FINALLY A NIGERIAN CARTOON FOR ALL CHILDREN !

TURTLE TAIDO

Finally a Nigerian Cartoon for all children and the young at heart.  The Adventures of Turtle Taido cartoon series hit the airwaves every Saturday on DSTV, Africa Magic Family Channel 154, at 11:00am C.A.T and on NTA Network every Sundays at 4:30 pm C.A.T.

The animated series comes from the stable of Tayekeni Productions Limited. Our Lagos Flinger Nose correspondence (FNC) scheduled an interview with the producer and he patiently gave us some insights into his works. Please read on.

FNC: Please can you briefly tell us a bit about the character Taido?

ANSWER: Taido is a super powered bubbly turtle who goes on an adventure to different cities across Nigeria. In the process, he makes friends and learns a lot about places, people, cultures and animals.

FNC: from my understanding of Nigerian/African folklore, the Tortoise seems to be the centre of attraction of most stories; could that be the reason that you selected the character Taido as a turtle?

ANSWER: Yes, to a large extent. But Taido is a uniquely different character and is unlike the Tortoise we know from folklore

FNC:  Taido reminds me of “the traveling man”, in the good old puppet series I watched as a kid, ‘Fragle Rock’, that always went on mystical adventures. What do kids at home have to experience by following Taido on his own adventures this time?

ANSWER: Kids laugh, learn and dance with Taido. They learn about their country and its diverse cultures. They also learn about animals and places.

FNC:  It seems the season 1 premiere of The Adventures of Turtle Taido, focus on the adventures he sets on only across Nigeria. Are his adventures restricted to Nigeria alone or should we soon expect it to span across Africa and the world at large?

ANSWER: Taido will go on adventures to other countries outside Nigeria

FNC: Let’s talk a little about your animations, were all your productions done here or out of the country?

ANSWER: We do a lot of work in Nigeria as well as outside Nigeria. Our team comprises people in Nigeria as well as in Europe and America.

FNC: How do you view the Nigerian animation industry in general? Or do we even have any at all?

ANSWER: We have a growing animation industry in Nigeria, and it will only get better and more vibrant

FNC: who writes all the scripts and songs you used for TT?

ANSWER: I write the scripts and songs

FNC: Where do you get your inspirations from?

ANSWER: My children.

FNC: Presently how has the response been? And where do you see TT in the next 2 years?

ANSWER: The response has been awesome. It seems everybody had been waiting for the series!

FNC: Someone, somewhere out there might come across this interview on our comic blog or any of our social media platforms, if such persons or organizations are interested in sponsorship or advert placements how can they get across to you?

ANSWER: turtletaido@gmail.com

FNC: Do you ever think of later releasing a complete DVD compilation of Turtle Taido’s adventures to the Market, either for home use or educational purposes. Or you are afraid that our local pirates may take that to their advantage?

ANSWER: If we are afraid of pirates we won’t do anything (Laugh). We will expand the series to other platforms and media as we go along.

FNC: Apart from the TV animated series, does Turtle Taido has a comic or book series? If yes, where can we get them?

ANSWER: Not yet, but it’s in the plan

FNC: in the past I have seen some Local animation series come and go, some never even made it for up to 2 years before they went off air. And as you too may have noticed our entire TV children’s cartoon series have been dominated by foreign studios like the Disney’s and Warner’s. What really is the problem?  Could it be because of our local productions lacked sponsorships?

ANSWER: Our broadcast networks need to invest more in production of content. It takes a lot of time, money and talent to produce animation series. But it delivers more value in the long run.

FNC: Finally, what advice do you have for young ones who want to follow in your footsteps?

ANSWER: Follow your dream and never give up!

 FNC: We wish you all the best at Flinger Nose Comics