Showmax has just released the first trailer for ‘Twende’, the first Showmax Original 2D animated series.
Twende follows a pangolin of the same name, the slowest moving animal in the savannah. “Twende’s belief that, ‘life is about the journey, not the destination’ is constantly at odds with his job as a boda boda driver in the bustling, fictional East African city of Milima,” says South African showrunner Greig Cameron, who also wrote and directed ‘Seal Team’, which cracked the Netflix Global Top 10 film list in January last year, as well as the hit soccer animated series, ‘Supa Strikas’.
‘Twende’s pilot screened in competition at Annecy, the world’s premier animation festival, in 2021. MultiChoice Studios is handling international sales and will present Twende at MIPCom, the world’s greatest gathering of TV and entertainment executives, from 16-19 October 2023.
Twende is voiced by Junior Nyong’o (The Legend of Lwanda Magere, Hamlet), while Capital FM’s June Gachui (Crime and Justice, Nairobi Half Life) plays his unlikely best friend and navigator, Nuru – a whip-smart bird who always looks out for her bestie, even if his chilled-out vibe drives her crazy sometimes. Fun fact: Nuru is a lilac-breasted roller, Kenya’s national bird.
Kalasha Awards nominee Elsaphan Njora (Super Sema, Kati Kati) voices Boss, the perennially broke and exhausted hyena who owns the boda boda agency where Nuru and Twende work. He’s a single dad with more mouths to feed than he can count. Fun fact: there are no fun facts about Boss, just sadness.
The all-Kenyan voice cast also includes Charles Ouda (Crime and Justice) as showy stunt driver Kimbe and Mkamzee Mwatela (Mali) as Boss’s rival, Madam Mongoose, CEO of the evil tech empire Goober. Also listen out for Kalasha Awards winner Nyokabi Macharia (Super Sema), Joyce Musoke (Second Family) and seasoned voice actor and director Khaemba W. Edward (Ogas at the Top, The XYZ Show).
Although poaching is not dealt with directly in the series, pangolins are the most trafficked animals in the world and are now on the endangered species list. “It’s such a shame that this is happening to this amazing and unique animal,” says Kenyan executive producer Kwame Nyong’o.
Twende’s creators Charlie and Regan Maas came up with the concept as they toured East Africa. “My older brother is always late, so we were constantly yelling at him, ‘Let’s go. Let’s go. Let’s go.’ And the guide started saying, ‘Twende! Twende!’,” says Charlie, whose ad agency career highlights include a Super Bowl commercial and awards at D&AD and Cannes Lions. “So his nickname for the trip became Twende the Pole Pole Man. We wrote the original theme song in the back of that Jeep and sang it about 100 times over the next few days.”
Twende’s impressive credits list speaks to how African animation is having a breakout moment internationally. South Africa’s leading 2D animation studio, Mind’s Eye Creative have been quietly animating international content for the likes of Cartoon Network, Disney XD, Netflix, Nickelodeon and more for over a decade – work that has been recognized with Emmy nominations and iEmmy wins. ‘Twende’ also features original music from legendary Kenyan producer and Kalasha winner Eric Musyoka (Rafiki), with a score by top South African music studios The Music Works, Phonographic and Pressure Cooker Studios.
The first 2D animated show of this scale and quality made almost entirely in Africa, ‘Twende’ premieres on Showmax on 4 December 2023, with new episodes on Saturdays.
