And it all started with some good, old-fashioned trash talk. Hamid Ibrahim, cocreator of "Iwájú" and the project's production designer, said in 2019 that Kugali wanted to "kick Disney's ass ...

In 2021, Pan-African entertainment studio Kugali vowed to kick Disney’s ass — and Disney chief creative officer Jennifer Lee was so into it that she partnered up with Kugali. After three years ...