Disney Plus premieres Iwj, an original animated series set in a futuristic Lagos, Nigeria, creat
On February 28, 2024, Disney Plus, the streaming division of Disney Entertainment, premiered Iwájú, an original animated series set in a futuristic Lagos, Nigeria—which it first announced during its Investors Day in 2020.
Iwájú, a production of Walt Disney Animation Studios in collaboration with Kugali, a pan-African entertainment company, follows the exciting coming-of-age story of Tola, a young girl from the wealthy island, and her best friend, Kole, a self-taught tech expert, as they discover the secrets and dangers hidden in their different worlds.
Iwájú, which roughly translates to “the future” in the Yoruba language (literally “front-facing”), was written by Olufikayo Ziki Adeola and Halima Hudson, and directed by Adeola. The 6-part miniseries is produced by Disney Animation’s Christina Chen.
With an amazing line-up of voice cast such as Ireti Doyle (voice of Mrs. Usman); Femi Branch (voice of Bode DeSousa); Chioma ‘Chigul’ Omeruah (voice of Chioma); Simisola Gbadamosi (voice of Tola Martins); Kehinde Bankole (voice of Mama Kole); Bisola Aiyeola (voice of Happiness); Toyin Oshinaike (voice of Godspower); and Obi Maduegbuna (voice of Hawkers & Lackeys), the series’ African-influenced film score was done by Ré Olunuga, a renowned Nigerian composer of multi-genre orchestral and experimental music, whose credits include music for the BBC film “Girl” and the 2022 Disney+ original movie “Rise.”
“Iwájú is born from my own experience living in Lagos. As a Lagosian, I always wanted to tell the story about my home and this felt like the best opportunity to do so,” said Olufikayo Ziki Adeola, the director of Iwájú. “We created ‘Iwájú’ as a love letter to Lagos, Nigeria, and an ode to the rich legacy of African storytelling.”
In a 2019 BBC interview that caught the attention of Jennifer Lee, Walt Disney Animation Studios’ chief creative officer, the 3 cofounders of Kugali—Olufikayo Ziki Adeola, Hamid Ibrahim, and Toluwalakin Olowofoyeku—said they wanted to take on Disney and ‘kick Disney's ass in Africa’. According to them, they were “fed up with non-Africans telling African stories”, and decided to create their own anthology to showcase artists and writers from across Africa, with the hope that it would bring African comics to the mainstream.
After seeing the interview, Lee spoke with her team at Disney and reached out to the Kugali team. “There were stories with themes that I had never seen put together in that way. There were ideas [based on] folklore that I had never had access to,” Lee shared. “We, as Disney, can tell the stories of the world, but by the people of the world, and having people tell their own stories.”
“We’re proud to share this series and hope that it inspires more Africans across the world to share their stories and shape our collective narrative,” said Olufikayo Ziki Adeola.
“This is a true collaboration. It’s not Disney in some ways pushing our vision onto Kugali,” said Jennifer Lee. “It is a collaboration in that both companies are getting something out of it and supporting each other.”
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While Disney’s streaming platform—Disney Plus—is still not available in most African countries, this original animated series is another effort by Disney to invest in Africa, African animation, and African talents. Last year (2023), Disney Plus premiered 'Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire', a 10-part series animated anthology of African sci-fi films created by African creators.
In 2023, Netflix—Disney Plus’ rival streaming platform—also debuted 'Supa Team 4', its first African animated original series.
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