The Croods In Bemba ★

Ba Crood balefwaya umutende pa cilongwe ca busuma. Bapwililwa nakucheba umulilo na kutemwa ukucita ifyo babomfwa. Umwaume uushala, Grug, akalumba ukubomba ubushilu bwa banabo wakwe. Umwanakashi, Ugga, balefwaya ukumona amano yacishinka pa ndondomeko yabanabo. Nomba umwana wabo, Eep, alafwaya ukupitilila imishintele sha kutalika — alilafye amafunda yasuma ayaaya. Bikuya mushitashi aba bana bamusumba nabakwe, abanono baleshilika umutima wa ba Crood. Ba Crood balenga bwino ukumona ifyo bafwaya ukwikala pantu balyo balikwata ubushiku bumo. Mu fipepi fya fyalenga, balandile umuntu uula afwile ukumwaba pa kupanga imipashi — uru ni Guy, umukashi ulefwaya ukulemba amano yabulungu nakuyeela ifi cilapupa: imipashi, umulilo, nakupona mu cinono.

Guy alishiba bwino ukupanga ishina. Alalandila umupashi umo balechita umulimo, alalepusha ba Crood umutende wakwe. Icyintu ifyo balingileka ukulya umuntu kanshi ulubala, ni umutende uwo waba nga fyaliko: umulimo no kutuntulu. Mu kukabila ubwafuma, ba Crood balashintilila ulya mulandu walubili: ukutemwa ukupanga ubushiku bwabo bwa nsansa, no kufwaya ukulandilako fintu ifyakale. Mu mafilimu, ilondolola ifyo ifyakufika mwe bo, umutima wa maka, umutende, nokupepa ama shani yabu mwine.

Currently, most Zambian children watch The Croods in English. They laugh, but they miss the deep idioms. According to linguist Dr. Chileshe Mwape (University of Zambia), “Localization of animation into Bemba can improve literacy retention and cultural pride. A child who hears ‘Umusebo wakwe Grug ali nga nshita’ (Grug’s path is like a trap) will remember proverbs better than any textbook.”

By creating The Croods in Bemba, DreamWorks (or a Zambian distributor like ZNBC) could: the croods in bemba

Bemba is a highly expressive, tonal language that relies on ideophones—words that mimic sounds or actions. For example:

When Grug falls off a cliff in slow motion, the Bemba narrator would not just say “he fell.” The script would read: “Na pita pa butukutuku… na tonka fye shishi kwilila poshi na poshi—NTANDALA!” (He ran quickly… then slipped helplessly on every rock—BIG FALL!)

The scene where the family discovers “shoes” (leather boots on coral) becomes a linguistic goldmine. Guy says, “Fika amakasa pa maka.” (Put shoes on your feet.) Grug responds, “Bwino? Amakasa? Impepo ishakulya?” (Shoes? Do they eat wind?) The audience roars. Ba Crood balefwaya umutende pa cilongwe ca busuma

At first glance, a movie about cavemen seems foreign to Zambia. However, the themes of The Croods are deeply Bemba: family survival, respect for elders, fear of the unknown, and the tension between tradition (imilimo ya kwa kalamba) and progress (ukusambilila bishya).

In Bemba culture, the musumba (clan) is everything. Grug’s famous rule—“Never not be afraid”—sounds exactly like a warning from a Bemba shikulu (grandfather) advising against wandering into the forest alone. The character Thunk, the clumsy but kind-hearted son, would be the classic umupuswa (gentle fool) found in village folktales. Even the pet, Belt (the armadillo-dog), would be called Kamata—a creature that never lets go.

I spoke to a few Copperbelt residents about the idea. Bemba is a highly expressive, tonal language that

“I would pay to watch The Croods in Bemba. My grandmother doesn’t speak English, and she loves stories about stubborn fathers. That’s Grug!”
— Mutale, Kitwe

“The word for ‘new thing’ in Bemba is ‘ichishinka.’ Every time Guy invents something, Grug should say ‘Fwile ichishinka!’ (Get away with your new thing!). That’s exactly how my dad reacts to smartphones.”
— Chanda, Ndola

“Please make the Macawnivore sound like a congested goat. That would break the cinema.”
— Mwape, Luanshya

To make The Croods in Bemba work, the characters need more than direct translation; they need renaming and reimagining.