Panda cub Pang (Yootha Wong-Loi-Sing) lives in the bamboo forests of South China where he passes the time of day with his best friend Jielong (Georgina Verbaan), a dragon. When Jielong is kidnapped and taken to Africa as a present for a young lion cub, Pang embarks on an adventure to rescue her. Recruiting a monkey called Jojo (Maurits Delchot) along the way, Pang is determined to save his friend and return home. What he doesn’t realise is just how difficult a task that’s going to be!
‘Panda Bear in Africa’ is essentially ‘The Lion King’ crossed with ‘Kung-Fu Panda’, which means the storyline will be very familiar to audiences. As the film is marketed at kids, and their parents, that likely won’t matter too much and there’s enough here to keep your little ones entertained. At the centre of everything is loveable Panda Pang, who is as plucky as he is naïve and he’s a solid protagonist to get on board with. When Jielong is kidnapped, Pang doesn’t think twice about travelling to a country he’s never been to get her back.
As you’d expect, this journey isn’t all that straight-forward and he finds himself in a series of sticky situations, but luckily he recruits wise-cracking monkey Jojo to help him. Together they form an entertaining double act with plenty of funny one-liners that will elicit a giggle or two along the way. Jielong is presented as a gift to Ade (Namisa Mdalalose), a lion cub whose evil uncle has plans to use Jielong’s ability to freeze things to rid the lions of the unwanted hyena population. There’s an added complication here as Ade’s best friend is a hyena and he’s no idea just how evil his uncle really is.
Personally, I was impressed with the animation in the film. The characters were nicely realised and the cute. The animators may not be on the same level as something you’d expect from Pixar and DreamWorks but that doesn’t really matter. What they’ve achieved here is still visually appealing, with bright colours and characters that are eye-catching. The story may have benefitted from a little more originality, but like the animation, it doesn’t really matter as this is still a solid adventure that kids will love.
Is ’Panda Bear in Africa’ ground-breaking? No, but it’s entertaining and its core audience won’t care about the easy comparisons to other films. It looks good, the story is engaging enough and there’s plenty to enjoy. If you go to the film expecting something on the same level as Pixar you’ll be disappointed but if you’re after a film that will entertain the kids and offer a bit of light entertainment, this is a great choice!
Cast: Yootha Wong-Loi-Sing, Maurits Delchot, Georgina Verbaan, Namisa Mdalalose Director: Richard Claus & Karsten Kiilerich Writers: Richard Claus, Karsten Kiilerich, Rob Sprackling Certificate: U Duration: 94 mins Released by: Dazzler Media Release date: 17th January 2025
