Wednesday 31 August 2016

The Nigerian 'Rat Race' animated series

A fresh and exciting animated TV/Web series is currently in production by Nigerians, for Nigerians. “Rat Race” is a 2016 Nigerian 2D animated series written and produced by Michael Adukeh and Lionel Spiff. The series would be directed by Mesh Ad Studios and produced by Redmonkeyz Media. 
 
Rat Race” follows the lives of two rats across suburban Nigeria as they tackle everyday Nigerian problems in a humorous, satirical and reflective way. Set in modern day Nigeria, "Rat Race" features Nkapi (voiced by Michael Adukeh), an alpha rat, cunning, smart and ambitious  and Nka (voiced by Lionel Spiff), a dull, easy going and sluggish rat often gullible to Nkapi’s schemes.


Nka
A slim house rat with dull grey color that mostly reflects his personality. Nka is slow and while seemingly unserious and “dopey”, he does possess a strong moral compass that shows consistently during their adventures. Not as intelligent as Nkapi but he’s still very humanistic and mostly observant, and by far the more grounded of the two. Nka being easygoing and adaptable is always useful. He hardly comes up with great ideas but doesn’t make them less unsuccessful nonetheless and he’s very loyal to Nkapi. He often gets ridiculed for his loyalty from his eccentric protagonist duo, but always remains happy and giddy. Nka’s love interest is Winch, a cat he’s willing to die for. Yes, we did say a cat a rat is willing to die for. 

Winch
She is a sexy, conniving, scamming, cunning and very sarcastic plus sized, house cat. Even though her original owners are from Warri in Delta State, Nigeria, her mannerisms are similar to a foreign cat from the United States. Her true speech tone comes out when she is angry, usually when Nka is trying his luck. Winch is snobby, smug and sees no interest in those who seek her attention. She probably has a sweet friendly side to her, if anybody’s brave enough to get close to her, they just might see she’s not so dangerous. Winch’s lifelong goal is to move out of her neighbourhood, take over the world, kill all the rats and….men, in that exact order.

“Considering the challenges and myriad of experiences an average Nigerian encounters, we felt that we would be depicting our problems and ways of life in an entertaining way but also in a way that calls for thought, reflection and action.” said Writer Michael Adukeh.
“Rat Race” has a little something for everyone - it features film/pop-culture references, social concepts and also has grounded, down-to-earth stories and a unique verbal tone and it is guaranteed to be an adventure full of the typical Nigerian humour, memorable characters and relatable content”

Director Donald Okudu.
ABOUT REDMONKEYZ
RedMonkeyz is a media and entertainment company focused on creative and strategic means of communicating messages on behalf of our clients. For more information about RedMonkeyz, for more info visit www.redmonkeyz.com

ABOUT MESH ADs
Mesh ADs is a place of observation, investigation, and experimentation. Aiming for high quality products, Mesh ADs creates great user experiences integrating multi-disciplinary expertise with a clear business and product vision. For more information about Mesh AD Studios, please visit www.meshadstudios.com
Written by Redmonkeyz/Mesh ADs