Who is Any Malu?
She boasts three million YouTube subscribers and an additional half-million on Instagram. Her content ranges from personal life updates to playful parodies of Disney movies and Picasso paintings. Notably, her appearance features two distinct shades of pink for her hair and skin. However, it's important to mention that she is a fictional character.
How was Any Malu created?
Any Malu, hailed as the "first 100% animated YouTuber" when she joined the platform in August 2015. She has earned immense popularity, especially in her home country of Brazil, amassing millions of devoted fans who even visit the creators' studio hoping to catch a glimpse of her. Her charm has not gone unnoticed by Cartoon Network, which gave her a show on its Latin American channel, attracting a substantial audience of kids aged 4–11.
Remarkably, Any Malu began as a promotional mascot for Combo Estúdio, a production company based in Rio de Janeiro. However, she quickly outshone her original purpose, becoming the studio's most recognizable creation. Despite Combo Estúdio's work with major players like Disney and Google, Any Malu remains their star attraction, illustrating the success of homegrown intellectual property.
Creating Any Malu at Combo
Instead of slowly building their "portfolio," they decided to showcase their expertise in animation by creating a "YouTuber" who would "share" their work online. Any Malu was intended to serve as their spokesperson, providing them with the opportunity to reach a broader audience in the animation industry. She came into existence more as a marketing strategy than a long-term project.
They realized they possessed something valuable when human digital influencers heard about the project and started engaging in conversations with them about it. By the time they premiered Any Malu on YouTube, there had already been a significant amount of hype, and her channel experienced rapid growth.
Any Malu and her fans
Fans began to follow her on social media, and many of them even attempted to contact Combo's headquarters to connect with her. They reached a point where they needed to remove their address from their website because they had started to receive fans almost daily, often arriving without prior appointments and typically during their busiest workdays.
Their next step was to perform live productions with the character. It was always a challenge to work with "live" animation, and they had already had some experiences with Any Malu. They had conducted calls with voice actors, which they later animated. They also organized presentations with pre-recorded appearances by Any Malu. Now, they were actively exploring new methods of achieving this, such as featuring a live-action Any Malu or using real-time animation.
Interesting facts about Any Malu
- Any Malu is a popular animated YouTuber known as "the first 100% animated YouTuber."
- She joined YouTube in August 2015 and quickly gained fame, especially in her home country of Brazil.
- Any Malu's YouTube series led to her own show on Cartoon Network's Latin American channel, which was a hit among children aged 4-11.
- She was created by Combo Estúdio, a production company based in Rio de Janeiro, originally as a marketing tool for their animation services.
- Any Malu became Combo Estúdio's most well-known product and outshone their other endeavors, even though the studio had worked with major companies like Disney and Google.
- Fans of Any Malu often visited Combo Estúdio's headquarters in hopes of meeting the animated character, prompting the studio to remove their address from their website.
- She played a significant role in popularizing homegrown intellectual property (IP) and showcased the potential of animated characters as digital influencers.
