'Iwájú' Review: The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Keep Secrets
Coming of age is not so easy in Lagos, Nigeria, according to a fresh new series from Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pan-African entertainment company Kugali, now streaming on Disney Plus.
Turning 11 can be traumatic for anyone. Tola, however, is not just anyone.
Voiced by young Nigerian actress Simisola Gbadamosi, Tola is bright, cheerful, and smart. She bounces around on her hoverboard inside the luxurious family home -- located in Lagos, Nigeria, on an island reserved for the wealthy -- with boundless energy, making preparations for her birthday party with the assistance of a household robot, similarly equipped with the power of flight.
Tola is well-aware that her stern but loving father, Tunde (Dayo Okeniyi), is quite busy. He is a high-tech inventor and engineer, and has been driven to new heights of anxiety by his boss' endless, ever more pressing demands. Well aware that a large number of children have been kidnapped recently, he gifts Tola with something she accepts only reluctantly: an agama lizard named Otin (Weruche Opia) that, in truth, is meant to be a robotic guardian that can keep an eye out for Tola.
Tola, though, pines for ordinary pleasures. She especially yearns for a trip outside the private enclave, where she feels encaged, to the bustling, lower-rent mainland, where her father was raised. The mainland is also where her best friend, young gardener Kole (Siji Soetan), lives with his sickly mother.
Tola finagles her way to the mainland, with Kole, Otin, and the family chauffeur at her side, only to fall victim to evil mobster Bode (Femi Branch), who has dastardly plans in mind.
The series revolves around endearing characters who are placed in danger and must deal with menace. Featuring a voice cast that is entirely based in Nigeria, their voices lend further authenticity to the richly detailed backgrounds, which are incredible to see and very different from other Disney shows, reflecting comprehensive knowledge of Nigeria and how it might develop in the near future.
Things happen and words are spoken that I didn't fully understand, yet that is merely one of the joys of the series, which consistently dazzles, as much due to the wonder of its futuristic thinking as the enduring humanity it freely manifests.
Created by Olufikayo “Ziki” Adeola (Nigerian), Hamid Ibrahim (Ugandan) and Tolu Olowofoyeku, the series is directed by Olufikayo “Ziki” Adeola, who wrote the screenplay with Halima Hudson from Disney Animation.
The project is the first original series produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios in collaboration with another production company, as nicely explained in Iwájú: A Day Ahead, a documentary that goes behind the scenes and covers the entire process from beginning to end. Directed by Megan Harding, it's essential for understanding who did what and enhanced my appreciation for the series. [All six episodes of the series, as well as the documentary, are now streaming on Disney Plus.]