AFRICAN CHILDREN FINDING HOME WITHIN THE FRAMES: IS THERE ENOUGH INCLUSIVITY OF VOICES IN KIDS ANIMATION BY AFRICAN ANIMATION?

 

African animation, has gone through lots of discussion on what it would look like, what African animated stories would sometimes "sell" in the animation world and at times, what can hit home, with resonance. Its all been an up and down story.

Additionally, in the animation world, something close to this aspect, which circles around, is inclusivity. From various reports of animated shows and series when they are released, all the way to the push for more ethnic or societal groups to be heard in their current on-goings in their respective spaces.

Inclusivity, often revolves around the voices of particular characters, social groups or ethnicities, brought in to the stories to offer their view or perspective of human or societal experiences. Now let us bring it close to the lens of the African continent, more so, with kids animation.

Why does it matter? Kids animation, is one of the biggest and most dominated spaces in the animation, but often, only a few voices tend to get heard or like it is said, included, therefore, what does Africa hold in terms of inclusivity, within it's continent, but also across the animation world and what it means?

When people talk about “inclusivity” in animation, the conversation often stops at skin color or social group, in most cases. In Africa, the term, gets louder, due to it's diversity, plus what it actually means for the animation world.

Below is a link to a collection of African stories by Bino and Fino shop, you may catch a glimpse of some, as we digress into this topic.

Collection of African animation from the African continent

So, when it comes to African animation, creating truly inclusive African kids animation isn’t just about making characters darker-skinned or giving them African names. It’s about asking a bigger question,
whose stories are being told, and whose are being left out?

Representation Is Not a Checkbox

As African creators gain visibility, there's been progress, in the sense, of
seeing more animations with African leads, more local names, more use of African cities and settings. That’s worth celebrating.

However from a creative and cultural standpoint, we must also ask:

- Are we only representing certain regions?

- Are we falling into cultural stereotypes even within our own continent?

- Are we showing the real diversity of African childhoods?

In Africa, one country could potentially represent close to 20 - 50 voices, on average in terms of cultural inclusivity and their human and societal experience. This can range from aspects of their climatic conditions, mythology and even down to their traditions and practices.

Therefore, when it comes to the kids coming from these diverse voices, what will be their truth and are they being upheld with the proper integrity from a cultural and creative standpoint? And how does this relate with the animation world at general, with the specific genre of kids animation? 

Inclusivity should mean all kinds of African kids can see themselves reflected, not just the ones who fit neatly into a marketable mold.

What Inclusivity Should Look Like in African Kids Animation

Kids animation, is often aligned with being able to highlight light hearted stories, explore themes closer to helping kids learn their world at their respective ages. This ranges from playful singalong songs, rhythmic music, colourful worlds, characters they feel close and can relate to and a good amount of playfulness.

Now, how can this look when it comes to African animation, aiming to have a good level of inclusivity, when it comes to Africa and the animation world at large?

Geographic & Ethnic Diversity

Africa is not a country, but many animations unintentionally present it that way. 

This is one of the biggest misunderstandings of what Africa is, by the animation world at large, and is often a big concern into how and why, inclusivity, by African animation creators, for African people becomes heavily important to bring out voices of the continent. 

In a world where, such misunderstanding runs rampant, a generic “African” village, an ambiguous accent, or a mash-up of styles that flatten real cultures, water down what actual communities and tribes across African countries have to offer, with their unique voice in stories.

Why it matters:

- A child from Addis Ababa, Dakar, or Gaborone should recognize their specific world, not just a fictionalized “Africa.”

- Ethnic representation within countries matters too, Hausa, Zulu, Berber, Tigrayan, Shona, Akan, all with their own customs, languages, and styles. All of these ethnicities have specific traditions across the various aspects of the culture and not one of them counts for the other, even despite being from the same continent or even country

Inclusivity means moving beyond “pan-African aesthetic” and into regionally grounded storytelling. For kids animation, this can influence a lot of the themes, tone or even style in which certain kids from particular communities can be able to find their place and also be groomed in the right geographical area, with what their ethnicities voices need to say.

Language & Accent Inclusion

Far too often, even African productions are voiced in polished American or British English to “sound global.” At times, most animated shows or series, find the "general" African sounding voice. 

Therefore, it then still raises the higher importance of African animators to take the mantle and create stories where African voice actors and actresses can bring unique voices from specific African ethnicities and tribes. Our languages carry, a lot more in each word, phrase, proverb and teaching, they carry meaning, music, and identity.

Small aspects like the context of a greeting among Zulu people, or a local urban saying in Tanzania, could create a better and more authentic relatability with the African audience and helping kids understand their culture better. It can help foster African kids animation, that is more grounded towards the aspects of kids animation but for the African audience.

From creating singalong songs, that are symbolic to their tribes, country or region to have characters that have particular accents that speak about various backgrounds of the country. For example, Swahili from Nairobi and Tanzania often have linguistic differences and tonality in their phrases. 

What true inclusivity could look like:

- Animations in Swahili, Yoruba, Xhosa, Amharic, Arabic, or pidgin English, even if subtitled

- Characters speaking multiple languages naturally, like kids often do in real life

- Keeping local accents instead of replacing them with "neutral" ones

This doesn’t alienate audiences, it invites them in. Children often chosen as voice actors and actresses, become more infused with their culture from a young age, and it paves a way for younger generations to express their cultural identity and language, which fosters a stronger tie with their land.

Body Types, Abilities & Neurodiversity

Most animated characters portraying Africa still follow one body type, slim, agile, "perfect." This often reflects an incorrect view of the diverse types of people from the African continent and also their human and societal experiences. African kids come in all shapes, sizes, and abilities. This aspect often confronts the aspects of socioeconomic and sociocultural issues that Africans face.

For example, Sudanese are often known their dark skin, tall height and often at times, markings on their skin that have deep symbolic meaning for their particular tribes. In other regions, various body types can symbolize deep cultural meaning towards aspects such as wealth or respect.

Inclusivity means:

- Showing kids with disabilities, using mobility aids, having hearing loss, visual impairments, or chronic conditions. This is often a place that is not discussed or brought out in kids animated shows with proper inclusion. 

- Characters with different body types, not just idealized forms. This can range from a cultural understanding of how body types are perceived in the African continent, and also the aspects of gender specific body type issues, going into beauty standards, or physical expectations and many more.

- Highlighting neurodiverse characters, kids who see the world differently, and whose strengths come from that difference. The aspect of mental health in children is often a taboo, in the continent, and more so even mental health issues themselves. African animation creators, with a better contextual understanding, of the issues can better develop shows to include African children who are special and need specific needs.

When a child sees someone like them in a story, they gain confidence that they belong in the world, just as they are.

Religious & Cultural Expression

Religion plays a big role in many African children's lives, but it's often left out of animation, or simplified for safety.

African society, was not inherently given Christianity as its source of divinity. African communities paid homage to the ancestors and spirits that had symbolic meaning, therefore, they are several aspects respective to communities that can be inaccurate with regards to how Western or mainstream animation may portray religious teachings in kids animation.

True inclusivity could include:

- A Muslim girl wearing a hijab who’s the lead problem-solver

- A boy raised in a Christian home, but believes in strong cultural African tradition in Sunday school facing a moral dilemma that turns into an adventure

- A character from a traditional belief system interacting with ancestral stories

We don’t need to preach, but we can portray. If we are indeed meant to be accurate, a lot of kids animation from the African continent may look at the historical records of respective African cultures to know what their practice of divinity looked like and what their culture says.

This is a controversial take but a necessary one, if we are to look at the proper picture of what we may wish to reflect about our society.

Children should see their spiritual or cultural life reflected respectfully, not erased.

Socio-Economic Diversity

Too many stories show either poverty as tragedy or wealth as default, but most African kids live between those extremes. The most common or regular story trope involves rural-urban dynamics in which Africans show the complexities of both lives and which show how most Africans live, and not to forget the dynamic of the Africans in the diaspora, where they exist in a socioeconomic and sociocultural dynamic, which hints at various themes of existence as an African in society

Inclusive stories might explore:

- Kids from working-class families navigating daily challenges

- Characters from informal settlements, rural areas, or refugee communities, with dignity

- Kids whose parents are farmers, traders, boda-boda drivers, or artisans

These lives aren’t less worthy. In fact, they offer rich, real, and relatable storytelling.

Why This Kind of Inclusivity Matters

Animation is often a child’s first mirror.
It tells them who is normal, who is valuable, who gets to be the hero.

If African kids grow up only seeing one type of African character or only the most marketable or Western-aligned versions, they may begin to shrink their own sense of identity and in an animation perspective, African animation, may sadly, just become a knock off, of what mainstream media, and lack the authenticity needed for Africa to come forward with fresh alternatively to storytelling in the animation world.

Inclusivity is not just about fairness. It’s about giving every child the tools to imagine themselves fully, with pride.

How Do We Get There?

Creating inclusive animation doesn’t require huge budgets, it requires intention.

Here’s what creators can do:

- Hire diverse writers and voice actors

- Research communities beyond your own

- Listen to kids, parents, and educators

- Validate difference instead of erasing it

And here’s what audiences can do:

- Support shows that push representation forward

- Give feedback with care, not criticism

- Recommend shows across languages and cultures

Inclusivity isn’t about being “politically correct.”
It’s about creating a generation of kids who know they matter, no matter where they come from or how they show up.

Conclusion

The real beauty of Africa isn’t in its sameness, it’s in its breathtaking variety.

If African kids’ animation can reflect that variety with honesty, joy, and care, we’ll be doing more than entertaining, we’ll be building self-worth, empathy, and belonging.

Let’s make sure every child can say,
“That character is just like me.”

What are some of the voices in Africa would you want to see properly represented? Let us know in the comments