It’s been tough times for Walt Disney Animation Studios, with movies flopping not only financially but also critically, which have concerned the studio. Movies like Strange World and Wish weren’t able to please both the audience nor the critics. But now, Iwájú has arrived to change this, with a story with such a strong lesson of social criticism and how the world is and how it’s not fair to some people to live the way they do. It’s a beautiful, emotional, and sometimes heartbreaking story about two amazing kids.
Set in a futuristic Lagos, Nigeria, the exciting coming-of-age story follows Tola (voice of Simisola Gbadamosi), a young girl from the wealthy island, and her best friend, Kole (voice of Siji Soetan), a self-taught tech expert, as they discover the secrets and dangers hidden in their different worlds.
Tola and Kole are the most cutest characters ever and each one of them represent a different of the society. Tola is a rich, privileged girl that doesn’t suffer from the problems that Kole goes through. Kole is a poor boy that lives with his sick mother and has to do something to help his mom survive, and this story brings this in such an inspiring and emotional way. The villain has a dark and complex past, you will understand his motivation and be like: “Wow I hate this guy but he’s doing this because he went through that and totally makes sense even though I disagree with that.” Going through traumatic experiences can change someone’s personality and behaviors. This show reflects a lot on the dark part of the society and doing this in a world where takes place in the future is amusing and intriguing.
Iwájú is the perfect show not only for adults but specially for kids, its simplicity it’s really well executed even with its short runtime. Episodes were from 17-21 minutes, which can be a disappointing aspect of the show, because it only has 6 episodes but I think the goal here is to make a short story but Id love to know more about this world so I do hope we get more of this someday. The animation can be misleading, because you can probably think that it’s weird or cheap looking but when you watch the show you’ll actually how it really amuses your eyes.
Not only character development but also the environment and atmosphere of the show is really well represented, seeing this futuristic Nigeria was so beautiful and it’s yet another great reason why you should watch this show.
Iwájú is a cute, inspiring, emotional, and deep show that is perfect for both kids and adults. The series brings a deep and reflective social criticism following a great execution of the concept. This is a must see, one of the best Walt Disney Animation Studios we’ve had recently.
Iwájú is NOW streaming on Disney+
