Dongeng Sang Kancil (2024) Review: The Classic Sang Kancil Fable Gets a Surprisingly Gritty Update

Growing up watching Hikayat Sang Kancil in the ’90s including a trio of animated shorts (Sang Kancil & Monyet, Sang Kancil & Buaya and Sang Kancil, Kerbau & Buaya) on television, I was looking forward to Dongeng Sang Kancil — the much-anticipated big screen version of the classic fable, which combines 2D and 3D animation. The latter even made its mark as the first Malaysian animated feature to incorporate such a hybrid animation, which reportedly took one and a half years to complete.

Kudos go to the team of animators from Les’ Copaque Production for its colourful and vibrant animation while capturing the fluidity of the character’s movements. No doubt the overall stunning visuals, complete with the manga-style panels make it quite an immersive experience worth watching on the big screen. Except for the somewhat overly amplified sound effects that can be annoying at times, making me wonder whether it was the technical fault coming from the cinema hall itself.

Now, for the story. Hjh Ainon Binti Arif and Nur Naquyah Binti Burhanuddin, who previously co-wrote Upin & Ipin: Keris Siamang Tunggal, don’t waste time getting to the point. It begins with a tragedy after Kancil the mouse-deer (voiced by Nini Razali) witnesses his mother’s death at the hands of an enigmatic dark shadow.

So, for the first half of the movie, director Ahmad Razuri Bin Roseli pays tribute to the animated shorts that defined (most) ’80s and ’90s childhood as we follow Kancil uses his smarts to overcome different situations. This includes outwitting Gajah Belukar the arrogant elephant (Md Fadzrian Ildzan Bin Fadzian) and later, an entertainingly playful homage to Sang Kancil & Buaya, where Kancil tries to fool Raja Buaya the crocodile (Ahmad Razuri Bin Roseli) and its reptilian cohorts.

Then comes the main event: Kancil’s quest for vengeance as the mouse-deer has been longing to try getting to the top of the cliff to seek the elusive dark shadow. When Gagak (Khairul Mu’az Bin Kamarul Ariffin) offers his help, Kancil figures the crow will be his best chance to finally fulfil his wish. Clocking around 90 minutes, Dongeng Sang Kancil moves at a brisk pace but here lies the problem: It’s just too fast to the point it forgets to take a breather to make way for story and most importantly, character developments.

The latter is especially true right from the get-go as the movie smacks immediately in the middle of the action, where the death of Kancil’s mother lacks the much-needed emotional weight. It happens too swiftly and it would help if the story takes considerable time to properly establish the relationship between Kancil and his mother, making the latter’s death all the more emotionally involving and heartbreaking.

When vengeance becomes the major theme in the second half of the movie, the tone changes dramatically in favour of something bleak and I mean, bleak with a capital “B”. Razuri raises the stakes as we learn Kancil faces imminent danger, notably with the introduction of the formidable antagonist Harimau Kumbang the domineering panther (Amir Masdi).

From here, it gets ugly that Dongeng Sang Kancil embraces the familiar survival of the fittest phrase to surprisingly grittier-than-expected results. The movie doesn’t shy away from graphic violence, gore and lots of blood that Harimau Kumbang and his gang subsequently prey against the animals. I get that Dongeng Sang Kancil wants to aim for both demographics including kids and adults and as much as the movie does a good job animating the visceral action set pieces, I can’t help but feel it pushes a little too far for its own good.

Frankly, I would appreciate better if the movie tones down the violence while finding the right balance to make good use of Kancil’s wits. Whereas the first half sees Kancil relying on his shrewdness to solve a problem, it seems to me the movie chooses to abandon, though not entirely, the one thing this mouse-deer is good at. Perhaps the latter part of the story is intended to depict Kancil getting so carried away with the act of vengeance that his sense of rationalisation is thrown off the cliff. And to let us know that deep hatred and rage are capable of overtaking even the astute mindset of the smartest animal like Kancil.

One of the primary aims of Dongeng Sang Kancil is meshing the old with the new. An added modern sensibility, to be exact but does it have to be this gratuitously cruel? What happens to maintaining the core element that Kancil is famous for in the first place? If only the second half continues to portray Kancil using his smarts even in the most dire situation instead of turning the titular mouse-deer into an uncharacteristically odd warrior-style, violence-begets-violence protagonist.

Still, a few shortcomings aside, Dongeng Sang Kancil offers enough goods from the aforementioned stellar animation to the first half of the movie that effectively combines action and humour. The songs such as “Hoo La Hey” and “Bayang Hitam” are great and so is the voice cast, notably Nini Razali as Kancil along with Amir Masdi as Harimau Kumbang and Loke Keng Sun as Sang Tupai. The latter plays Kancil’s elderly squirrel friend with martial arts skills and I enjoy watching the two playing off each other well with their buddy-movie chemistry. Do remember to stick around for a mid-credits scene.