Kizazi Moto review
Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire is an anthology of animated shorts from studios all over Africa, with the theme of afrofuturism and science fantasy (mixing frequently indigenous spiritual beliefs with the tech, and many shorts are actually about gods or spiritual beings). It’s a shame that the project is attached to Disney, because this is one of the best anthologies I’ve seen in a long while.
So let’s review the individual shorts.
Herderboy
By Uganda’s Raymond Malinga, this portrays the story of a boy trying to join a band of herders, which harvest crystals from cyborg cows and are under constant attack by spirits (read hyenas). It’s a good start to the anthology; the CGI is bright and makes good use of color, and it has a nice twist at the end.
7/10
Mkhuzi the Spirit Racer
By South Africa’s Simangaliso Sibaya and Malcolm Wopé, this one bears a bright and joyous 2D animation. It features a half-human half-something boy who struggles with his Zulu identity, and that all comes crashing down in a race against gentrification. It’s a delightful short with beautiful visuals and actual incorporation of cultural themes into the narrative.
9/10
Moremi
By Nigeria’s Shofela Coker, this is a pretty bleak looking CGI short not out of place in Love, Death & Robots. Long ago, soul stealing giants forced a woman to construct magical machines by giving her son’s heart to the gods; this is about the summary you’re gonna get without getting into heavy spoilers. A delight if you’re into mythology as there’s quite a few allusions to Nigeria’s folklore, but I can see people getting a bit confused and the visuals can be grating at times.
6/10
Surf Sagoma
By South Africa’s Nthato Mokgata and Catherine Green, in a future where sea levels rose and mutant octopi lurk in the depths a boy is peer pressured into surfing in dangerous waters. I have to say, while this has a happy ending it is rather bleak and the CGI visuals are not particularly pleasing.
5/10
First Totem Problems
By South Africa’s Tshepo Moche, we’re back to 2D, this time more Disney-esque. If I had to describe this, it’d be like a mixture of the first half of Brother Bear and Coco. It’s pretty fun, though a bit lacking in substance and the family feuds can get grating.
7/10
Mukudzei
By Zimbabwe’s Pious Nyenyewa and Tafadzwa Hove, an influencer desecrates Great Zimbabwe, only to be taken to a timeline where it never fell to colonialism and became basically Wakanda. The concept alone is amazing, though the story itself is rather generic.
8/10
Hatima
By South Africa’s Terence Maluleke and Isaac Mogajane, this is by far my favourite of the shorts, it features the tragic conflict between merfolk and humans, with a Black Panther 2 reveal at the end. With stellar 2D animation and allusions to Dogon mythology, as well as a good solid plot where the reveal has just the right amount of foreshadowing without becoming obvious.
10/10
Stardust
By Egypt’s Ahmed Teilab, I had the highest expectations for this one, being the only Middle Eastern short in the mix. It’s an alright story, I really loved the science fantasy twist on astrology by just being handed a “destiny” in a tube with stars inside. The protagonist naturally choses her own fate over the manufactured ones… though getting there is quite spoilerific.
8/10
You Give My Heart
By South Africa’s Lesego Vorster, this is another return to 2D animation and the second one about influencers amusingly enough. The plot kicks off in a competition in which the human contestants can ascend to godhood. Godhood is very much treated like being an influencer, and amusingly one of the previous contestants was demoted by typing in all caps. Overall pretty fun and the animation is gorgeous, though the characters designs can get a bit ugly.
9/10
Enkai
By Kenya’s Ng’endo Mukii, the final short is done in a CGI mimicking stop motion, which combined with the stellar coloration and lighting makes for a stunning visual experience. This too deals with the divine, this time the young Enkai seeking to become a creator deity like her mother. There is a big plot twist that I will not spoil, and recontextualises the whole short.
9/10
Conclusion
I give the overall anthology 9/10; barring a few hiccups, these are wonderful stories from Africa’s many creative voices. Again, pity Disney has a grasp on this.
