Geng: The Adventure Begins

Nizam Razak's 2009 Malaysian animation follows two friends on a village holiday. Badrol and Lim mean to spend time in his grandfather's durian orchard and instead find a clue pointing to a house deep in the forest. The film joins the adventure form to local folklore. The beings in the forest come from Malay tales; the narrative is built for a young audience and the horror kept measured. The production was counted among the first animated features made at this scale in Malaysia and is spoken of as a threshold for the industry. The design is colourful and rural life shown in detail. Who it's for: those who like family animation and Southeast Asian folklore. Who it's not for: viewers expecting a complex narrative; the film follows a simple adventure structure.