Tinga Tinga Tales is a British-Kenyan children's series created by Claudia Lloyd that is based on African folk tales. Lloyd, who is a head of animation at Tiger Aspect, got the idea of creating a series based on African folk tales in 2004 while travelling through Tanzania. The series is aimed at 4-6 year olds. It was commissioned by the BBC for its CBeebies channel, and by Disney Channel for its Disney Junior block. The series was produced in Kenya by a studio of about 50 people.
Tinga Tinga Tales's name and art style is based on Tingatinga art. Edward Saidi Tingatinga was a Tanzanian painter who created the painting style. He accepted six relatives as apprentices. In 1972, E.S. Tingatinga was shot and killed by a police officer who mistook him for a fugitive. In 1976, his students founded the Tingatinga Paintings Partnership in Dar es Salaam in his memory.