Malaysian film makers have been urged to produce a movie from the famous novel ‘Sandokan’ a fictional pirate of the late 19th century, created by Italian author Emilio Salgari.
He is the protagonist of eleven adventure novels and is known throughout the South China Sea as “The Tiger of Malaya”.
In subsequent novels they battle against James Brooke, the Raja of Sarawak, and also travel to India to measure themselves against the Thugs, a notorious band of stranglers, devoted to the goddess Kali.
Deputy Tourism minister Datuk Dr James Dawos Mamit said Salgari who authored the novels was very popular and proved that contents from the Malay world can be turned into rich text appreciated by international readers.
“The struggles of Sandokan has created a phenomena which has a great impact among Italians and Europeans in general, especially among the young,” he told reporters after launching a novel titled ‘Sandokan: Malaysian Pirate’ at MaTic here today.
The programme organised by Institut Terjemahan Negara (ITNM) and the Italian Embassy in Malaysia was held in conjunction with “The Week of the Italian Language in the World” and attended by the Italian Ambassador to Malaysia, Folco de Luca Gabrielli.
Sandokan, the animated series was released in 1992 by BRB International, and broadcast in the United Kingdom on Channel 4.
This children’s animated show was loosely based on Salgari’s novels. In the show Sandokan (here an anthropomorphized tiger) is an usurped prince who travels the seas as a pirate seeking to reclaim his rightful throne from the Rajah of Sarawak.
The first nine episodes of the series are available in three DVD volumes in the United Kingdom while an animated movie, The Princess and the Pirate, was released in 1995.
Another animated series was released in 1998 from a co-production among RAI or Mediaset in 1993-94, Studio Sek and Mondo TV broadcast in Italy on Italia 1.
This series was composed into three parts: Sandokan, la tigre della Malesia (Sandokan, the Tiger of Malaysia, produced in 1998), Sandokan, la tigre ruggisce ancora (Sandokan, the Tiger roars again, 2000), Sandokan, il coraggio della tigre (Sandokan, the courage of the Tiger, 2004).
The adventures of this 26 episode cartoon series is based on the stories of the famous italian novelist Emilio Salgari (1862-1911).
The story takes place in the second half of the nineteenth century, and is situated in the Malaysian archipelago, Borneo, and India.
Co-produced with RAI Italy, and TF1 France, the series achieved a big success such that a second series was decided to be produced on this character.
An interactive computer game, a video special, a sticker album, along with other Merchandising articles such as books, toys, shirts, bags etc are now available based on the series.
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Jimmy Tan
