2023 was a breakthrough year for African animation. But the future, starting from 2024, promises even more. The Afrimation industry is expected to be worth $18 billion between 2024 and 2032. Despite this, the notion that animation films are new to Africa still persists.
To counter this narrative, here are ten pioneering African animation films. These are films that pioneered animation or a style of animation or simply best represent a pioneering filmmaker’s style on the African shores. This is a list of films of Africa by Africans. Though made on and about the continent, the list doesn’t feature films by white non-Africans. Films like The Parables of Mbokolo, produced in the 1950s Congo by Belgian Rev’d Fr Alexandre Van den Heuvel, who made it because he believed Africans could not yet understand live-action cinema, are thus excluded. Ditto the first ever animation film on the continent: the 1916 An Artist’s Dream by American Harold Shaw.
Mafish Fayda (Egypt, 1936)
The Frenkel brothers (David, Shlomon, and Hershel Frenkel), though Palestinians, pioneered animation in Egypt. Their sophomore film, Mafish, made after their highly criticised debut, was widely successful. Protagonist Mish-Mash Efendi became the first Arab and African cartoon star, and, inspired by the latter, he has been compared to Disney’s Mickey Mouse. In the 9-minute film, fez-wearing Mish-Mash plays a cad, breaking into his love interest’s house to woo her. Directed by David, Nothing to Do is an Egyptian national treasure.
The White Line (Egypt, 1962)
After the Frenkel brothers left for France in the 1950s, the Muhib brothers (Ali and Hussam Muhib) undertook a resurgence of animation in Egypt. Their first long film, directed by Ali, combines animation and live-action. The 25-minute-long film is both a musical and a documentary, and its then-unusual split-screen technique was ahead of time. It marked the renaissance of the Egyptian animation film industry, which dwindled when the Frenkel brothers changed country.
The Tree Festival (Algeria, 1963)
The Tree Festival, Algeria’s first animated film, was made by Mohamed Aram a year after the country’s independence. An assistant set designer at the national broadcasting company, Aram taught himself the techniques of animation, trained his team, and built his own equipment. Like all of his early works, La fête de l’arbre is made in black and white, and is educational. It is an enjoinder to reforest the napalm-destroyed vegetation following the war for independence. Aram’s debut is only the first of the work that saw him established.
Bon Voyage, Sim (Niger, 1966)
Called the father of African animation cinema, Niger’s Moustapha Alassane is an original. He invented his own zero-budget-friendly DIY methods. His animation is stop-motion, and he uses simple puppets and figures drawn on film stock. In 1966, on the back of his 1965 The Death of Gandhi, which won an award at World Black Arts in Dakar, he released the equally delightful Bon Voyage , Sim. Safe Trip, Sim is a 5-minute black-and-white 2D short. Monsieur Sim, the president of the Republic of Frogs, receives a grand welcome after a luxury holiday faked as a diplomatic trip abroad. A satirical fable, the film has been described as a pacifist art and a critique of the government, and, his most well-known piece, it is perhaps the film that best represents the filmmaker’s style.
Le Martien (Senegal, 1969)
Though made in France, The Martian is one of Senegal’s earliest animated films. France-based Senegalese sculptor, Ousmane Sow, photographed his famous sculptors, frame by frame, for his 1969 animated short, which is about a Martian who came to earth.
Sow and You Will Reap (Mauritius, 1986)
Veerasamy Galen Parianen is originally a live-action cameraman. But his first effort in animation produced a historic Mauritanian piece of art. The 6-minute film uses the plasticine clay technique, deploys simple storytelling, and is a quip on the importance of being ready for the future. After his animation debut he went on to establish himself as a Mauritanian animation heavyweight. His equally significant sophomore piece, La magie des fleurs (The Magic of Flowers, 1987), is a delightful ode to Mauritanian flowers.
The Frog Who Visits His In-laws (Congo, 1990)
In his 8-minute debut, Congolese animation filmmaker Jean-Michel Ndjaie Wooto Kibushi reimagines a Tetela folktale. The 2D film deploys simple storytelling to reinterpret the tale of why the fox ate the chicken, chicken termite, termite stick, and stick frog. Made in Brussels in collaboration with Atelier Graphoui, the Kinshasa’s National Institute of Arts-trained filmmaker’s first is the first “truly” Congolese animated film. Le crapaud chez ses beaux parents demonstrates Kibushi’s technique of stop-motion featuring paper cut-outs and puppets. It also lays the groundwork for his zero-budget, socially-conscious, “local” oeuvre.
The Woman with Three Husbands (Burkina Faso, 1993)
With co-director Dianèle Roy, Canadian-Burkinabé-German Cilia Sawadogo made her six-minute debut in 1993. The film is mostly hand-drawn, features fluid ropey animations, is textured with lush colours, and is made in an overall unique animation style. Based on Congolese folklore, the story of princess Fatou, who puts her three suitors to test so she could pick one, is fabulist, and simply announces an exciting talent in Afrimation.
A Terracotta Dream (Egypt, 1997)
Zaineb Zamzam is regarded as one of the most important voices in the Egyptian animation industry. She spearheaded the claymation (clay-based animation style) on the continent. Her style is a mix of real photographs with plasticine clay, and her films are based on Islamic history and religious values. Featuring Quranic events, her 1997 debut, A Terracotta Dream, best showcases her unique approach to animation filmmaking, and is an Afro-Mediterranean classic.
The Legend of the Sky Kingdom (Zimbabwe, 2003)
The Legend of the Sky Kingdom is Africa’s first full-length animation feature. Co-producer Phil Cunningham’s screenplay is adapted from his own children’s book of the same name, and tells the story of three kids: Blockhead, Lucky, and Squidge. They escape from the Evil Emperor’s Underground City, where they are slaves, and journey to the Sky Kingdom to meet the Sky God’s son, Prince Ariel. Due to financial constraints, the 3D stop motion is based on found objects, the puppets and the set design made out of trash. Consequently, the film launched the animation style known as junkmation.
Som Adedayor is a Nigerian Writer and Journalist. A graduate of English Language from Obafemi Awolowo University, his works have been featured in The Offing, Sahara Reporters, Lolwe, OlongoAfrica, Dgeku and Adda Stories. His stories have been longlisted for the 2019 Koffi Addo Prize for Creative Nonfiction, won third place at the Punocracy Prize for Satire (2022), and nominated for the Caine Prize for African Writing (2022). He currently reads prose for the Adroit Journal.