Nournews: Smart Kid was released under the name Talking Tiger in Israeli cinemas. According to the Israeli Kaan Network, the movie has earned over $15 million and has also been shown in Turkey, Russia, as well as Iran and Israel.
Israel's Channel 12 reported that the movie, whose income goes to Gaza children, is being shown in Israel. After controversy arose over the screening of Smart Kid in the children's section of Israeli cinemas, the film's distributor was forced to respond, claiming the film is not an Iranian product.
According to Israeli media outlets, after an Israeli university instructor released information about the animated movie, saying that The Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults of Iran played a role in making the film and that 1% of the earnings is expected to go to Gaza children, the film's distributor described the claim as "totally hallucinating" and introduced Malaysia as the film's origin.
The film was made by Behnoud Nekuei, Hadi Mohammadian, and Mohammad-Javad Janati in 2019 and has been introduced as a joint product of The Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults of Iran and Pouya Art Group.
Smart Kid (Bache-e Zerang in Persian) has been shown in several other countries before earning the title of Iran's highest-earning animated movie in the country's cinema history. The movie has been screened in Israeli cinemas under the title Talking Tiger. Israeli cinemas attract large crowds during this season, which marks the last days of summer vacation before the start of the new academic year.
A month and a half before Hamas’s attack on Israel, Iranian newspaper Farhikhtegan reported that the animated movie, produced by Hamed Jafari, had earned more than 37 billion tomans by the end of Aban 30. The producer had also promised that 1% of the earnings would be allocated to the children of Gaza.
According to an Israeli researcher, the animated movie Smart Kid was produced in two versions: one for Iranian cinemas and the other for international release. Red Keep, a film distributer company, responded to the controversy, stating that a French company had bought the film from Malaysia.
The company added that Malaysia has a strong reputation for contributing to the global animation industry, with many European and American companies showing interest in collaborating with it.
Without mentioning Iran by name, Red Keep stated that claims about the film being an Iranian product are "hallucinations" and are rooted in misunderstandings about how films are distributed and released in Israel. The company emphasized that all earnings from the film will remain in Israel, benefiting the cinemas showing the movie, as well as the film's production company. They warned that any claims about the film's earnings benefiting others would harm the Israeli staff and teams involved.
The company also noted that many films shown in recent months in Israel were made with "so much love" for displaced children. This refers to children who left their homes in northern Israel with their families or 1,000 children from southern Israel who had been away from their homes for a long time and have recently returned.
However, Red Keep's explanations have not convinced many Israeli media outlets. The Makor Rishon newspaper wrote that the Iranian animation, with "messages full of violence," has infiltrated Israeli cinema. The Srugim website described the screening of the Iranian film in Israel as "astonishing."
NOURNEWS