Lady Buckit and the Motley Mopsters, the first Nigerian animated film

Although Nigeria has become one of the biggest film producers in Africa and the world in recent years, it had not yet successfully ventured into the production of animated films. Producer Blessing Amidu and her associate Oghenero Afiari have broken through this glass ceiling by releasing the latest december 11 instalment of Nigeria’s first ever animated feature film Lady Buckit And The Motley Mopters,  also known as LBMM. A premiere that the American company Disney was keen to attend. The film written by Stanlee Ohikhuare and directed by Adebisi Adetayo brings together several Nollywood stars such as Bimbo Akintola, Bola Edwards and Kalu Ikeagwu. Alongside these great figures of Nigerian cinema are Jessica and David Edwards 12 and 14 years old who had the main and secondary roles of Bukky and Tamuno respectively.

LBMM is an 80-minute film, produced by Hot Ticket Productions and available in 4 languages including Ijaw, Pigin, Yoruba and English. The plot revolves around a precocious and self-centred little girl named Bukky who finds herself in completely unknown territory. There she meets a group of very unusual characters who change the course of her destiny.

Lady Buckit and The Motley Mopsters is now showing in cinemas nationwide, take the whole family to not only have fun, but also to make history as Nigeria’s first feature length animated film makes its grand debut on the big screens. #LBMM pic.twitter.com/lFTmFpBlCN

— 🏀 🙅🏽‍♂️Ayo Ze Fernandes💰 (@i_am_hayolah) December 15, 2020

Get the scoop on the latest #LBMM showtimes here 👇🏾! pic.twitter.com/iq2LjSqe9k

— LBMMTheMovie (@LBMMTheMovie) January 13, 2021

The film has been well received in Nigeria and has been programmed in several cinemas across the country. But it has come a long way to get there. It was in 2017 that the seed of this work of art was planted in the heart of Blessing Amidu. Mother of 4 children, she is very involved in their lives and it is by watching cartoons with them at that time, that the trigger came. That day, one of her sons, then 5 years old, entered her room dressed only in his underwear and a pair of slippers in his hand. She remembers teasing him and telling him that he looked like a cartoon character. She and her 12-year-old daughter at the time had ideas for cartoon characters inspired by the 5-year-old. So Blessing and her children woke up the next day with new character names such as: Cupsticks, Dustee, Mopps, etc. That same year she started the project but failed. But she did not give up.    It was in 2018 that a new life was breathed into the project. At the same time in 2018, a similar project, Sade, was presented to the press but never saw the light of day, leaving the field clear for LBMM. Producer Chris Ihidero and animator Adebisi Adetayo join the team as consultant and lead animator/director respectively.

“With 20 years of experience in the industry, there was no one better than Adetayo to manage the technical aspect of the project. He was simply seduced by the script of the LBMM film. It was then that in record time, he was able to bring together all 38 animators who worked on the project by himself” reveals the film’s producer.

The film will be made with a budget of one million dollars. An extremely low budget compared to those of animated films produced in Europe or America. But this financial constraint was also one of the challenges that the team behind the project had to meet. And the challenge was met since the team did not need any external expertise. The film is 100% Made In Nigeria. From script to direction, including the game, the animation team and the technical team. A real African pride!

The film is still being screened in several cinemas in Nigeria. A bright international future surely awaits this film.

Lydie Pierre Nsakamo