From Lagos to Your Screen: Meet the Geniuses Bringing a Futuristic Twist to Disney’s Latest Project, ‘Iwaju’

An original animated series set in a futuristic Lagos, Nigeria is created by Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pan-African entertainment company, Kugali.

In ‘Iwaju’, a young girl from a wealthy island and her best friend, a self-taught tech expert, discover the secrets and dangers hidden in their different worlds as they come of age.

This film, directed by Olufikayo Ziki Adeola, is crafted by Kumali filmmakers and features Hamid Ibrahim, the production designer, and Toluwalakin Olowofoyeku, the cultural consultant. This film combines unique visual elements with technological developments inspired by Lagos’ spirit.

An Adeola and Halima Hudson screenplay is based on a screenplay written by Christina Chen, the director of Disney Animation. A six-episode event airing exclusively on Disney+ on Feb. 28, 2024, with Simisola Gbadamosi, Dayo Okeniyi, Femi Branch, Siji Soetan, and Weruche Opia’s voices.

A documentary special screened across three continents that debuted Feb. 28 on Disney+ tells the story of the founders of the pan-African entertainment company Kugali, who worked with Walt Disney Animation Studios to realize their dream of creating an original animated series. ABC News Studios and Walt Disney Animation Studios bring you the brains behind this production.

TOLUWALAKIN OLOWOFOYEKU

Toluwalakin Olowofoyeku (Cultural Consultant) is a pioneer in the Nigerian video game industry and co-founder, president, and CTO of Kugali, the African-based media company founded in 2017, which publishes African comics from all over the continent and promotes African storytelling through augmented reality, comics, animation, and games.

He is currently directing Kugali’s narrative roster – when he is not making video games – based on his years of experience across many professional and artistic spaces. He is currently working on a long-form science fiction animated series in partnership with Walt Disney Animation Studios called “Iwaju,” which will premiere on Disney+ on February 28, 2024.

In Lagos, Nigeria, Olowofoyeku developed an interest in comic books, video games, and animation at the age of five. A set of encyclopedias (World Book International: Young Scientist Series) encouraged his curiosity and knowledge as a child, leading to his interest in science.

The cultural consultant’s job is to make sure everything feels grounded and like Lagos, something I have been doing for years in the comic book space at Kugali.

“When recounting a tale, be it from Ghana, Zimbabwe or Kenya, I ensure to capture the essence of its specific setting. My upbringing and current residence in Lagos made this task effortless for this particular project. However, for future projects centered on other locations like Ghana, I may need to seek input from a fellow Ghanaian. As for Iwájú, which takes place in Lagos, my intimate knowledge of the city allows me to accurately portray its atmosphere and distinguish what seems out of place,” explained Olowofoyeku.

In addition to comic books and animation, Olowofoyeku loves video games, but video games are his greatest passion.

“My efforts brought together the Nigerian community of video game developers. Through my platform, developers can easily connect with each other. This initiative was launched alongside Kugali, as I recognized the particular challenges of creating games while being based in Nigeria. Thus, in addition to my goal of producing video games, I also aimed to create a conducive environment for others to do the same.”

As Kugali was created, we hoped to inspire African people to tell visual stories. In addition, it will help the wider society see what’s possible. In addition, Olowofoyeku pointed out that it has already opened parents’ eyes to the possibility of their children being able to make comic books full-time.

OLUFIKAYO ZIKI ADEOLA

It has been said that Ziki the Director/Screenwriter/Original Story is a filmmaker, entrepreneur, co-founder and former CEO of Kugali Media and is also an award-winning international filmmaker and entrepreneur. While Adeola lives in London, production of “Iwájú” has involved talent working remotely from Nigeria, Uganda, London, Montreal, and Burbank.

He studied creative writing at City University in London, where he found guidance and a community within the entrepreneurship team, and wrote his first screenplay there.

He followed his early influences with cartoons, comics, and Disney animation by writing his first graphic novel, “Iku”. Throughout his career, he found the soundtracks and scores for Disney films to be inspirational and resonated with his creative process. His passion for manga and anime, particularly “Dragon Ball Z” and “Naruto,” influenced his desire to become a storyteller.

As a storyteller, he was influenced by manga series comics like “Fullmetal Alchemist” and “Berserk,” which showed him what could be achieved through art and animation.

As Ziki explained in an interview with BD Weekender, Iwájú is the beginning of their journey into animation.

Prior to Iwájú, they had done animations on a much smaller scale.

As this is the first full narrative, I think it is the beginning of a series that will ignite the imaginations of all of us.

There are themes which reflect the harsh realities of Lagos, and there are themes which challenge the status quo, innovate and reflect the spirit of Lagos, among others.

The reasons why I had all of these things was because I wanted something that was authentic to Lagos and I also wanted something that people could watch and feel hopeful when they left the screen. “I am an optimistic person who holds a lot of hope in Lagos, and my ideas are rooted in my experience living there.”

HAMID IBRAHIM

Iwáj’s Production Designer is Hamid Ibrahim.

A year after his birth, Ibrahim moved to Kenya where he spent the next nine years of his life. When he saw a commercial featuring the Mona Lisa during this period, his interest in art was sparked, and he developed a lifelong fascination and appreciation for Leonardo DaVinci.

One of Ibrahim’s earliest childhood inspirations was the 1994 animated masterpiece, “The Lion King,” produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Despite not fully understanding the film at the time, he felt a strong affection and connection to it due to its use of Swahili language. As an adolescent, revisiting the movie had a profound effect on Ibrahim and it has remained his top animated movie ever since. It was during this period that his aspiration of creating a work that would resonate with people globally first materialized, although he initially doubted its attainability.

Having spent nine years in Kenya, Ibrahim returned to Uganda to live with his grandmother, while his mother moved to London in search of better employment opportunities. He was reunited with his mother before turning 18.

With BD Weekender, Ibrahim shares some of his experiences. As a child, I grew up in Uganda and there is a distinct way that I saw the world and the system. As compared to the UK, Uganda is much stricter. In the UK, you get more freedom, but Uganda is more strict.

As a result, I’m able to work hard, but not boxed in, in terms of the way I think. I take bold steps most people don’t want to because I believe in myself.”

His approach to producing the series was as follows: “In science fiction, people blend two elements together. For instance, flying cars don’t exist in our world, but they would depict the future of the future. That’s not what we did. The approach was to think about what would benefit Lagos Nigeria. The reason we used flying cars was that if you were stuck in traffic and could fly over it, you would do that.”

In his words, there were some hard things he had to do, but they were still fun. “You’re working with Disney, which is a very experienced company. The Original Lion King film inspired me to like animation.”

CHRISTINE SERVICE

This is a first-of-its-kind collaboration between World Disney Animation Studios and Nigerian based Kugali Animation Studios, said Christine Service, general manager of World Disney Company Africa.

“This is the first time Disney has collaborated with Nigerian film makers.” The series takes place in Lagos, which is very exciting. It depicts the Lagos that we all know as well as the city’s futuristic side.”

A Disney spokesperson said that story telling is at the core of what they do, and they focus on creative excellence, quality and innovation when telling those stories.

“We also take great care to tell stories where audiences can see themselves and their worlds reflected,” he continued. As a company, we found this story particularly compelling because it aligned with Disney’s own objectives and has never been told before.”