Iwájú is a 2024 animated science-fiction miniseries produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios in collaboration with Pan-African storytelling collective Kugali. It was created by Ziki Nelson, Hamid Ibrahim, and Toluwalakin Olowofoyeku, and stars the voices of Simisola Gbadamosi, Dayo Okeniyi, Femi Branch, Siji Soetan, and Weruche Opia.
Set in a futuristic version of Lagos, Nigeria, the series follows a young girl, the scion of a wealthy family, as she leaves her prosperous island home to explore the gritty mainland city. In the process, however, she attracts the attention of her father’s enemies. The series premiered February 28, 2024 on Disney+.
Previews: Trailer
Iwájú includes examples of the following:
- Afrofuturism: The setting is quite literally a version of the real Nigerian city of Lagos that has futuristic technology everywhere. It is exaggerated when it shows even vendors in traffic using drones to sell stuff to flying cars.
- Ambiguously Absent Parent: We never find out where Tola's mother or Kole's father are.
- Badass Adorable:
- Otin, the tiny robotic agama, is very small, very cute, and very much capable of taking out assailants with cybernetic enhancements.
- Tola also uses her cuteness to her advantage to get what she wants. It seems to work on everyone but her father and Bode.
- Big Bad: Bode, a crime boss who is behind many Nigerian children being kidnapped.
- Bilingual Bonus: All of the characters switch between speaking English, Nigerian Pidgin, and Yoruba. At two points in the series, Tola tries speaking Pidgin and Yoruba, and Kole tells her not to. The title of the series itself roughly translates to "Future" in Yoruba.
- Childish Tooth Gap: Kole has one, though he isn't a childish.
- Daydream Surprise: The first episode begins with a scene of a young girl riding her scooter before some bad guys attempt to kidnap her as Otin protects her. Otin tries to go into ija mode, but unfortunately, her head doesn't grow with her. But it turns out to be a simulation that Tunde is running on the plane.
- Distant Prologue: All episodes except for the first one begin with a flashback.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: While Tola and Kole are presented strictly as friends (and she's only just turned ten), their Forbidden Friendship could be very easily interpreted as Tunde not wanting his daughter to date below her social class. It doesn't help that Tunde mistakenly accuses Kole of being a Gold Digger who's trying to "take advantage" of Tola.
- Electronic Eyes: Bode has cybernetic eyes, which he mainly uses to identify people and their net worth so he can steal from them. Tunde's identity is somehow untraceable to him.
- Engineered Public Confession: Tola uses her father's electronic glasses to livestream Bode gloating that he is the one behind the kidnappings to all of Lagos and calls Mrs. Usman, Tunde's oga, to listen in.
- Food Porn: The Puff-Puffs that Tola makes for her birthday, as well as the agege bread that Tunde shares with her looks really good.
- Flying Car: The Martins' family car is this, which is able to avoid Lagos traffic, but not the hawkers, who use drones to sell things.
- Forgotten Birthday: Tunde is so preoccupied with his work that he does not even realize it is his own daughter's birthday until he finally sees the "10" shaped mylar balloons in the dining room.
- Gold Digger: Tunde assumes Kole is a (platonic) example, believing him to be taking advantage of Tola by acting like her friend. It's not true though, as Kole is a hard worker and is nervous when Tola pushes him to openly partake in activities with her.
- Gray Rain of Depression: It rains when Kole is on his way home after Tunde catches him eating with Tola. On top of that, he has to walk in it since he can't afford to ride a tiny, crowded bus.
- Haughty Help: In the second episode, the cook is clearly unhappy that Tola has invited the gardener boy into the house for dinner.
- The Help Helping Themselves: Bode stole from his mother's employer as a kid so he could guy a necklace for himself, which resulted in her getting fired.
- The Heavy: Sunday Adelekan, one of Bode's accomplices who was a former boxer, is mainly assigned with keeping an eye on Kole.
- The Hero's Birthday: The trailer opens with Tola’s father gifting her the lizard Otin as a birthday present.
- Hopeless with Tech: Godspower has some difficulties figuring out what all the buttons do in his car.
- Immediate Self-Contradiction: As they're heading to the airport to retrieve Tunde, Tola reassures Godspower that she laughs in the face of danger. She immediately is frightened by a hawker with a drone, and Godspower snarks that he didn’t hear her laugh.
- Interclass Friendship: Tola, who is a privileged Nigerian who lives on an island with her rich father, and Kole, who lives on the Lagos mainland in the poorer village with his sick mother, are good friends. They know each other because he works for her father, who is the main obstacle in the way of their friendship.
- Minion with an F in Evil: Happiness, one of Bode's accomplices, rarely has an agreement with him.
- Monochrome Casting: Being set in Nigeria, this has an all-Black cast.
- Playing Possum: During the battle in the finale, Kole's mother, who is terminally ill, fakes her death to get the attention of some of Bode's lackeys and lock them in Godspower's car.
- Product Placement: In the third episode, "Kole", when Kole meets with Bode in the latter's personal gym, Bode is wearing an athletic Under Armour tank top. A few shots show the UA logo on his left chest prominently.
- Reality Has No Subtitles: The characters switch between English, Nigerian Pidgin, and Yoruba, and at no point is anything they are saying translated.
- Rule of Three: Tola and Kole do their Secret Handshake thrice during the show.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Otin is about to interrogate Sunday about Tola's location but, having witnessed what Otin can do, Sunday runs away from her like a frightened toddler.
- Secret Handshake: Tola and Kole have one such handshake that ends with a butt bump. Kole flubs the final portion the first time he does it, but does it successfully in future handshakes.
- Shout-Out: At one point during the first episode, Tola boastfully claims "I laugh in the face of danger!", echoing a line from another African-set Disney property.
- Super Mode: Otin has an ijanote mode, where she can turn into a giant lizard, but it is very faulty and causes a strain on her battery.
- When You Coming Home, Dad?: The first episode shows Tola more or less being raised by servants and robots while her dad is busy on the mainland, even having to set up her own birthday party, which she hopes he'll enjoy when he arrives. Even when he gets home, he's still working most of the time, and walks past the birthday party without even noticing. Even giving her Otin only happened because he was told he needed to run human testing at the same time as he finally remembered it was her birthday.
- You Can Talk?: Kole's reaction upon hearing Otin's electronic voice.
