Anamazing Workshop produces animation with African themes, mostly for South Africa, like Njabulo's Bicycle. © Anamazing Workshop.

There are positive signs in some regions. Homeboyz Ent., a company in Kenya that has several businesses in radio and music production, launched an animation studio to complete Tinga Tinga Tales. It employs local designers, writers, musicians and animators for the production and plans to continue creating African animation for global distribution after work on this production ends. A couple of other small studios are working on animation seriously in this country as well, according to CEO Myke Rabar and Angelina Koinange of Homeboyz.

Even countries without an animation industry per se have some independent artists at work, reports Callus, citing Jean Michel Kibushi in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Moustapha Alassane in Niger. In Ethiopia, a country with virtually no animation industry, a UNICEF-funded studio called Whizkids produced Tsehai Loves Learning, an educational puppet and animation series in the Ethiopian language of Amharic that garnered international awards.

Paula Callus of Bournemouth University.

One initiative that helped further the animation industry in Kenya and throughout Africa in recent years was UNESCO's Africa Animated!, based in Nairobi. Its intent was to train local animators and encourage the production of animation with African themes. The initiative offered three training workshops in Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa, which were attended by animators from 10 countries and yielded 20 short films, some of which went on to win awards in global festivals.

Partners included the United Nations Development Programme, South African Broadcasting Corporation, the Mauritian government, Canal France International, the French Embassy in Nairobi, Bournemouth University, Parsons School of Design, Kenya College of Communications, regional broadcasters, educational and professional institutions in Africa and others. The plan was ultimately to set up a permanent training facility, but the initiative has gone dormant since its founder, Alonso Aznar, relocated out of Africa.

Future Promise
Challenges facing animators in Africa vary depending on the country. In many nations, barriers include a lack of training facilities and institutions that offer animation courses, along with a subsequent lack of production-ready talent; a dearth of investment in local series and commercials; and an economic situation that makes it difficult and expensive to buy equipment and software. Meanwhile, local animation houses face competition from international studios, since networks and other distribution channels rely mostly on foreign fare, particularly for children, and animators in most countries have very little or no government support. In addition, many talented animators end up leaving the region for greener pastures in Europe or the U.S.

Triggerfish is the lead animation provider for Takalani Sesame, the African version of Sesame Street. Fish are Friends (above) is a short clip commissioned for the show. © Sesame Workshop. Courtesy of Triggerfish.

Animators in Africa also have to deal with a lack of recognition from the international community. "[There is] a perception internationally about South Africa and Africa as a whole, that it is a third world country and continent, not able to produce anything of interest," Greyling says.

"We've got the talent, we can do the work -- we just need the rest of the world to switch onto that fact," agrees Forrest.

Animators in Africa also are striving to develop a definitive style, which is difficult since many have been trained by European or American animators. "The biggest challenge -- and the one I undertook with Africa Animated! -- is to have a production made by Africans, for Africans and with images, scripts and music from that continent," says Aznar. He worries that the disappearance of Africa Animated! will prevent the industry from developing further in sub-Saharan Africa. "This is particularly sad since there is a treasure trove of talents ready to produce high-quality animation," he says.

Observers agree that there is no lack of creative artists capable of producing quality work. "The most positive sign is that there is a group of creative hands that come from Kenya, Ghana, Morocco, Algeria and Zimbabwe, in addition to Egyptian and South African artists," Ghazala says. "In fact, I'm optimistic!"

"Many young people are taking an interest in animation and realizing that it could be a viable career path for them," adds Greyling.

Koinange and Rabar point out that big international animation companies are coming in to train people in countries like Kenya, and that both the quality and quantity of work are on the rise.

"Not withstanding economic, social or political strife, the type of work that is being produced is qualitatively comparable to any animation being made in the West," says Callus. "The talent is not lacking; it is the support to enable this talent to grow and blossom that needs to be worked on."

Karen Raugust is a Minneapolis-based freelance business writer specializing in animation, publishing, licensing and art. She is the author of The Licensing Business Handbook (EPM Communications).