Everything You Need To Know About ‘Supa Team 4’

African girl power is coming to Netflix!

 

Netflix, the streaming platform, recently dropped the trailer of its novel African animation series, Supa Team 4, and it’s getting fans and critics alike hyped.

 

Released on June 29, the 1 minute 48 second-trailer of this Afro-futuristic series (originally named “Mama K’s Team 4”) packs all the colors and coming-of-age style of the Power Rangers, the vibrancy of Supa Strikers that made the Pan-African series so beloved and is flavored with a bit of girl power –which evokes The Powerpuff Girls especially considering the similar colored costumes.

 

The brainchild of Malenga Mulendema –a Zambian-born writer who distinguished herself by pushing the limits of what was thought possible in the African animation space– the eight-part series would explore different short stories set in the Afro-futuristic city of Lusaka, Zambia. Recruited by an old lady who surely seems to know a thing or two about superheroing, these four teenage girls when not doing homework, are committed to saving Lusaka from villains seeking to destroy it: a crocodilian (“man-croco”), a female electro, a swarm of angry robo-locusts, a kaiju-like beast and others.

 

Although some are discouraged from being – or acting– like superheroes by their families, the ever-classic “we are a team, always” reassures the girls and the lone-wolfs. It features voiceovers from Kimani Arthur (Shimmer and Shine), Namisa Mdlalose (Bypass), Zowa Ngwira (Mpali), Pamela Nomvete (Andor), Nancy Sekhokoane (The Woman King), John MacMillan (House of the Dragon) and Linda Sokhulu (on the isiZulu dub). It also features vocals from Zambian Sampa the Great on the theme song.

 

Mulendema, who presented the idea to South African studio Triggerfish as part of an open call for African creators, had help from other writers from all over Africa who are based in South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Uganda, and together crafted a story – or rather, a series of stories – that portrays the lives of African girls unlike any other. Thanks to them, Triggerfish and British production company Cake Entertainment, we get to see their thought process come alive.

 

Supa Team 4 together with Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire, which debuted on Disney Plus on July 5, is proof that we need more animations celebrating African culture. The former is more crucial as African girls are grossly underrepresented both on the big and small screen. Iwaju and Dawn of Thunder seem to be Nollywood’s answer to that. We’ll see how that plays out.

 

For now, enjoy the mesmerizing trailer here.