American streaming giant Disney+ has released the official trailer for the first Pan-African Disney+ series,’ Iwaju’. The series is set to stream all over the world from February 28, with a mobile game titled “Disney: Iwájú Rising Chef” coming to both Android and iOS the same day.
Disney+ is collaborating with Kugal Media, a non-U.S. studio for a complete animated series for the first time. The series is a science fiction coming-age story and will be produced by the pan-African comic entertainment company Kugal Media.
The six-episode limited series is about two kids, Tola and Kole, who exist on different sides of the wealth spectrum, bobbing and weaving through a futuristic Lagos run by gang leader and tech pioneer Bode.
The series is written and co-directed by Kugali Media Co-founder Olufikayo “Ziki” Adeola, with production design credits to Hamid Ibrahim and Toluwalakin Olowofoyeku as cultural consultants. It explores themes relating to class, innocence, and having the audacity to challenge the status quo.
Iwájú’s cast is made up of masterful Nigerian vocal talents Simisola Gbadamosi as Tola, a young girl from the wealthy island, and Siji Soetan as her best friend Kole, a self-taught tech expert. The two explore the dangerous tapestry of a neo-futuristic Lagos filled with greed and corruption alongside voice actors Femi Branch, Dayo Okeniyi, and Weruche Opia.
The soundtrack, out March 1st, will feature African-influenced music by renowned Nigerian composer Ré Olunuga. “I rarely bring my own emotions into writing a score. In this case, it couldn’t be avoided,” Olunuga said in a press release.
“In addition to Tola’s adventurous spirit, Kole’s ingenuity and the many other fun and beautiful emotional threads explored in Iwájú – the score is steeped in my own very deep love for Lagos and its multiplicitous layers.”
