By Kristy Hesom
On Thursday, 6 October, select guests and media were invited to dinner and drinks at the Wangthai restaurant in Nelson Mandela Square, Johannesburg, while the public was invited to join in too – with screens in the square and a larger than life light show later in the evening.
Comedian Loyiso Gola was the MC for the night and welcomed the crowd to the event, which he assured would be “interactive”. The launch also featured a fun photo booth, where guests got to pose with a mascot of Four Arms, one of Ben 10’s aliens.
The main attraction, however, was definitely the lights show. The event had its own giant Omnitrix (the watch that transforms Ben into 10 different friendly aliens). Attendees were invited to push the button on the device, which ‘released’ a virtual monster.
Through a combination of lights, sounds, and images, the buildings on one half of Nelson Mandela Square were covered with a projection of each of the monsters. Both the adult fans of the show, and a handful of children watching the display from the square, showed much excitement.
For those who don’t know, Ben 10 was released in in 2006 with the show’s hero, Ben Tennyson, growing up on screen.
“Our African audience last saw 10-year old Ben Tennyson in 2006 and we decided to transition him back to the age of a goofy, unconventional kid-hero to target a brand new audience,” says Tramm Wigzell, vice president, multi-platform at Cartoon Network. “Ben will still transform into his signature mature aliens and fight all the villains that once plagued the city, but this time around he is more modern and relatable with younger fans, but also familiar to our die-hard fans.”
It was also a big surprise to the audience that, because of the show’s massive fan base on the African continent, the rebooted show will premiere here on Monday, 10 October, whereas it will only premiere in the US in April 2017.
“Our young African audience can now look forward to a brand new show, with all new scripts and a brand new look and feel, in order to build a brand new generation of Ben 10 fans,” Wigzell adds.
Overall, it was a great event that left many of the adult attendees feeling like kids again.