Willow Smith may soon be on a TV screen near you (because she can clearly do anything)
Taking a break from making super-danceable tunes (“Whip My Hair,” anyone?), Willow Smith has revealed she’s at work on a TV show — and we’re so.freaking.excited. The animated show, called Menencholy, is based on an original book proposal by Smith, and it centers around one very powerful young woman.
At the show’s heart is Menen-Nin Khali, a heroine who has the power to see into her own past life. She takes a journey to The Mystery School, where she undergoes what Deadline describes as a “metamorphosis,” and comes to know and harness her true powers. Sounds pretty epic to us!
Smith told Deadline,
"The nonphysical, creative, and wild nature of a female heroine’s journey calls for a unique narrative structure that permeates the very foundation of the story. Enjoy the ride!"
If the proposal for Menencholy reads with the same kind of power as Smith’s outline for another film, Teeth, published on her production company’s website, it’s sure to offer a strong social critique and a complex lead female role.
Teeth centers around a teenage girl named Dawn who has retractable teeth at the opening of her vagina. While Dawn must live with, and navigate the use of, her mutation, Smith also creates a world in which patriarchy and toxic masculinity are a virus infecting the men in Dawn’s life, and with whom she must contend.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BSrwDvkglZk
“The teeth, to me, represent a secret power within the feminine that society keeps hidden from women,” writes Smith in her synopsis. “[Women] need to build a framework where our unique power is respected and continuously cultivated, instead of letting the symptoms of toxic masculinity — the virus — smother our light.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BQrKMungtHJ
Dear Willow, you inspire us! We’ll be on the lookout for what is sure to be an exceptional animated series. And hopefully a film, too!
