African streamer Showmax has dated and released a first trailer for “Twende”, its first original 2D animated series.
“Twende follows the eponymous pangolin, the slowest moving animal on the savannah. The pilot will screen in competition at Annecy in 2021. MultiChoice Studios is handling international sales and will present “Twende” at Mipcom.
“Twende’s belief that ‘life is about the journey, not the destination’ is constantly at odds with his job as a boda boda (motorbike taxi) driver in the bustling, fictional East African town of Milima,” said South African showrunner Greig Cameron, who also wrote and directed “Seal Team,” which was in Netflix’s global top 10 movies list in January last year, as well as the hit soccer animation series “Supa Strikas.”
Twende is voiced by Junior Nyong’o (“The Legend of Lwanda Magere”), while June Gachui (“Crime and Justice”) plays his best friend and navigator, Nuru – a wise bird who always looks out for Twende, even if his laid-back vibe sometimes drives her crazy. Elsaphan Njora (“Super Sema”) voices Boss, the perpetually broke and exhausted hyena who owns the boda boda agency where Nuru and Twende work.
The all-Kenyan voice cast also includes Charles Ouda (“Crime and Justice”) as the flashy stunt driver Kimbe and Mkamzee Mwatela (“Mali”) as Boss’s rival, Madam Mongoose, CEO of the evil tech empire Goober. Also in the cast are Nyokabi Macharia (“Super Sema”), Joyce Musoke (“Second Family”) and Khaemba W. Edward (“Ogas at the Top”).
Although poaching is not directly addressed in the series, pangolins are the most trafficked animals in the world and are now listed as an endangered species.
“It’s such a shame that this is happening to this amazing and unique animal,” said Kenyan executive producer Kwame Nyong’o (Annecy selection “The Wonderful Story of Aisha”). “‘Twende’ is a super silly show, but we hope that between all the humour and the shenanigans, our audience will fall in love with pangolins as much as we have, and do their part to protect them.”
“Twende is created by Charlie and Regan Maas. The series is produced in association with London-based Braintrust and Johannesburg-based Mind’s Eye Creative. Co-creators include South Africans Mike Scott and Kayla Archer, while the writing team includes Zambian Malenga Mulendema, Nigerian Vanessa Kanu, Kenyan J. Njogu Macharia and South African head writer Sheldon Bengtson. It features original music by Eric Musyoka (“Rafiki”), with a score by South African music studios The Music Works, Phonographic and Pressure Cooker Studios.
“Twende” premieres on Showmax on 4 December, with new episodes on Saturdays.
