BOPHELONG – A group of imaginative young individuals, led by a self-taught animator, has turned the internet into a space of laughter and fun, offering a break from the trials of everyday life.
Best known as ‘WelcometoMovhango‘, this team of friends, relatives, and Gift Sigamu the animator has captured the hearts and funny bones of audiences across various social media platforms, especially TikTok.
Through their creative social media skits, they summarize the essence of local trends, linguistics, and the vibrant lifestyle of Vaal people, delivering a continuous stream of comedic sketches to their eager viewers.
With a massive following of over 130K and an impressive 953K likes, their platforms have become equal with hysterical videos such as ‘Dating a Rapper’ and ‘black families’, among many others, provoking laughs and chuckles from audiences far and wide.
Speaking to Sedibeng Ster at their humble makeshift studio, Sigamu, the visionary behind the animation explained how they started the journey.
“We started off producing music until we had electricity glitches in our studio and didn’t operate for a long time. I jumped to learning animation from my mentor. From late 2019 to 2020, we started uploading some videos after immense learning and implementation. YouTube also played a role in what we are producing now,” he said.
Sigamu said months after their first upload, they had to work more on improving creativity in providing super professional skits.
“We had small numbers because we were starting. Some of our cartoons were not well created. We’ve seen a lot of change since we improved our skits from all technical aspects. We are getting more love and feedback from our community and different people who used to stay in love. The love is growing I must say,” he said.
Sigamu said they comprised a team of 12 individuals who contributed differently to the production.
“If got an awesome team that is always willing to work. I roped in people who were very close to me for different roles. By now I think we have mastered the skill of reading scripts, and putting together masterpieces that our followers get. People can look out to more changes in any aspect of the production,” he said.
Lotto Ramagaga (39) who plays the character of Malome Slotha said “As a shareholder of the music production team, I didn’t understand the idea of animation when Gift introduced it to me. I asked him to produce something so I get a visual understanding of the concept. When we saw the first skit, I was blown away and that’s how I got involved in the skits.”
“My experience in the production has drawn me closer to confusion because now I mix my real life with the character. This is an awesome adventure and I enjoy being part of it,” he said.
Other characters on the skits include Sibongile Sigamu as Mme wa Gee, Tshepo Nyama as Samuel, Lebohang Kutoane as George, Simon Nkosi as Thabo Thupa, Sipho Monenensi as Tafiya and Pule Mofokeng, Lebohang Mokoena as Jane Maboko. Tjama Paedo as Tjama Lebitso, Thabo Mora as Taxi Drive and Bonginkosi as Retshidiswe Martin.
