Super sixth for Shaabiat Al Cartoon in Ramadan

Fanar Productions has launched the landmark sixth season of its famous show, Shaabiat Al Cartoon, created by Haidar Mohammed who is also Fanar Productions General Manager and co-founder, as it hits screens with a new look this Ramadan.

The 27 episode show is aired every Ramadan, and this year viewers will be treated to the first season to be produced ‘in-house’ at Fanar’s own studios, meaning the quality of the animation is the best yet.

As well as the new animation style, Fanar Productions have also introduced three new characters to join the existing fans’ favourites. These will appear in three episodes of the latest season, and will bring two more Arabic dialects – Iraqi and Levant.

Shaabiat Al Cartoon’s creator and Fanar Productions co-founder and General Manager, Haidar Mohammed, said: “It always excites us to release a new season of Shaabiat Al Cartoon every Ramadan, and to become a Ramadan tradition in the UAE is fantastic. Bringing the animation in-house for 2011 rather than outsourcing it has helped us to feel even closer to the cartoon, and we can pay even more attention to detail to it, including giving Shaabiat Al Cartoon a new look for season six.

“The better quality will ensure fans will see the Shaabiat Al Cartoon mixture of comedy and entertainment while addressing social issues in an even more appealing light. Fans will also be able to help shape how season seven will look, by giving us feedback on the three new characters making their debut this year.”

The cartoon will also have an increased presence this year, with the cartoon available to watch on the ICE system on Emirates Airline aircraft in addition to a Shaabiat Al Cartoon stand at Modhesh World. Available to buy from the stand will be all previous seasons of the cartoon on DVD, plus the full range of Shaabiat Al Cartoon merchandise including back to school gear featuring a range of popular characters including Shambai, Bumhair, Atouga, Affari and Mhair, with the stand open to visit on Thursday and Fridays each week.

The cartoon has been supported by major sponsors again for 2011, with Etisalat acting as main sponsor. Different sponsors support various episodes which have certain storylines. On such sponsor is the General Authority of Civil Aviation which acts as sponsor to the story highlighting safe and responsible flying practices such as not accepting luggage from strangers at an airport. Other sponsors for 2011 include General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments, Masdar, Al Foah Date Company, and Media World.

Shaabiat Al Cartoon has been running since 2006 after being invented by Haidar Mohammed, who wished to create an entertaining and fun cartoon that focused on daily family and community issues facing people in the UAE and the Middle East. It has been aired on Sama Dubai TV every year and has become a traditional programme for Ramadan. The show features various accents and dialects in the show, including Khaliji, Iranian, Hindi, Levant and North African, making the appeal of the show widespread. English subtitles were also introduced for the DVD releases.