}} The English-language version of the film was released on 30 October 2008 in Singapore, followed by Korea, Malaysia and Russia. The film was screened at Pusan International Film Festival in South Korea and in Santa Monica.

Production was done in Batam over three years with a budget of US$5 million. After the English version of the film was completed in 2008, it was distributed to various countries. Sing to the Dawn was not immediately released in Indonesia because IFW wanted to introduce the film to an international audience first.

The film was an adaptation of a short story by Minfong Ho at the request of the Singapore government.{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}} The film was referred to as "the film work of the nation" by IFW, because out of the 150 animators in the studio, almost all were Indonesian except for five expatriates. The total number of expatriates involved is only 10. Many animators from Yogyakarta, London, and Solo were recruited for the production of this film.{{cite web|url=http://tekno.kompas.com/read/xml/2009/07/27/19194428/indonesia.berhasil.buat.film.animasi.layar.lebar.pertama|title=Indonesia Berhasil Buat Film Animasi Layar Lebar Pertama|last=|first=|language=id|date=July 27, 2009|access-date=November 28, 2009}} By contrast, the Singapore media wrote that the film is Singaporean because of the film initiative and funds from MediaCorp Raintree Pictures and Media Development Authority in Singapore.{{cite web|url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/274979/1/.html|title=Animated film "Sing to the Dawn" slated for 2008 release|last=Ng|first=Julia|date=May 8, 2007|access-date=June 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307043749/http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/274979/1/.html|archive-date=7 March 2008|url-status=dead}}

Meraih Mimpi (Dream On) is a film remake of Sing to the Dawn. It was released in Indonesia on 16 September 2009 by Kalyana Shira Films. Dream On is the second 3D animated film produced in Indonesia after Homeland (2004).{{cite web|url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2004/05/08/039homeland039-confusing-shows-promise.html|title='Homeland' confusing, but shows promise|last=Yuliandini|first=Tantri|date=May 8, 2004|access-date=November 28, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110112125/http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2004/05/08/039homeland039-confusing-shows-promise.html|archive-date=January 10, 2014|url-status=dead}}

Nia Dinata was hired to assist in the localization of the film. Erwin Gutawa, the film's composer, wrote new music for the film. In addition to language, the story was overhauled.

In releasing this film, Kalyana Shira Films worked with IFW and collaborated with Mediacorp Raintree Pictures, Scorpio East Pictures, Indika Pictures and Media Development Authority from Singapore.

Besides changing the names of the characters, the setting moved from a small Thai village to Batam.

According to Jakarta Globe, Dream On was filled with exciting adventures and was well-suited for young children.

In the book, Pairot never dressed up like Elvis. The conflicts experienced by the villagers in the book center around women's traditional gender roles in Southeast Asia. In the film, the story centered on Pairot's plans to evict the villagers. The plot in the film has less conflict between Dana and her father who told her sister that he did not believe that women need education. This scene was not developed in the film.

In the premiere of Sing to the Dawn at Jurong Bird Park, Singapore, Minfong Ho found the movie to be very different from the book and that they are not to be compared with each other. According to Ho, the film successfully demonstrated the character and spirit of Dawan. Ho said that if she were to rate the film, she would give it 11 out of 10.{{cite web|url=http://artzine.wordpress.com/2008/10/29/sing-to-the-dawn/|title=Sing to the Dawn Review|last=|first=|date=October 29, 2008|access-date=June 7, 2021}}

• Director Joko Anwar appeared as guest star and contributed his voice in the film as Ubay.
• Bemby Gusti is a musician who contributed the voice of Spider.

{{reflist|2}}

• {{Official website|https://web.archive.org/web/20090710010537/http://www.singtothedawn.com/}} English
• {{Official website|https://web.archive.org/web/20090730222453/http://meraihmimpi.com/}} Indonesian
• {{IMDb title|1304591}}

{{Nia Dinata}}

{{Infinite Frameworks}}

Category:2008 films

Category:2008 3D films

Category:Indonesian animated films

Category:Indonesian drama films

Category:Indonesian children's fantasy films

Category:2000s children's fantasy films

Category:2008 animated films

Category:Animated films set in Asia

Category:Singaporean animated films

Category:Films set in Indonesia