Right At The Drawing Board.(Cover Story)

Byline: Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop

Having worked on some of the Matrix films, "Shrek" and "Stuart Little," Nikson Fong is very much in demand in Hollywood as a digital-animation specialist. Yet when he decided to set up his own production company to develop an animated, feature-length kung fu comedy, he chose to return to his native Singapore. Although its digital scene is still small, Singapore does offer artists like Fong very strong intellectual-property laws, which are on a par with those of the United States.

Singapore may be a couple of years behind Taiwan and South Korea in 3-D animation, but it's rapidly making up for lost time. This summer, Lucasfilm, headed by iconic director George Lucas, announced plans to set up its first studio outside the United States in the city-state. The studio, which should open next spring, will produce television shows and computer games, and will also work on a full-length animation film, which would be Lucas's first. "Lucasfilm's decision to set up its studio here raises our credibility level," says Jacqueline ...