The Donkey King smashes box office record, rakes in Rs30 million

Pakistan’s biggest release of the year and Geo’s first animated film “The Donkey King” has broken all previous box office records of animated films on the first day of its release.

Written, directed and co-produced by Aziz Jindani, TDK is equally popular among the young and the old. It premiered in Karachi on Friday and released for public screening on Saturday. The film had a gigantic opening, raking in record-breaking Rs13.5 million on Sunday. It has so far minted Rs30 million in the opening week.

Apart from its successful run at cinemas, film’s track, trailer and teasers have also recorded more than 10 million hits on Facebook and YouTube.

Entertainment, politics, entertainment – due to these three words all films can easily be narrated. The Donkey King is also one such film, a blockbuster, entertainment which is interesting to watch.

It’s not easy to get too much from one movie but TDK is such a film which is entertaining that one cannot feel bored watching it. This is a fast-paced movie which consists of multiple brief scenes.

The most significant aspect of the film is that it is getting compared with Bollywood’s” Naiti Raj” and our very own classic “Insan aur Gadha”.

It promises to be a fun film for all ages. This film is not only a treat to watch for children but also quite enjoyable for elders.

It is also for leaders and for voters, for kings and their slave-like subjects.

The visuals and voiceover quality match the international standard, breaking the paradigm versus past animation feature attempts in Pakistan.

The Donkey King will surely redefine the popularity animated genre in Pakistan. Praising the movie at theatres, the children loved listening to ‘Donkey Raja’ track while many promised to bring their parents and watch Donkey King once more.

There are lesson in this film for all but at the end Donkey King will win hearts and minds.

“My name is Mangu Mangu Jan Mangu--the washing machine” the dialogue from the film which is getting rapidly popular amongst children.

The strongest point of The Donkey King is its unique, locally relevant storyline, tongue  in cheek dialogues and characters that are built to last. The content speaks to the kids but consistently winks at the adult which will make it a worthwhile watch for all age groups.

It’s not easy to get too much from one movie but TDK is such a film which is entertaining that one cannot feel bored watching it. This is a fast-paced movie which consists of multiple brief scenes.

The most significant aspect of the film is that it would be compared with Bollywood’s” Naiti Raj” and our very own classic “Insan aur Gadha”. It promises to be a fun film for all ages. This film is not only a treat to watch for children but also quite enjoyable for elders. This is for leaders and for voters, for kings and their slave-like subjects.

The visuals and voiceover quality match the international standard, breaking the paradigm versus past animation feature attempts in Pakistan. TDK will surely redefine the popularity animated genre in Pakistan.

Praising the movie at theatres, the children loved listening to ‘Donkey Raja’ track. Many promised to bring their parents and watch Donkey King once more.

There are lesson in this film for all but at the end Donkey King will win hearts and minds.

“My name is Mangu Mangu Jan Mangu--the washing machine” dialogue now a days getting popular in the children.

The strongest point of The Donkey King is its unique, locally relevant storyline, tongue & cheek dialogues and characters that are built to last. The content speaks to the kids but consistently winks at the adult which will make it a worthwhile watch for all age groups.

As the name suggests, the story of “The Donkey King” revolves around a donkey named Mangu who is never taken seriously and accidentally becomes king, something he had never imagined. Mangu dreams big but always surrenders to life and its hardships when reminded of his descent. He dreams of becoming rich, having a car of his own with the love of his life sitting next to him and much more. A stroke of good fortune (or political maneuvering) lands him as the king of his kingdom, Azad Nagar. Simple as he is, Mangu understands what it means to be a king only when he learns the true colours of people in his surroundings. Whether he remains a king or loses the power and position is something viewers will know when they watch the film.

Technically, the film’s animation was above-average. The songs, especially ‘Donkey Raja’, were catchy and the dialogues were simple but funny. Coming to voice artists, Afzal Khan (aka as Jan Rambo) was commendable as Mangu, Hina Dilpazeer as Miss Fitna was excellent while Ghulam Mohiuddin as Badshah Khan outshined many others.

While it will entertain kids given the human-like animal characters, the colourful setting and catchy music, the elders will enjoy the hidden meaning behind some politically-charged dialogues and characters.