NOLLYTOONS OR ANIMATED NOLLY OR CARTOONS NOLLY

The first film animation was “Humorous Phases of funny faces” made in 1906 by American J. Stuart Blacton and in 1927, Walt Disney came up with the idea of Mortimer mouse which his wife later convinced him to change to Mickey Mouse. Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera created the classic cartoon most of us grew up watching (Tom & Jerry) in 1939 which was 36 years after the first film animation. These cartoon characters have been a part of our culture from generations to generations and they have become major movie and toy franchise that have generated millions of dollars all over the world enchanting kids from Africa to Asia.

A hundred and two years after the first animated movie was made, the supposed 3rd largest movie industry in the world can not boast of one animated movie. I find this very thwarting as our darling Nollywood boasts of producing 1000 movies annually and not even one is animated, no animated figure or icon has been depicted in any Nollywood movie. The closest thing Nollywood has to this is the papa Ajasco / super story series which is a spin off from the Ikebe super comic strip and this is not even animated. I was hoping that the pan-African football (soccer) project SUPASTRIKAS, an adaptation of the British comic ROY OF THE ROVERS though first published in south Africa would evolve into an animated series that would thrill the young audience but I guess Nollywood producers are more concerned about love stories and tales concerning rituals.

I think our movie industry still has a long way to go; we need to concentrate on the most important thing which is creativity. If the producers really want to make profit, this would be a very great avenue because one can generate a lot of revenue with animated characters from sources like clothing lines, toys, comics, costumes and even theme parks. Walt Disney built an empire with a cartoon character so why can’t we just think outside the box? We truly need a revolution in Nollywood.

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THE NOLLY/GHOLLY EFFECT

Over the past months I have observed the current trend in the Nigerian movies which is the collaboration of both Nigerian and Ghanaian movie stars in the same movie. At first I thought this was a good and welcomed development that will help spread the tentacles of the Nigerian motion picture industry beyond the shores of Nigeria and will help develop the Ghanaian movie industry also know an GHOLLYWOOD but as at now, I think the concept has been overstretched.

The present surge of these movie have ridiculed whatever hopes of development I had in the first place because the producers are churning out these “Nolly-Gholly” fiasco in huge numbers therefore making their main objective quantity instead of quality. These movies are even worse than the usual pathetic Nollywood movies we make because the producers just want to use this as a marketing strategy and nothing else. The storylines are pathetic, the actors are cast wrongly, the screenplay is hogwash and don’t get me started on the title of these movies. With movie titles like Beyonce & Rihanna (watch The Trailer here), how can Nollywood be seen as a force to reckon with in the world? How can the Nigeria-Ghana collaboration be taken seriously? Ghanaians don’t pay tax here, yet they come here in droves, make money and return to their country to live lavishly. The reason marketers use them more now is simply because of greed. They charge less and permit me to say, they don’t act too well. But our marketers will sell their souls to gain extra kobo. Why would they want to use us when we charge them and deliver premium quality when there is someone who will charge less and probably deliver less? They prefer the extra cash to quality. Nigerian movies will sell anywhere, whether it has an all Nigerian cast in it or not. Another dangerous twist to this issue is that marketers are now going as far as Sierra Leone, Liberia and other African countries scouting for artistes that would give their works marketing leverage. And most of the time, marketers hold up production for them and adjust shooting time to fit their schedules.

I have nothing against this allegiance but I think both parties need to go back to their drawing boards and make good movies that are worthy of being called transnational movies because if they continue like this, the movie industry in both countries would have taken one step forward and 2 steps backwards.

Tinapa Movie Studios………Another hoax?

Tinapa Is Located In Calabar State Of Nigeria Where The Famous And Prestigious Obudu Cattle Ranch Resort Is Located

I remember the sanguinity and passion the Donald Duke administration had for Nollywood, I remember when the first major Nollywood Movie Studio project began in Calabar. Everyone was optimistic because they respected what the administration of Cross river state did with Obudu Ranch making it the biggest tourist spot in Nigeria and with this resume, the Cross river government broke boundaries so naturally I was hopeful.

Watch The Press Release And Trailer Of The Tinapa Movie Studio here

Now that Donald Duke’s tenure is over, we have been wondering what happened to the Tinapa Studio Project. Our correspondent was in Calabar recently to do a report on the Tinapa dream and she came back with shocking results. The project has lost its momentum since the new administration has been sworn in. Construction is going on at a snail's pace with little progress and the site was almost deserted as construction workers were no where to be found and there were tall grasses everywhere. We at nollyarns.com are using this medium to appeal to the present Cross river state administration to please put an end to this “abandon project ‘’ debacle that trails most government establishments in Nigeria. If the state government can not come up with enough funds to finish this project, they should seek the help of private investors because our darling Nollywood needs a movie studio. Nollywood producers have been using the “no studio” excuse for years as justification for the garbage they produce; we think it’s high time we separate the chaff from the wheat. Hopefully the Gov. Liyel Imoke administration will do the right thing before Donald’s dream is crushed.