UNICEF turns a child’s superhero story into cartoon animation for Earth Day

Ha Noi, 22 April 2020 – UNICEF releases today a new cartoon animation addressing climate change to coincide with the very special celebration of the 50^th anniversary of ‘Earth Day’. The cartoon’s title is Hai Moc Nhi – named after the hero, an amazing girl with an incredible superpower that allows her to awaken and unite people to fight against climate change to save the earth. The animation is based on the original story and drawings from 12 year-old Nguyen Ngoc Gia Han from Viet Nam. 

 “Through the story, I would like to tell everyone that climate change is threatening our lives and we can only protect ourselves by joining hands with each other. Hai Moc Nhi’s superpower - our superpower is the power of Dragon father and Fairy mother, the superpower of ocean and forest, which is already inside all Vietnamese people” said 12 years old Nguyen Ngoc Gia Han, author of the story.

Global evidence confirms that children are the most vulnerable to and most concerned about climate change and environmental degradation. Viet Nam is among the top countries affected by climate change, which has the potential to undermine many of the gains we have made in child survival and development – and poses even greater risks ahead. “On the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, the unfolding COVID crisis has taught us some valuable lessons for how we honour and protect the only earth we have.  It has reminded us of how precious life is, how important clean air is for our lungs, how vital access to clean, running water is to our health, to protecting us from disease – the world can come together to solve big problems, but we need to act today to ensure the future of our children”  said Rana Flowers, UNICEF Representative in Viet Nam.

Nguyen Ngoc Gia Han won the third prize of the Superhero Comic Contest, jointly organized in 2019 by UNICEF, the Viet Nam Disaster Management Authority - Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Young Pioneer Council with support from Artist Le Cat Trong Ly. The contest called on children across Viet Nam to create a superhero that can save the earth and fight against natural disasters and climate change. Hai Moc Nhi was selected by DeeDee Animation Studio, a well-known company based in Viet Nam to transform into the story into a real animation video as part of their support to UNICEF.

“Children’s imagination is without limit. Turning their ideas into visual images is both exciting and challenging. With this animation, we hope to contribute to raising awareness of the public about climate change as well as encouraging children to be creative to express themselves” said Dang Hai Quang - Founder and Executive Director of DeeDee Animation Studio.

The first winning artwork of the Superhero Comic Contest will also be transformed into an animation film that will be revealed later this year.

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For more information, please contact:

• Louis Vigneault-Dubois, UNICEF Việt Nam +84-24-38500241; +84-966539673; email : [email protected]
• Nguyễn Thị Thanh Hương, UNICEF Việt Nam, 84-24-38500225; +84-904154678; email: [email protected]