In an industry-building effort for Saudi Arabia, new Saudi animation studio Manga Productions has teamed up with Japan’s Toei Animation on a $10 million to $15 million animation feature titled “The Journey,” an epic based on Saudi folklore to be directed by Shizuno Kobun, whose credits include “Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle.”Manga and Toei will collaborate on the pre-production and creation of story and the character design with Japanese and Saudi artists working together, they said in a joint statement.The co-production stems from a pact between the two companies made in November 2017, one month before Saudi Arabia lifted its 35-year ban on cinemas.“‘The Journey’ is a milestone project for Manga,” said Manga Productions CEO Bukhary Essam, who is at Cannes with members of the Manga creative team.“What we are doing here with ‘The Journey’ is representative of our larger role in creating an ecosystem throughout
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