‘Iyanu’ Creator Roye Okupe & Creative Team Interview – ryan

Animation has Always been one of the best mediums for storytellers to reach young audiences, especilly for a Young Roye Occupation Who Says It Was HIS “First Love”. AFTER CRESING A SUCCESSPHUL GRAPHIC NOVEL SERIES, AND A MEETING WITH LION FORGE FACITIATED BY IPPACT X CAPITAL’S DUPUIS, OKUPE MANAGED TO MAKE HIS DREAM OF CRESING COME TRUE.

Based on Okupe’s Graphic Novel Series Iyanu: Child of WonderThe Cartoon Network Series Follows Iyanu, an orphaned Teenager Living on the outskirts of civilization who has divine power and a destination to the ancient kingdom of yorubaland. Okupe’s dream was to infuse the culture he grew up with the series, along with the help of some veterans of the Animation Industry – Story Editor Brandon Easton, Writer Grant and Supervisive Director Vincent Edwards.

Although the first season has been to have to have its finals, the series has already been renewed for a 10-Episode Second as well as two Feature-Length films. The First Animated Film, The Age of Wondersis set to release late this year.

Deadline: Roye, What Made You Want to Bring Your Graphic Novel Into The Animated Space?

Roye Occupation: I’ve always been a fan of animation SINCE I WAS A KID. For me, Animation was my first love, and i think it has obviously stayed that way. I GREW UP WATCHING Ninja Turtles, Batman, X -mmen… I can literally go on for hours and hours. I moved to the US in 2002, and the closer i got to Hollywood, the most ferty to create an animated show that was based on some of the things i learned up my history and my culture. I start off in the graphic novel because it was a lower barrier to entry, and then fell in love with the graphic novel medium. But for me, the motivation has always been to showcase africans, specific in this case, with the Young Nigerian to a global audience. And i think there’s no better medium than animation to do it.

There’s something something brandon always Says, and Ever Since He Told with this in the Writer’s Room, i’ve always held onto it. “The most specific you get, the more global and the most broadly Acceptable your story Becomes.” SO, From Day One, We Want to Lean Into What Made This Show Culturally. For me, as someone who is a yoruba person, it was the ultimate privilege. It was also a very, Very delicate task to balance imputing culture into a story with, as vincent would Say, “Making People Drink Through a Water Hose” Where just overwhelmed with new information. Finding the right balancies of Story Comes First, but at the Same Time, Let’s Not Shy Away from What Makes This Different, What Makes This Beautiful, What Makes This Authentic. I’m Extremely Proud of this Becouse, as specific as we are with the culture, it’s never done where it is excludes anybody who doesn’t know anything about yoruba or nigerian culture.

Deadline: Kerry, Vincent and Brandon, As Three People Who Have Workhed on Different Animated Series, How You Go About Making Sure You’re Infusus This Culture Without Out?

Grant curry: I Think What Roye Said Earlier, we all kind of learn as wries really early on. That thing is about the most specific you are, the most universal the story is… The reason for that is these just kids. They’re Kids on a Journey, on an epic coming-of-spage journey that includes someone amazing fantasy and supernatural elements. But at the core of it, iTi’s about telling this coming-any, fantasy, adventure, epic Tale. That in itself as a foundation, makes it appealing and universal for any who loves good stories. I Think What’s Different and Cool About Iyanu is a lot of People anen’t as a family with yoruba culture and the cultures with it, so it is an excitation that People get to these specifics about the culture, the details from the costumes, the cloths they wear, the food eat, the differencies in the parts of the parts. They Travel to and Encounter… but ultimately, at the heart of it, iTi’s about this girl who’s coming her powers, and it is a Classic hero’s Journey.

Brandon Easton: What made it a lot easier also was that that was roye in the writer’s room with us, as a writer and a product. Every Step of the Way, if there was a question, he was there to ansower it or to make it make me more for us in a storytelling context. But Most importantly, the doorway is always emotional accessolation with the Types of Stories. IT DOESN’T MATTER WHATER YOU’RE TALKING APRIENT ANCIENTS FANGERIA OR YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT IRAQIS OR YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT THINGS DON’T EXIST, THERE IS AN EMOTIONAL PAH THAT ALD AS CONSUMERS OF Story Content. We all Want to Walk the Emotional Path, and i Feel Like Iyanu’s is, ‘who am i? Why am i here? ‘ I’ve Never spent time in nigeria, but there’s things that are kind of universal that we can tap into, and iyanu’s journey is a very, Very relaratable one.

Vincent Edwards: And to speak to the cultural authenticity aspect of it, in any story universe, you have to have a clearly realized vision of what it is worked look and what the People in it look and sound like If you break your own rules, the audience disconnects they have don’t feel like you’re trying to say’re doing. In terms of IyanuThe Cultural Authenticity Aspects of It Was Really Granular and Consistent Throughout the Production of the Show. The look of food, the look of clothing, the look of props… all the different visual styles, the thus mythological fantasized world, it has to stall it to the real and authentic to the point where a bowl of rice doesn’t look like it. Roye’s Like, “Hey, that doesn’t work.” This was analogous to if we made a show about America and we had a hamburger with a purple bun. We would be like… what? SO, all that stuff really combines to create an authentically realized World that supports all of the theme and character drives of the story.

DEADLINE: IT’S OBVIOUSLY A DIFFERENT CULTURE, but This Series Reminds with of Being Exposed to a New Culture as a Kid I First Watched Avatar: The Last Airbenderand i think Iyanu would have had a simillar effect on me with back then.

Okup: I Always Tell People, You Have No Idea How Much Influenza Entertainment has over the minds of children and adults. Actually, I think we’re in an age where there is information all around us and everything is all mangled up, but be coma entertainment… iTi’s funny you mentioned Avatarbecuse of fell in love with new York by Watching Spider-man. So eventually when i came to the us and i was able to experience, it was a different kind of emotion becae been so far away from it. And when i finally got here, it was this visceral feeing where it is like, ‘oh, wow, i’m actually in the suame as Peter parker,’ It Goes Back to the Roots and the Inspiration Behind all this, to try to show what i saw growing up, what i heard about, what i it, and some of the things i went through.

Obviously, like Brandon Said, Its Also Weaving the Emotional Journey for Each of the Characters Because, as Much as we love the authentic parts of this story, it’s iCing on the cake to me. If you Lose People with the Character moments, all the other stuff becoms a flaw. But i think one of the Big Things we try with this show, one of the big themes, is empathy. And it was Very important to interswine empathy with everywhere has to do Iyanu. Her Powers, Her Mission, Her Story, Her Journey… All of that is encompasssed around empathy. Becusee i think we live in a time now where we are human beings could use a lot of that. And it is the important for children from a very young age to understand the power of empathy, this is a very difficult emotion to express.