For those of you in your 20s, it’s likely that you grew up watching Petualangan Sherina (Sherina’s Adventure) and have memorized all the songs (or maybe even lines) by heart. Good news to those who fall in this category, because your favorite childhood heroes Sherina and Sadam are heading back to the screen not only once, but twice.
Production house Miles Films recently announced that the beloved musical adventure film will get an animation adaptation and a sequel — the latter of which should answer the fans’ 20 years of wait. The original Petualangan Sherina was released in 2000 following a barren decade for Indonesian cinema. The movie propelled lead actress Sherina Munaf to become the nation’s leading child singer at the time.
Animasi Petualangan Sherina will introduce Sherina and Sadam’s adventure to today’s younger audience in the form of animation. It has been in the works since May and is currently entering the latest stage in character design development before its scheduled release at the end of next year. The animation flick will be Miles Films’ first animation project, in collaboration with Langit Animasi in Jakarta, Hompimpa Animation in Surabaya, and Afterlab in Bandung.
The sequel, Petualangan Sherina 2, will also be directed by Riri Riza and produced by Mira Lesmana. There aren’t many details about the story, but fans will get to see a grown-up Sherina (again played by Sherina herself) and Sadam (Derby Romero), who are now both 30 years old in real life.
The second film promises “action-filled adventure with cool, funny, thrilling songs.” In the teaser below, you can see adult Sherina and Sadam reprising their famous encounter scene with the song Jagoan playing in the background.
Sherina will be involved in the story development, while also working as the movie’s composer and music director, receiving the torch from her late mentor, composer Elfa Secioria. Her older sister Virania Munaf will be involved in story development and co-writing with the writer of the first film, Jujur Prananto, along with Mira and Riri. The sequel has entered the late stage of casting and preparation for song recording and choreography, and it’s scheduled for release towards the end of 2021.
Petualangan Sherina tells the story of Sherina, a girl who loves to sing and dance with her friends, moving to North Bandung, West Java from Jakarta due to her father’s job at the farm owned by Sadam’s father. After their unpleasant first encounter in the classroom, Sherina and Sadam became rivals. When Sherina and her family visited Sadam’s family farm, she found herself entangled in the dirty business of a tycoon named Kertarajasa, who ordered the abduction of Sadam because he wanted to take over the farm for his real estate project.
The film is considered as one of the most successful Indonesian films, as it was watched by over 1.6 million people at a time when there weren’t as many movie theaters as today. If you want to rewatch the OG Petualangan Sherina, the film’s available to stream on Netflix or Vidio.
