Looking sharp: Characters in Hi Pencil, the first stop-motion cartoon in Viet Nam. — Photo courtesy xinchaobutchi.com

HCM CITY (VNS) — The first Vietnamese-made stop-motion series Xin Chao But Chi (Hi Pencil) will be brought to cinemas this June, offering a feast of entertainment to children for free.

The series, which was broadcast on TV last year and attracted young audiences, is produced by Huynh Thanh Thanh and Pham Phuong Anh, featuring 60 short cartoons telling the story of how a pencil adapts to life with a family of pens.

The series was developed from the namesake five-minute cartoon which won a prize from the United Nations in the Plural+ Video Festival held in the US in 2011.

In creating the stop-motion cartoon, the female producers used 1,000 photos and put clay on the pens to make them look like human beings. They also used handmade props and backgrounds for the cartoon, spending three sleepless days and nights finishing the series.

Since gaining the support of Dien Quan Media Company last year, the 22-year-old girls launched Xin Chao But Chi Studio and developed the award-winning short into a 60-episode series with educational messages for audiences on soft skills, protecting the environment and morality.

The series will be shown in four 20-minute screening shifts every Sunday morning from 10am to 12pm at BHD Star Cineplex Icon 68, 2 Hai Trieu Street, HCM City, starting on June 9. It will be dubbed by young actors such as Ngoc Trai and Tuong Vy.

The screening will form part of the Enjoying Summer with Pencil event to be held on June 1 at the city's Children House at 169 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street.

Now in its second year, the festival is held annually to celebrate the International Children's Day.

Free tickets for the screening can be collected at the event, from Xin Chao But Chi Studio at 39 Dinh Cong Trang Street, or at the cinema. — VNS