How the Indonesian siblings behind Animasinopal found YouTube success through animation and 'pure chaos'
In CNA Lifestyle’s new series on popular YouTube content creators in the Southeast Asia, we meet a comic artist-turned-animator who keeps Indonesians laughing with the help of his two siblings.
What do K-pop, Indonesian ghosts and a giggly school-going girl have to do with one another? Absolutely nothing – unless you’re acquainted with the world of Animasinopal.
In the animated sketches by these Indonesian content creators who are based in Bogor, located south of Jakarta, characters and stories from popular culture are parodied through slice of life shorts made for a Bahasa Indonesia-speaking audience.
Animasinopal started out in 2015 as “Si Nopal.” It was an online comic strip by full-time content creator Naufal Faridurrazak, which centred around a character loosely based on Naufal himself – “Nopal” being a simplified way to spell and say “Naufal.”
Then in 2018, Naufal wanted to find new ways to bring his comic characters to life. “I wanted to create something that can enjoyed without having to read,” he said.
“Back then, the comics scene was pretty saturated so I wanted to try something else.” And so the 27-year-old, who enjoyed watching movies from the likes of Disney and DreamWorks, taught himself animation.
Animasinopal is one of the most popular online animated cartoons in Indonesia. CNA Lifestyle went to Bogor to meet the three siblings behind it.
ROLLING WITH IT, GOING VIRAL
Together with his 21-year-old sister Nadiah Rifatummumtaz, Naufal began improvising character voices. "We thought, 'let's just roll with it' and the end result was pure chaos" said Naufal. The siblings would regularly end up laughing and shouting during their recording sessions.
“The initial results were so chaotic, I asked Nadiah, ‘how is this going to work? It’s so broken’ and she told me, ‘nevermind, just upload’.”
Not long after, their efforts bore fruit – with Naufal’s effervescent animations becoming consistent viral hits. One iconic video was about Nopal going camping with his sister Cute Girl (aka Cuty).
The 71-second Strange Stories While Out Camping! clocked millions of views due to Cuty’s antics, which included singing a camping song in her trademark high-pitched voice. She then proceeds to share how BTS member Jungkook appeared in her dream, much to Nopal’s annoyance.
Curiously, the video went viral in Malaysia first before it became a hit in Indonesia. Naufal took it as feedback on where audiences were coming from for their videos full of non sequitur jokes, narrative twists, unexpected endings and those exaggerated voiceovers.
More YouTube content creators in Southeast Asia:
THE ANIMASINOPAL GUIDE TO MAKING PEOPLE LAUGH
Animasinopal videos can roughly be categorised as those “which conceptually centres around family, social situations and film parodies.” The jokes, gags and character designs are built on top of these main ideas.
In Animasinopal’s videos, with its plain broken humour, logic works differently. “If you notice, in our Youtube bio it says, ‘Welcome to Animasinopal, broken animations…’” Broken because the character dialogs are always running away from the script that they become chaotic and unpredictable. “We can have a Siamese fighting fish on screen and suddenly, it’s breakdancing!” said Naufal.
Humour aside, Naufal reckoned one main key to their comedic success was "regardless of how the characters turn out, if you include things people recognise in their day-to-day, they will relate to it."
“WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH CUTE GIRL’S FACE?”
And then there’s also the runaway success of Cute Girl, whose larger-than-life character Naufal jokingly described as embodying his sister Nadiah’s most annoying traits – attention-seeking, self-absorbed and slightly delusional.
“She is so much like Cuty that I feel like she’s born to be Cuty, not to a be human being!” he quipped.
Cuty's lack of facial features – save for two curved lines – has also been a recurring topic of debate in Animasinopal's comments section on YouTube.
The design behind Cuty’s character was something the siblings came up with back in primary school. "We used to be really outdoorsy and would come across rose apples and my siblings and I thought it would be funny to make a character’s face to look like rose apples,” said Naufal.
And those two lines are, in fact, Cuty’s cheeks. "She is a human being who has overdeveloped cheeks. Like a cake with too much raising agent," he deadpanned.
BECOMING A FAMILY AFFAIR
To meet the demands of pushing out animated shorts on a regular schedule, Naufal's brother, Ridwan Fauzanullah, left his job as an administrative staff at a bakery to help out. He’s now largely in charge of keyframing – animating movements frame by frame.
Nadiah herself also picked up some skills with the graphic pen and tablet and is now Animasinopal's colouring department.
Together with Naufal, who continues to draw the characters, the trio also voices the cast of characters that has slowly grown in number over the years. Not even the parents were spared – their parents also voice parody versions of themselves: Abah Enol and Bunda Titan.
Content creation soon became a regular activity for the siblings. Ridwan also has two animation channels on YouTube: Komedi Kuncir and Fabelenial. Meanwhile, Nadiah makes funny videos featuring their family’s antics in her own channel, Si Nadiah.
Keeping Animasinopal within the family meant convenience – and also meant not having to keep their guard up.
"Because we are always shouting and laughing during recording sessions. Shouting at your own family members brings out a different kind of relief," said Naufal.
“When I watch my animations, it looks like our family portrait but in the form of animation.”
A NEW PLACE TO CALL HOME
The success of Animasinopal has proven to be a blessing for Naufal and his family, thanks in part to earnings from YouTube videos as well as commissioned works.
"Back when I was making comics, we were not able to buy a house, the (earnings) were just enough to put food on the table… Now that we're on YouTube, were able to save and get this house and get our own vehicle" said Naufal.
In 2021, they were able to move on from renting a house in a more inaccessible part of town to a new place where delivery riders can actually find their address, he joked. “Now our food deliveries actually reach us. Back then, the delivery rider would ask for directions. In the end, our neighbour gets the food."
Naufal said his new house is also more conducive for creating content. “Now we have air conditioning but back then, huddling together to record lines was like recording in a furnace,” he said.
The walls in the new house also isolate noise much better. "Sometimes when we screamed for help when recording lines, people actually come to our (old) house. Like once, when we had a fire scene,” said Naufal.
Elements of their new place have also found their way into their videos – like the fish pond which Naufal’s father specially asked for. It makes regular appearances in Nadiah's own YouTube channel – where Naufal is seen parodying The Little Mermaid. In another their father dips his feet in as though he was at a fish spa.
SEEKING FRESH IDEAS (FROM THE TOILET)
To keep the channel’s content exciting, Animasinopal has since ventured beyond the Cuty-verse. While the cast of characters were limited to Nopal’s family members, Cuty and her friends in the early days, “now, I want new and different concepts, like talking animals and body parts,” said Naufal.
“I get most of my ideas while going to the loo and when I look at the environment around me to look for ideas, I thought ‘oh yes, the materials are just here,’” said Naufal. “Turns out there are many stories that you can make from the toilet world.”
This has given birth to a series of videos featuring the adventures of anthropomorphised waste matter in the human gastrointestinal system. Yes, you read that right. Animasinopal also animates body parts such as the brain, pimples and body cells.
But it’s not just all for laughs – the literal toilet humour animation also has educational value – such as a talking faeces highlighting the importance of dietary fibre intake.
On the other side, Animasinopal also features supernatural beings – and the mundane problems they face. In another popular short video, a female Javanese spirit known as Badaruwuhi kidnaps Cuty, only to let her go because she could only dance to Blackpink songs instead of traditional dances.
The video was also a parody inspired by a viral Twitter thread known as KKN Di Desa Penari which was adapted into a horror movie.
“BELIEVE IN YOURSELF”
Animasinopal has come a long way. “I used to lack confidence in myself and dismiss my own potential” but now “nothing is impossible if we start with an optimistic mind”.
“My advice to people who want to pursue animation is to believe in yourself. Don’t make excuses – that you do not have the means,” he said.
“Now, you can even make animations with your phone. There are animations on YouTube made with the mobile phone,” said Naufal, recalling the very early days when he first started drawing comics.
“You would not believe it – I was using an Android phone. With my petite fingers, I drew.”