Amin Abbas
DUBAI: The first Emirati animated show ‘Freej’ returned this year, after a hiatus period that lasted 11 years, with a new season that features a modern look and deeper themes.
The CGI series was first released in 2006 and has gained region-wide and cross-generational popularity around the Middle East since its release.
‘Freej’ follows the stories of four elderly Emirati women (Um Saeed, Um Allawi, Um Saloom, and Um Khammas) living in a secluded neighborhood in modern-day Dubai.
The women live a peaceful life in the midst of the ever-expanding city around them, but the city’s boom unveils new social issues every day that they have to tackle and solve in their own simple and humorous way.
The new season was recently released on MBC’s Shahid platform, the biggest Arabic content streaming platform.
“It’s been 11 years since we revisited the show, we felt, at the fifth season, that we have managed to do our best and we cannot top that,” Mohammed Saeed Harib, the show’s creator, told Arab News Japan.
“We have worked with the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism to revamp the logo, character models, and characterizations for Modhesh and create his friend Dana, and it was an amazing experience for us to leave the ‘Freej’ comfort zone to try new things,” he added.
During the show’s hiatus period, Harib directed two live-action films. He also started an orchestral wedding musical service. “All of these experiences helped us to come back to the show and bring all of that passion into the latest season of the show,” he reflected.
The creator told Arab News Japan that he faced multiple challenges while working on the new season. “It’s hard to revisit a project that stopped 11 years ago,” he shared.
“It’s like leaving some friends and not seeing them for more than a decade and you need to go back and knock on the door and understand them and how to utilize them with a new generation with different themes that were known way back in the 2010’s,” he added.
The show upgraded many technical aspects this season, such as texturing and lighting effects, as well as the storytelling point of view. The show also introduced deeper concepts this season.
“We created an episode about the people of determination and their struggles as well as about space, AI technology, and more. These are grown-up themes and I’m very happy that I’m allowed to speak about them and communicate them in general, as we have to keep up with technology,” Harib said.