A collaborative effort of ISPR and Geo Entertainment, the first episode of the animated series, ‘Team Muhafiz’ released on YouTube and we are at a loss for words!
Team Muhafiz is an adaptation of a comic book series that was launched in Pakistan in 2015. It features teenage characters fighting social evils in our society. The series aims to inspire the youth by clearly highlighting the problems plaguing our society today, and invoking in them a national narrative of peace, harmony, and progress. It is a 10-episode series that is expected to air in 2 parts, with each part spread over 5 episodes.
The first story arc includes a threat to a national sporting event and will tackle themes including timber mafia and drug abuse. Whereas the second arc, wherein there will be a danger of a mega project’s launch being sabotaged, will cover topics that resonate with the youth and young adults like human trafficking, child labor, and street crime. (Read More About It Here)
Many notable names of our industry have contributed as voiceover artists in the series including Sajal Aly, Dananeer Mobeen, Ahsan Khan, Wahaj Ali, and others!
About The Episode
The eleven-minute episode was nothing but par excellence! It was short yet impactful, enough to amaze us and leave us wanting more. Four of the six heroes were introduced to us in the series: Parinaaz who is the team leader, ex-cricketer Zane, the martial artist Reza, and the youngest member of the group Mahnur.
The episode opens with the four heroes carrying on banter in their van about whether it was the correct decision to get Bluetooth instead of an air-conditioner for their van (talk about relatability!) when they get notified by another member of the team about Zoltar. Soon, they are distracted by a disturbance a few blocks away where some goons threaten to forcefully extract money from shopkeepers (hence, the title Parchi for the episode). Our heroes, despite their differences in opinion, step up and keep a united front to fight the goons. Collectively, the four of them take down the goons who are eventually arrested (first victory for our heroes!).
It goes without saying that the first episode is a must-watch! We loved how each character is written and has a character arc of their own and a background story that eventually amalgamates into one storyline. A shout-out to clever scripting by writer Fakhir Rizvi.
The animations were top-notch which is a testament to the fact that there is definitely a lot of untapped talent and potential that can eventually aid in developing the Pakistani animation industry!
Furthermore, without giving away any spoilers, the episode rounded off well, keeping us hooked till the very last minute. The series is definitely one we’ll be following! It is a great initiative taken by ISPR and Geo Entertainment to captivate the youth’s interest and it is high time that the younger generation has superheroes of their own!
Summing it up, the best thing about the first episode was that it was thought-provoking yet not too heavy, short, and crisp. And most significantly, an initiative to lure our youth towards Pakistani content.
Team Muhafiz has been scripted by Fakhir Rizvi and Kamran Khan is the Animation Director. It is a project of ISPR and Geo Entertainment along with AZ Corp. The animated series is an adaptation of a 2015 comic book series created and written by Imran Azhar.
Watch it here if you haven’t already:
Share your thoughts on the first episode of Team Muhafiz!
