'Ogas At The Top' -- Puppet Satire of Naija's Leaders & Celebs

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Thursday, March 13, 2014

A new Tv show featuring puppet versions of Naija celebrities and leaders, has debuted and promises to be one heck of a laughter ride if the producers get it well. Why do I say that? Because the producers of the new show titled Ogas At The Top are actually based in Kenya. The new show is actually a Naija version of The XYZ Show which is also a puppet themed series that satirizes Kenya's leadership and celebrities.

The Obasanjo Puppet from the show

According to a report:

The show will feature puppet doubles of Olusegun Obasanjo, Patience Ozokwor, Sani Abacha, Basketmouth, Ibrahim Babangida, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Bola Tinubu and many others.
‘Ogas at the Top’ already has a Kenyan version ‘The XYZ Show’, which won the AMVCA (Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Award) for Best TV Series last year. It is already in its 9th season and has a followership of over 10million people.
The producers of the show say inspiration will never be lacking as the Nigerian political landscape offers story ideas aplenty for the Nigerian version.
‘The Nigerian political scene is a goldmine for stories: we certainly won’t run out of inspiration any time soon. And we know that Nigerians, just like Kenyans, have a wicked sense of humor, so this promises to be a wild ride.’

Obj, Patience Jonathan, GEJ, Okonjo Iweala...can't figure the last lady

For me, I see this as a good timing. I had come across The XYZ Series a few years back and had wondered why such a show did not exist in Nigeria - a nation that is filled with all manners of 'katakata' - political drama, intrigues, scandals, controversies etc...and in the dramatis personae include our bumbling leaders and celebrities from different works of life; everyone who was making explosive negative or positive impact. I was entranced by The XYZ Show series that I was thinking I could go meet with them somehow and affiliate in the creation of a Naija version a couple of years back. 

Well...unfortunately I never got to do that.

And as if the guys at Buni Media, Kenya aligned with my thoughts, they moved fast and came up with this ingenius concept - even the name (Ogas At The Top) was a smart decision; a reference that had gained acceptance in Naija culture after an NSCDC officer's 'misyarning' on Channels TV.
My only unanswered wish was that a Naija outfit that really understood this nation well could have taken up the project. 

Recently, some clips of the show have been uploaded on YouTube and after watching it, I had to say they didn't do a bad job at all. However, they need to be careful about accents that are not fully Nigerian - like that of the Patience Jonathan Character as I saw in one of the skits. The skits were funny; I just hope they have Nigerian advisers or guides to ensure it doesn't end up sounding Kenyan or somewhat different.

                  (A) - Spitting Image, (B) - Les Guignols de L'info, (C) - The XYZ Show. 

Spitting Image has the most grotesque looking set of puppets.

Puppet themed satirical shows like this started way back in the 1980s with shows like the Spitting Image series from Britain which aired from 1984-1996 and Les Guignols de L'info from France which debuted in 1988. The producers of The XYZ show 

Godfrey Mwampembwa (pen named 'Gado'), a Kenyan political cartoonist and satirist is the originator of the XYZ show. He got his got inspiration from Les Guignols de L'info. (I came to notice that Les Guignols de L'info nicer looking puppets than the Spitting Image versions though)

On a trip to Paris, for an exhibition Gado took time to visit the set of "Les Guignols de l'Info", or the "News Puppets". Les Guignols, just like XYZ, is a spoof newscast featuring latex puppets. It has been on the air for more than 20 years and is one of France's most popular shows ever.To Gado it was immediately obvious that the same concept would not only be a huge success in Kenya, but could also have an important social impact by exposing, with humor, the rampant corruption and mismanagement of the country.Back in Kenya, Gado shopped the idea around to the TV stations, but many had trouble understanding the concept. Still, Gado pressed ahead, and in 2004 he managed to convince the French Embassy in Nairobi to send sculptor Gerald Olewe to France for a month. There Olewe was trained by the team of experts who create the French puppets, and he learned how to work with sophisticated materials such as foaming latex. He came back with a fully finished puppet of Kibaki in his luggage. Olewe held his breath as he innocently walked through the JKIA customs. Luckily, he was not stopped.

The puppet concept has grown to be embraced in different nations; I got to see the Spanish, Portuguese, Indian, Cameroonian and South African versions.

If 'Ogas At the Top' becomes a hit (if they get it right), then TV and cable stations would probably jump at airing them as Naija has a very large viewership and material.

What do you think?

The Alingos - Will They Stand The Test of Time?

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Saturday, March 01, 2014

P-Square have suddenly wowed their fans and admirers with an upcoming animation series which features twin characters of themselves.

The Alingos

The animation is titled The Alingos  which is a smart move to take the title of one of their popular tracks to another level and equally maintain an affinity with the P-Square brand. I'll give it up to P-Square, their thinking is phenomenal; they are always looking beyond being just musicians and investing in other ventures. The artwork of the animation employs the child-like look art for the characters which is a style that would appeal to the younger generation.

However, my kwanta with this animation is the fact that it explores extreme themes that have to do with superpowers, Aliens etc - elements that are more popular with western culture than with Nigerian culture. This may result in the animation being more accepted by children than by adults.

Super powers and aliens? In Naija? I no too dey sure oh.

This is not the first time the Superhero/Superpowers theme is being exploited in Naija animation. It has been explored to death by Nigerian comic artists, by brands like Indomie and they have struggled to be accepted by Nigerians. But its obvious that Nigerians don't stick to superhoero themes....this is why Nollywood dare not explore that area. Even film feature length Naija animations don't seem to be seeing the light of day.

lol...Ninja in Africa. Is a movie possible?

A lady dresses as some super  heroine
at some Naija comic convention

Indomitables...they came and fizzled out into obscurity.
Now they are back again. But for how long?

This is just too hard to fathom in the reality of Naija fantasy.

Naija movies that have even forayed into the Sci-Fi territory have bombed and ended up failures; cartoons have equally done the same. There were even attempts to turn Nigerian mythological characters into super heroes but it still never stuck. We're just too used to being REAL.

The Alingos...remember this outfit on the Psquare poster
of the song of the same name?

And with this in mind I ask....will 'The Alingos' stand the test of time? 

Only time will tell.

Klint Da Drunk Ranting Over Beer Bottles [Video]

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Saturday, May 11, 2013

I came across this funny animated video just recently uploaded. It was frigging hilarious. I've gotta say Klint Da Drunk really sounds good in animation form. Check it out. 

Klint should really do more of this! What do you think?

The Pastor with a...purpose

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Monday, October 10, 2011

Been busy as heck this month and the last. That's why my blog has been on partial hiatus...However, I never forgot this precious place.

I came across this video that got me cracking. Seriously, this is the kind of show I would love to start in Naija; a whole new kind of comedy involving spoofing puppets...lol!



Okay, God's work is a serious matter and I don't joke with it but when you come across fakes, you can't help laffing at how mugu people can be!

Orobo - The Cartoon

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Here's a short animation experiment a friend and I put together. It's roughly done but I think it still delivers..lol!
We have a number of other stuff we're putting together. This was just a test run I thought I might share.

Lionel Richie's Hello - Naija Spoof

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Wednesday, June 30, 2010

This is really funny. The info says  - the song of a yahoo boy in Naija when he gets nabbed rendered in Chipmunk voice.


Hmm...I'm inspired to do something funny too...lol!

Wheelchair Chick & Eating with Kids

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Friday, March 26, 2010

It's so funny when we let our imaginations roam wild. I found this two short animations frigging hilarious. And I noticed one thing that really helps comedians - when they use real life circumstances and add colors to it or just put it out in the funniest way they can.

Ever thought of dancing with a chick in a wheelchair? Or what's your opinion of eating with little children with all their little hands going into your food and with them drooling spit all over you?
Watch these...real funny stuff.

 

Voice Auditions! - Who Do You Sound Like?

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Recently, I’ve been working on a project with Kimson and would like to feature blogville folk on an experiment. What we need now are voices so we’d like to audition for voices.

So all you gotta do is check out these characters: Ganz, Peter, Shedrach, Tracy, Sandra and Azeez, pick one or two or all, and try to sound like them judging by their looks.

All you have to say is: ‘Hi I’m (Name of character) and I’m representing on the Kush Chronicles!’ then sign off with your blog name or real identity.

To record your voice is simple. Just do it on the Snapvine recorder on this blog or record and upload. You can click on the ‘Get your own’ button on on the Snapvine player on this blog as shown below in circle to go to the Snapvine page.

You can voice-imitate as much as you like. Recording is simple as long as you've got a phone, recordable MP3 player or a Laptop that records directly. 

Y’all better take part in this ‘cause there’s a surprise coming at the end of it when the review of each voice imitation comes out.

So don’t just comment, drop a voice for as many of these characters you can imitate.

We're waiting!

WEED FOR THOUGHT

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Crack is wack! Once you go crack, its hard to turn back. I've seen enuff folks go nuts over crack and become a recluse.

For anybody that's thinking of trying out crack..here're some tender crackhead moments...courtesy Damon Wayans LOL!