Welcome to the neighbourhood

Emirati writer Aamena Al Mansoori has extended her creative talents to help the creators of Dubai's first cartoon hit the top spot this Ramadan.

Children waited with bated breath for the second series of Freej to start (along with quite a few adults too), after a successful initial launch this time last year.

Lammtara Pictures, in association with Dubai Media City and Arab Media Group, announced the launch of Freej, Part Two, the UAE's first animation project - at a press conference at Dubai's Knowledge Village auditorium earlier this month.

A hit

But the identities of many of the contributors are only just being revealed - as the new episodes hit the screens of thousands of families across the region.

Funded by the Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Establishment for Young Business Leaders, Freej was created by Mohammad Saeed Harib, managing director of Lammtara Pictures.

Al Mansoori, a graduate and faculty member of Ras al Khaimah Women's College, wrote the scripts for nine of the fun-filled, 15-minute episodes.

But the IT teacher by day is not new to storytelling as she is already the renowned author of Look into Your Eyes Hamda - a book which topped the UAE bestsellers' list last March.

Awards

Now Al Mansoori hopes the episodes of Freej will hit the right spot with viewers and will help the cartoon and team behind it win some awards of its own.

Al Mansoori explained how it all happened. She said: "I enjoyed Freej during Ramadan so much last year that I decided to email the team and see if there was any way I could get involved.

"After a few meetings my input was considered worthy and I started writing a few trial scripts. At first it was extremely difficult because I had to learn about each individual character and understand it as if they were real people.

"The team already had a very clear idea about each personality and I had to catch up with that before my episodes even made any sense."

Meaning neighbourhood in Arabic, Freej is the tale of four elderly UAE national women who reside in an old neighbourhood situated on the outskirts of the hustle and bustle of modern Dubai.

Talent

Al Mansoori wrote nine episodes including The Camp, After Ramadan, The Secret of Life, Jack of all Trades, The Competition, The Book of Stories, Magical Beads, The Journey and Blind Love.

She added: "Each episode took quite a long time to write. Some took two days and some took more than a week. It was strange how some just happened and others had to be worked at much harder. We started in January and I finished writing in May.

Freej will be running on Sama TV daily until September 27 at 7.15pm and on Dubai TV at 1am.

Al Mansoori's writing talent was recognised when she was in the seventh grade and her teacher submitted one of her stories to a Ministry of Education short story competition where she won first prize.

She added: "When we were children, my mother used to tell us stories before going to bed. She would wait to finish the tale the next night. The whole day I would imagine what the outcome could be and I attribute my ability to this early nurturing of my imagination.

"It was scary to see my work on television for the first time but I have had some excellent feedback from my students at college as well as friends and family. I hope I will be involved in future series."

Did you know?

Season two of Freej will be aired during Ramadan exclusively on Dubai Television and Sama Dubai
Season one is now available on DVD.

More than 7,500 DVD box sets of season one were sold in the first week of going on sale.

Season two introduces a new character - Abood, the grandchild of Umm Saeed.

The second season will also see celebrity appearances including the special casting of a famous UAE singer.

Merchandise available includes school books, bags, tissues, perfume, juices, chocolates, toys and laptop skins.

A taste of the episodes

It's summertime and the ladies decide to break their mundane routine and enrol in a women only summer camp that focuses on reliving the old days, complete with all the traditional activities that are now lost. They soon discover that reliving the old days isn't all that it's cracked up to be, not with a fierce camp leader such as Sa'ooda Salinga!

News of Umm Khammas's son coming back to town after a lengthy stay in the US dampens his mother's day. Fearing her son's reaction to her illustrious career path, she decides to try her luck at new, more respectful business endeavours, all which later proved to be a waste of time and money. She finally decides to get herself out of this mess by using her most effective tool; her tongue!

It's a very hot summer day and the four friends are trying to cope with the severe heat which slowly tests their patience. A quarrel soon erupts between the ill-tempered grannies about the importance of preserving water or in the case of Umm Khammas, wasting it. The sudden overheating of the city's electricity generator that night adds salt to the wound and the four friends now have to cope with the lack of electricity, and most important, the lack of water. In this episode, the ladies will soon learn that water is indeed the secret of life.

It's the eve of Eid and the ladies are gathered at their hanging out place. All seems well until Umm Khammas barges in and insists that they should go on a shopping spree, promising that she will cover all their expenses, thanks to the belated cheque she received for singing at weddings years ago. After a stop at the crowded supermarket, they head out to pick up their Eid dresses from Mushtaq the tailor, who is on the verge of a nervous breakdown, thanks to the long queue in front of his store. The morning of Eid is never complete without lots of kids who pass by each of the four ladies' houses for the expected donations, but little do they know what is in store for them and little does Umm Khammas know that her financial luck is about to run into a financial shock.