Recently, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, an animated film by Dreamworks, made over a hundred million naira at the Nigerian box office. Families trooped in to bond over a Spanish cat with incredible fighting skills and an incline for danger.

While there’s nothing wrong with this, it does make you wonder when Nigerian studios will start giving Disney, and Dreamworks a run for their money in Africa. According to Niyi Akinmolayan, Creative Director of Anthill Studios, the answer is sooner than you think: this year.

“At Anthill, we’ve done a lot of successful feature films. I mean, last year King of Thieves was the highest-grossing Nigerian film. But for some time now we’ve been exploring the idea of really pushing into the family entertainment scene,” he said.

The last time someone really hacked family entertainment in Nigeria was Wale Adenuga with his slew of indigenous series. Families looked forward to watching Super Story, Fuji House of Commotion etc. The vibe was new. If you think about it, that set the foundation for the success of family series now like The Johnsons and other shows on Multichoice’s networks.

Does Anthill really think it can replicate that kind of success in relatively uncharted waters, let alone take on the likes of Disney and why now?

“We have the skill set and the technology, but more importantly we have the daring creativity to bring indigenous stories to life. I’m not talking about doing things like why the Tortoise cracked its shell. I mean stories that have a local flavour. Ones that teach children how dynamic and exciting culture can be. Stories that turn our values into adventures, not just boring lessons,” he said.

Like many Nigerian creatives, Akinmolayan is ambitious with attractive ideas, but the plague of the Nigerian Creative Industry is funding. Money turns ideals into reality and with the current financial crises Nigeria is enveloped in, one wonders if a production of such proportions can be hoped for in the nearest future. Even for a studio that signed an exclusive streaming deal with Amazon Prime Video.

The multiyear licensing deal, which was signed in January of 2022, guarantees that over 200 million Amazon Prime customers will be offered the upcoming slates of Anthill films.

Prime Video’s Director of Content Acquisition and Head of Worldwide Major Studio Licensing Strategy, Ayanna Lonian, said the move was necessary “to showcase our clients the finest of Nollywood and authentic African stories, and this ground-breaking deal will help us to achieve that goal.”

However, this deal does not imply financial commitments to production. So, what about funding?

“Funding is not a concern that ever stands in our way. In fact, by the long holidays this year Anthill will be releasing a live-action family adventure film called Mikolo. Technically, it will be the first of its kind because the CGI and animation will be the best thing out of Africa. Creatively, it’s going to be something that really immerses kids into the depth of traditional worldviews, while also teaching them about cultural monuments and historical things like that. Like I honestly can’t wait for my kids to see it!”

As the demand for high-quality entertainment continues to grow in Africa, Anthill studio’s ambitious plans may prove a game changer for the industry. It’s not going to be easy replicating what Disney did for North America in Africa, but there’s no harm in trying. Mikolo, due in August, may give enough daring to hope.