Tag Archives: Iwájú

African toon Iwájú set for Disney+

Iwájú comes from Ziki Nelson

Iwájú, an animated sci-fi series series produced by African entertainment company Kugali Media and Walt Disney Animation Studios, is set to debut on global streamer Disney+ next year.

The series is Disney’s first collaboration with an external animation studio in the company’s 100-year history.

Iwájú – meaning ‘future’ in Yoruba – is set in a futuristic Lagos and explores class, innocence, inequality and challenging the status quo. Details of the storyline are scant but it revolves around a rich heiress and a poor boy, Tola and Kole respectively. Tola also owns a giant robotic lizard as a pet.

The six-episode series is created and directed by Ziki Nelson, executive produced by Jennifer Lee and produced by Tolu Olowofoyeko, co-founder of Kugali Media.

tagged in: ,

African toon Iwájú to debut on Disney+

Iwájú comes from Tolu Olowofoyeku, Hami Ibrahim and Fikayo Adeola

African animated series Iwájú is set to debut on streaming platform Disney+ in 2022.

The series was developed by Nigerian comic artists Tolu Olowofoyeku, Hami Ibrahim and Fikayo Adeola and is a collaboration between pan-African comic book company Kugali Media and Walt Disney Animation Studios.

According to its producers, Iwájú, which means ‘the future’ in the Yoruba language, tells stories about the African continent and its history, embracing the present and also imagining its future

Set in Lagos, the sci-fi series will explore themes of class, innocence and challenging norms.

Director Ziki Nelson said: “It will combine Disney’s magic and animation expertise with Kugali’s fire and storytelling authenticity. Iwájú represents a personal childhood dream of mine to tell my story and that of my people.”

Walt Disney Animation Studios chief creative officer Jennifer Lee added: “We found Kugali comics from a BBC article highlighting the talented comic book artists. Their dream is to bring African stories created by African artists to the world, highlighting the diversity of cultures, histories and voices across the continent.

“Their talents as storytellers blew us away. I’m proud to announce the first-of-its-kind collaboration to bring original longform series to Disney+.”

tagged in: , , ,