Panda Bear in Africa

Pang (Yootha Wong-Loi-Sing) is a black and white and fluffy panda bear who goes on an adventure to Africa to rescue his friend Jielong (Georgina Verbaan) after she is kidnapped from the land of Asia where they live.

Directed by Richard Claus and Karsten Kiilerich, Panda Bear in Africa seems to take from other sources to construct its story. From a Panda land reminiscent of Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016), an adventure across the ocean to an unknown continent as in Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008), balloon modelling like in Shrek (2001), to many elements resembling The Lion King (1994), e.g., a setting in 'Lion Rock' where an orphan and young lion prince has an evil uncle craving power, and the bad blood between lions and hyenas, the movie is full of derivative elements.

The story progresses in the predicable paths where our fluffy and inexperienced hero will find different difficulties and new characters in his journey to Asia. One of those characters is a little monkey named Jojo (Maurits Delchot) whose mercurial personality will prove many assumptions wrong. He will accompany Pang to Lion Rock where his friend is held against her will as the pet of lion prince Ade (Namisa Mdalose).

Despite that it could be considered an exercise in unoriginality and its more than desired use of conveniences to further the plot is testament to bad writing, Panda Bear in Africa manages to elicit some laughs and provide entertainment for the most part. Its cute little characters make the movie watchable and it certainly could be much more appreciated by a younger audience.

The story is rubbish (with bad remakes of The Lion King), the graphics are rubbish and look like they were made by penguins. What about the text? It's borderline pathetic. Everything sounds fake and ugly. I think that with three pots of modelling clay and two days to spare I could make something nicer than this dreck.

Even my 6-year-old son came out of the cinema looking a bit grey. And he's not fussy at all, he loves Paw Patrol.

The story is rubbish (with bad remakes of The Lion King), the graphics are rubbish and look like they were made by penguins. What about the text? It's borderline pathetic. Everything sounds fake and ugly. I think that with three pots of modelling clay and two days to spare I could make something nicer than this dreck.

Even my 6-year-old son came out of the cinema looking a bit grey. And he's not fussy at all, he loves Paw Patrol.

They were showing this cheap at a cinema in the city.

I'd never heard of it, but I was spending the day with my 6 yr old, and thought it would be a good way to entertain him for a while, as he loves all things animation.

I think we've all been spoiled with the high quality of most animated kids movies - they usually have a good plot, and there are enough subtle "adult" gags and stuff to keep parents amused.

Not so with this one.

The animation was fine, but the writing, plot and dialogue were just daft, and often didn't make a lot of sense. At less than an hour and a half, it is a relatively short film, but I was glancing at my watch most of the way through, wishing it was over.

My son enjoyed it ok, so that's the main thing I supposed. I would have been annoyed if I'd paid full price for us to watch.

Little kids might enjoy if it comes on a screening service.

Grown ups - avoid.

The plot of the movie is interesting and enjoyable. The graphics, well not the best, looks very good.

They also captured the atmosphere perfectly, from the beautiful forests of Asia, to the jungles and deserts of Africa, the animators perfectly captured the biodiversity.

The characters are also good, we have a panda, dragon, etcetera (the list is a bit long ). Almost every main character felt like they have something to do in this world.

The music fits perfectly with the mood. From the peacful chinese music to the traditional African singing in the Hieana village, this movie has fine music.

Overall, this is an excellent movie and I'll totally recommend it.

I love Panda Bear in Africa. It is funny, well animated, has an amazing storyline, and great voice acting. It kept me entertained and laughing through the whole movie.

The storyline is about a young panda bear named Pang (Yootha Wong Loi Sing) and his young dragon friend, Jielong (Georgina Verbaan). After an unfortunate series of events, Pang must embark on a painstaking journey all the way from Asia to Africa. During his journey he makes a few new friends, such as JoJo the monkey (Maurits Delchot) and Niala the hyena (Candice Modiselle). He also makes an enemy, Malum the lion (Silas Lekgoathi).

Panda Bear in Africa is filled with ridiculous scenes and jokes that kept cracking me up. Even the characters themselves are hilarious. Props to the animators for using the CGI to the fullest. They use it to the absolute best of their capabilities to make everything so beautiful. The sand, water, trees, even the animals are wonderfully done. I have to commend Richard Claus and Karsten Kiilerich for both writing and directing this movie. The script is fantastic and it had me wondering what was going to happen next. It also kept my eyes open while I sat at the edge of my seat. I could feel all the emotions the main characters were expressing. I especially love the voice acting of Yootha Wong Loi Sing. He really captures a goofy, childlike personality for his character. The casting is really good all across the board. The music department really succeeds at making the music match the scenes. It really helped immerse me into the film. As much as I love this film, the one thing that is missing is character development - the characters are pretty much one dimensional. Other than that, this is a great film. My favorite part is when Jielong's self pep talk goes terribly wrong and she is then faced with a duo of dastardly animals which complicate her plans.

The film's message is to be yourself no matter what. It also reminds us that we don't need to be overly concerned about what other people think. What matters is your opinion.

I give Panda Bear in Africa 5 out of 5 stars and I recommend it for ages 5 to 12. This movie releases on DVD and digital platforms on May 13, 2025. By Eli C., KIDS FIRST!