Summary
A fascinating and vibrant collection of shorts celebrating Africa’s storytelling and cultural diversity.
This review of the Disney+ series Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire Season 1 does not contain spoilers.
Many people lament the rise of streaming platforms. Some take it too far, pretending Netflix et al are a death knell for the film and TV industry, and acting like Bela Bajaria snuck into their house at night and set their DVD collection on fire.
But while some criticisms are warranted, of course, what’s often overlooked is the accessibility these platforms provide to smaller, more daring works, and to content from all over the globe. Without Netflix, for instance, one can’t imagine a Korean drama being a viral mega-sensation the way Squid Game was.
And, to get to the point, without Disney+, one can’t imagine the House of Mouse investing in a ten-part animated African anthology series that celebrates the continent’s diversity in storytelling, culture, mythology, and visual expression.
And yet here we are.
Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire Season 1 review and plot summary
Executive produced by Peter Ramsey (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) and produced by Triggerfish, who also provided a short in the Star Wars: Visions Season 2 collection titled “Aau’s Song”, Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire collects ten short animations combining various visual styles with different modes of storytelling and resonant themes.
Paddling in the deep waters of science-fiction and fantasy, Kizazi Moto intertwines technology, culture, and mythology to often terrific effect, managing to be both a celebration of the continent’s enduring spirit and a hopeful imagining of its many potential futures.
Each episode runs around 10-15 minutes, telling a complete story with a notable theme or idea, and the same thread runs through many of them. This gives the different works, often very distinct in their visuals and tone, the feel of being pieces in a wider puzzle, cogs in a machine all whirring with the same shared purpose. It’s a degree of coherence and consistency many anthology collections don’t share.
This is not to say that all the episodes are of the same quality or will appeal equally to all since that’s never how anthologies work. But while its peaks are definitely to be found in shorts like “Hatima”, a watery exploration of tribalism, and an anime-inspired re-do of the pod race from The Phantom Menace in “Mkhuzi: The Spirit Racer”, the valleys are harder to identify. Even the worst of the collection is at least interesting. It’s hard, even, to say that any of them are “bad” in any meaningful sense.
Is Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire good or bad?
Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire is a welcome and vibrant celebration of African cultural and storytelling diversity, presented with great verve and confidence by a multitude of talented studios and individual artists.
Is Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire worth watching?
Don’t let the lack of attachment to a big IP fool you. Kizazi Moto is every bit as good of an anthology as something like Star Wars: Visions and is worth a look for anyone with even a cursory interest in animation, sci-fi, and fantasy.
What did you think of Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire Season 1? Comment below.
You can watch this series with a subscription to Disney+.
