Early in the first episode of “Iyanu: Child of Wonder,” the title character jumps with excitement upon learning what she will be having for dinner.
“Pounded yam and goat meat,” Iyanu exclaims upon receiving her bowl.
Most of the viewers expected to tune in Saturday morning (April 5th) for the premiere of the animated series on Cartoon Network will have never heard of the staple Nigerian dish. That’s what makes the moment so special.
“I grew up watching cartoons and even now as an adult I love watching cartoons,” said Serah Johnson, who voices Iyanu. “But I never got to see people like me – with our food and our culture and wearing our kinds of clothes. Being the voice behind that is so surreal. I get goosebumps just talking about it.”
“Iyanu” is based on the Graphic Novel series by award-winning creator and filmmaker Roye Okupe. The series is produced by Lion Forge Entertainment.
“I feel like the luckiest guy in the world,” Okupe said. “To see how far it has come and to have It is really humbling.”
Okupe used Kickstarter to raise the funds he needed to create the novels, which were published through Dark Horse Comics/YouNeek Studios. He is now working with one of the leading Black-owned animation studios in the world, running a show that will be seen around the world – including 44 countries in Africa.
He approached David Steward II and Lion Forge Entertainment to bring his ‘Iyanu’ novels to life via 2-D animation.
“I’m like ‘absolutely,’” said Steward, founder and CEO of Lion Forge and executive producer for ‘Iyanu.’ “It checks all the boxes that are important to us as a company. Our motto is, ‘diverse stories, authentically told.’”
Based on Yoruba mythology and set in Nigeria, ‘Iyanu’ tells the story of a young girl who unknowingly activates her divine powers and begins a journey to save her community.
“We’ve gotten Greek mythology; we’ve gotten Roman mythology,” Steward said. “We haven’t received mythology from the continent of Africa on a global scale. I’m glad ‘Black Panther’ put Africa on screen, but Wakanda is fictitious. ‘Iyanu’ is based on real culture – and in a real place.”
And with ‘Iyanu,’ there was extreme care taken to make sure diversity was paramount behind the scenes as well.
“The writer’s room looks like us. The art team looks like us. The voice talent looks like us. That doesn’t happen often,” Steward said. “Especially if you look behind the scenes. They are showing you the Black experience, but most of that room is not black. Most of the decision making is not made by people who look like what’s being portrayed on screen.”
Even though they have been immersed in Iyanu’s world, the actors who portray the characters are still in awe of the opportunity they were blessed with by way of ‘Iyanu.’
“I’ve been doing voice work for about seven years – and I’m pretty good with accents,” Johnson said. “A lot of times to do the work, I’ve had to use a lot of accents that weren’t like mine.’
Iyanu was an experience that gave her a new sense of agency in her voiceover work.
“It was like, ‘We want to hear you – in your full Nigerian glory,’” Johnson said. “And through this a lot of Black women, black men, black girls and black boys get to know that there is nothing wrong with your accent – and can appreciate its beauty.”
Samuel Kugbiyi, who voices Toye, grew up in a small town in Nigeria. He loved cartoons, but he hardly ever saw anyone who looked like him in them.
“I am part of a project where it is not just seeing someone who looks like me, but I am seeing that it is all about people who look like me – and come from where I’m from,” Kugbiyi said. “It is an amazing feeling that I can’t fully describe with words.”
The benefit is two-fold and goes beyond seeing one’s experience reflected on screen.
“There are two sides to representation,” Steward said. “Yes, Black kids get the opportunity to be able to see themselves. But we also get to portray ourselves to the world – as we really are. Do others see us as leaders and warriors? We get to provide a better understanding of our lived experiences. Those aspects are extremely important.”
They are critical when one considers how ‘Iyanu’ will change the viewing experiences of young people searching for kindred identities within animated series.
Johnson wanted her two-year-old niece to be one of the first people from her circle of loved ones to see ‘Iyanu.’
“She lives in Canada,” Johnson said. “She is going to grow up as a Nigerian girl who is away from Nigeria – seeing so many other people with so many other skin colors. Being able to have a superhero who is a little girl that is Black she looks like her…I try to picture it from her eyes.”
Okupe calls the series “a love letter to his daughter,” and Kugbiyi is over the moon about his two-year-old son engaging with ‘Iyanu.’
“My son is gonna see someone who looks just like him – and looks just like his pops – telling his stories,” “A lot of barriers are going to be broken, and new opportunities created, because of this show. It is truly a blessing – and a gift.” “Iyanu: Child of Wonder,” will premiere on Cartoon Network at 8:30 a.m. CST on Saturday, April 5th and will be available to stream the next day on Max. Check local listings for and channels. For more information on the series, visit www.iyanutheseries.com.
Living It content is produced with funding by the ARPA for the Arts grants program in partnership with the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis and the Community Development Administration.
