Cartoons, comics and animated series are the best tools to capture the attention of a child and instill good social and moral values. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of inspirational content for children on Pakistani television and even filmmakers do not offer much yearly for the young minds that need motivation. It has become a need of the hour to have content creators that create programs that are safe, educational as well as inspiring.
ISPR and Geo Productions in association with AZ Corp have made efforts in the same direction, and have produced an animated series for children, Team Muhafiz.
The concept behind the superhero series is to show indigenous real characters that are normal human beings with no superpowers, unlike what the foreign content propagates. Team Muhafiz is an engaging animated thriller, based on powerful yet relatable stories of inspiring heroes that attract the youth of Pakistan. The series aims to highlight different social issues and distinctly ascertain what’s black or white in our society. The themes include societal evils that we struggle with in our daily lives. There are lessons on extortion, street crime, drug abuse, human trafficking, timber mafia, child labour and a lot more.
Team Muhafiz is adapted from a comic book series with the same title, created by Imran Azhar and published by AzCorp Entertainment. It was launched in 2015 at the Juvenile Centre in Karachi Central Jail before hitting the market, where it became an instant hit with features in all major local news media as well as international media.
Team Muhafiz was also in the top 5 final nominee for the National Innovation Award by Pakistan Innovation Foundation for two consecutive years in 2016 & 2017. Since it’s inception Team Muhafiz comic book series has been honoured with numerous international accolades and mentions, several top international universities have conducted sessions on them. Library of Congress, Stanford, Cornel, Columbia, Harvard, McGill are housing the comics in their prestigious institutes.
Geo and ISPR took the popular comic series and adapted it into TV venture. The series features eight role models with whom the teens can relate to and seek inspiration from. The characters include: a Chinese archer Yu Hai Tao, who is training the son of a foreign office diplomat, Reza; Farman, a decorated retired SSG Havildar from Swabi, KPK; Parinaaz who is passionate about hockey and community work; Badshah Khan who is an expert in coding and programming, Aarya, a tutor with fast reflexes and loves stick dancing; Mahnur, a girl from Hunza who is the first female martial art champion from Gilgit Baltistan and lastly Zane, a cricket lover.
The voice-over artists behind these characters are also names that we have seen on television and big screen. Wahaj Ali is playing Reza, Sajal Aly has lent her voice to Parinaaz, Dananeer is playing Mahnur, Ahsan Khan is Farman, Syed Shafaat Ali is Zane. We have Adeel Khan’s voice as Badshah Khan, Nimra Rafiq as Aarya and Nayyar Ejaz will be giving his voice to a baddie, Rawka.
The objective behind Team Muhafiz is to build a national narrative of peace, progress and harmony. The characters are from different professional backgrounds, social classes, ethnicities and religions yet they will co-exist with love and mutual respect for each other.
The season 1 of this stylized 3D animated production is divided into two parts, and each part’s story has been developed over 5 episodes. The OST of the series — Dil Fatah Karain — is out in which we get to see glimpses from the animated show with an energetic tune. With the beautiful and encouraging lyrics by Asim Raza & Adnan Dhool, the song has been sung by Soch The Band, Karakoram and Young Stunners.
For those who want to read the comics first, Team Muhafiz comic books are available at AzCorp Entertainment website for local readers. It is also available on Amazon for international fans around the world.
