Characters

The protagonist of the series is a nine-year-old boy named Mat, who typically wears a sarong pelikat
and a white singlet. Sporting a broad nose, small eyes, and untidy black hair, the short and rounded
boy resembles his creator, Lat, as a child.[19] Mat has a younger sister, Ana, and they live in a house
with their father and mother, Yap and Yah, respectively. Their nuclear family structure is predominant
in the village. Yap's mother, Opah, does not live with them but is often seen in their house.[20] Also
frequently appearing are Mat's buddies, Bo and Tak, whose names are components of the Malay
word botak (bald).[21] The two are styled after comic characters of traditional wayang kulit (shadow
play);[19] Bo is the more intelligent of the pair, while Tak has a tendency to be a show-off.[11] Other
supporting characters include Normah (a girl formerly from the city) and Mrs. Hew (Mat's teacher).
[22]

The Malay and English voices of the characters were dubbed by Malaysian voice actors. Child actors
were employed for the younger roles;[10] however, Mat, Ana, Bo, and Tak were voiced by actors who
were in their early twenties.[23][24] Certain actors had the task of voicing multiple roles; for
example, the voice director was responsible for speaking the roles of Yah and Mrs. Hew. Initially,
voice talents were hired in Los Angeles to dub the English version, but they "kept slipping into a
Jamaican accent".[10] Although this soundtrack was not used in the series, the producers felt it was
too humorous to waste and included it in The Making of Kampung Boy,[10] which was broadcast a
week before the start of the series.[25]

Setting

Whereas Kampung Boy the comic book was based on life in the 1950s, its animation spin-off was set
in the 1990s.[14] Although the scenery and details are exaggerated, the animation is accurate in its
depiction of the Malaysian village and the life of its inhabitants.[26] Dr. Rohani Hashim, of Universiti
Sains Malaysia's School of Communication, called the series a "detailed recreation of a rural Malay
childhood".[27] The layout of Mat's village and the style of its houses are patterned after those in the
rural areas of Perak where clusters of houses line a river which provides water for the villagers'
needs. The children play in the surrounding jungle, while the adults toil in the fields and commute to
the city to work.[28]

Saperstein directed the use of warm and soft colours in the series; this colour scheme was modelled
after that of Winnie the Pooh,[10] bestowing a "soft, cuddly feel", according to Far Eastern Economic
Review journalist S. Jayasankaran, to the animation.[8] Much of the show's visuals followed Lat's art
style. Outlines are drawn in a bold manner, making objects stand out from the background – an
effect particularly aided by the rich use of brown, green, and yellow as the dominant colours. The last
two colours are heavily used in the depictions of nature, contrasting well with each other and
separating the background from the middle ground. Aside from being the main colour for the
houses, brown is used as the skin tone of the characters. Drawn with "short and round shapes", Mat
and his fellow Malays are highlighted with bright colours.[19]