‘Why animation hasn’t made an impact in Nigeria’

In this interview with Weekend Magazine, the proprietress of Dreamland Art Academy and publisher of a children’s magazine, speaks of the challenges facing female animators and why animation is yet to make an impact in Nigeria. Weekend Magazine: Do you remember when you first became interested in animation?Kaka Marycollete Kekong: As a child I had […]

In this interview with Weekend Magazine, the proprietress of Dreamland Art Academy and publisher of a children’s magazine, speaks of the challenges facing female animators and why animation is yet to make an impact in Nigeria.

Weekend Magazine: Do you remember when you first became interested in animation?
Kaka Marycollete Kekong: As a child I had always loved cartoons, I tried to learn about all the characters and memorise all the songs.  But my love for animation grew more when I was a teenager; I only went to the cinemas to see cartoons or animated movies. In 2009, I was part of the girls that contested for Calabar. Though I didn’t win, I left the contest with something more benefiting than all the participants. During the beauty contest, my assignment was to represent Afi Mountain, a place where birds migrate to Europe and prior to this role I knew nothing about the tourist site. After the contest I decided to do more research about the tourist site and I found it interesting, so I came up with an idea to produce an animated movie based on that. I contacted animators in different countries but the costs I got were outrageous, ranging from $100, 000 to $7 million.
WM: How did you make your dream of becoming an animator a reality?
Kekong: Initially, I thought my dreams would not come to fruition. One day I came across an animation studio that was advertising a short course programme in 3D animation so I decided to apply and learn to enable me produce my movie by myself. But even with my knowledge about animation, I am still working with a lot of animators because animation is not a one man thing. I am currently working on a film project titled – Busa.
WM: Do you have a favourite project or character that you’ve worked on?
Kekong: Busa is my pet project and the name of the main character in my animation movie. He is a hero that was taken to Afi Mountain where he somehow migrated with the birds to Europe. Busa is an interesting story and it will feature both foreign and indigenous voice-over actors. It will be sub-titled into the major international languages and I hope to screen the movie in major cinemas internationally. I am also working on producing an animation series that will inform and educate our children more about the natural resources that we have in Nigeria.
I also have a story about Nelson Mandela to work on in future. The Nelson Mandela story has been told in different ways, but I will love children to relate more to his legendary achievements by telling his story in an animation movie. It will be a privilege to produce an animated movie about him because he is a forever legend in Africa.
WM: Who do you look forward to working with in the industry?
Kekong: I will like to work with Walt Disney Pictures for obvious reasons; I will like to cast some of my favourite actors as voice-overs.
WM: Where do you get your inspirations for animation?
Kekong: I find inspiration in everyday activities. I am fascinated by relationships of all types-happy ones, complicated ones, unusual ones. Sometimes it helps to talk to others who are creative to get ideas about what gets their creativity juices flowing. Since I am a designer and could be working on up to seven projects every week, my source of inspiration is constantly changing and evolving. For each project, I create an inspiration board and it helps if I wait for a week to even start sketching to allow the inspiration to sink in. I also get my inspiration from the books I read or life generally. Also, once a new animated movie is released I like to go see it so that I can learn more.
WM: What is it like being a female in a male-dominated industry?
Kekong: There is a rich history of women in animation. I believe that there is no industry that is gender based, whatever and where ever your passion leads you to, is what you will truly excel in. For me, my fulfillment comes from seeing myself overcoming challenges which a female animator is confronted with daily and she must overcome the challenges.
WM: Do you sometimes feel intimidated by the males in the industry?
Kekong: I do not at any point in time feel intimidated by a male animator. What I see is gender equality among us in the industry. If anything looks intimidating in the industry, it is project finance which is applicable to both genders. The truth is advancements in animation technology advance at a dizzying pace. Young animators who want to remain efficient and competitive can do so by attending classes that teach advanced software features and address industry trends. I was trained in India.
WM: In your view do Nigerians appreciate animation?
Kekong: I believe they do. In Nigeria, parents subscribe to digital satellite cable for their kids mostly because of Disney Junior channel, Nickelodeon channels, Cartoon Network; now this is my veritable proof that they appreciate the use of animation as a tool for education and entertainment for their children. Animations and animators are burgeoning here in Nigeria, with time organisations of like minds will spring up.
WM: In your view has animation made any impact in Nigeria?
Kekong: Though not much impact has been made with animation in Nigeria, Nigerians do appreciate animation as it is a growing trend. People may grow up as the time passes by but the image of cartoon helping one to grow remains till the last day of life. Parents are always relying on cartoon for their children. At present, a child depends on the education from cartoons rather than reading books because they use the colourful things to remember. In addition, studies show many parents, especially working  parents, feel comfortable putting their children in front of a TV set for cartoons so that they could finish their chores, while feeding their child or for making their children busy for a while so that they can relax for a bit.
Gradually, this makes children dependent on cartoons for their daily tasks like eating, sleeping, doing homework for school. For this reason, later parents as well as children find themselves in a difficult situation to cope with the real contest of life.
Cartoons for children are like daily TV serials for women. Kids love funny things and cartoons provide them all of that. Apart from this, colour, voice and sound effects play a major role in attracting children. You must have noticed that kids remember all the title songs of their favourite cartoon shows. We must tell our stories in a cartoon that is the only way we can develop indigenous heroes.