WHERE DISNEY MEETS LAGOS
‘Iwaju’ is an animated series set in a futuristic African state and which explores issues of the day. By Tymon Smith
Disney and Nigerian animation studio Kugali have partnered to create an original animated series, Iwaju, that had its premiere in Lagos in Nigeria a few weeks ago and is now available to stream on Disney Plus. Set in a futuristic Lagos, the series follows the adventures of Tola, a young girl living on a wealthy island, and her best friend and self-taught tech expert Kola, as they discover secrets and dangers hidden in their different worlds. Tymon Smith spoke to the creators.
What was the genesis of Iwaju?
Olufikayo Ziki Adeola (Director): We’ve been friends for a couple of decades now and the genesis of this project was our friendship back then. The foundation was spending our childhoods watching cartoons, reading comics and playing video games that inspired our inner nerds, our inner storytellers.
Disney reached out to us, and over the next couple of months a dialogue ensued. It became clear that there was synergy and we felt genuine love on the part of Disney with respect to empowering storytellers. They felt our love and passion for African stories. It felt like a match made in heaven — so, fast-forward a couple of years, and we made a TV series together.
Why did you set the story in a future version of Lagos?
Adeola: I was deliberate not to pitch something that was my vision for Lagos because I wanted to capture the spirit of Lagos as it currently exists. I’ve had questions about the series like, “Why are there still power cuts?” It’s because I didn’t want to create something utopian. I wanted the feature to be rooted in and to capture the Lagos experience so that people could watch it and recognise the Lagos they know. That inspired my creative spirit in the first place. Hammid Ibrahim (Production designer): In sci-fi, people tend to look at sci-fi elements and try to weave them together, blending sci-fi under one place. In this case, there’s a different approach — instead of weaving sideway into Lagos, we tried to maintain what it feels like in Lagos as we know it now. We decided to push specific things about Lagos into the future.
What were the reactions of the Lagos audience at the premiere?
Toluwalakin Olowofoyeku (Cultural consultant): The reaction was amazing. The people who know me — my parents, my family, my close friends, my pastor — were all there at the premiere.
They got to see what I’ve been working on for the last five years. The fact that my mom, who doesn’t watch anything animated, didn’t fall asleep, that was a “Wow!”
Adeola: It was a full-circle moment. I think back to my friendship with Tolu, when we were in secondary school and people ostracised us and made fun of us for our interests.
Hammid and I lived in London together for a while. We struggled. We were living off minimum wage, trying to make our dream come true, and people thought we were crazy. So to actually do something on this scale in front of our friends and family feels like a victory.
Iwaju is now streaming on Disney+