The Jungle Bunch World Tour (U)

Capitalist beaver Henry enslaves fellow rodents through hypnosis and assembles an airborne army to spray a volatile pink chemical over the jungle. If water mixes with the substance, it produces a violent, exothermic reaction. With one month until rainy season, Maurice the tiger penguin leads The Champs on a daredevil mission to locate the toxin's creator, Albert the armadillo, in the hope he can engineer an antidote.

LondonNet Film Review

The Jungle Bunch World Tour (U) Film Review from LondonNet

Water typically irrigates the great circle of life that connects our sprawling concrete jungles to dwindling animal kingdoms filled with beauty and wonder. In The Jungle Bunch World Tour, droplets of water have the potential to destroy swathes of precious African habitat unless a team of plucky critters can unite in the face of ecological disaster (perpetrated by a Machiavellian beaver). It has been a lukewarm minute – approximately six and a half years – since an English language dubbed version of jaunty computer-animated adventure The Jungle Bunch misplaced its roar in UK cinemas…

A belated sequel with three directors at the helm, Laurent Bru, Yannick Moulin and Benoit Somville, possesses a simplistic, naive charm that may enthral young audiences who appreciate the laboured storytelling, perfectly illustrated by one character unnecessarily interjecting “OK, let’s recap…” to neatly summarise the film’s episodic plot. Returning scriptwriters David Alaux, Eric Tosti and Jean-Francois Tosti choose the path of least resistance when it comes to character development, gift-wrapping a central romance in one quick, painless conversation. They indulge a plaintive pop culture reference when the anthropomorphic champions face a robotic black and white bear programmed with martial arts moves. “Two can play kung fu, panda!” meekly quips a feathered hero. The Jungle Bunch World Tour lacks the self-confessed awesomeness of that rival franchise.

Maurice the tiger penguin (voiced by Scott Humphrey) continues to lead the next generation of jungle protectors comprising Junior the tiger fish (David Vincent), Gilbert the tarsier (Wyatt Bowen), Batricia the bat (Dawn Ford), Miguel the gorilla (Mark Camacho) and the toads Al (Arthur Holden) and Bob (Marcel Jeannin). The Champs’ mission statement is simple: “To come to the aid of any animal that needs it and create peace and harmony in the jungle.”

Capitalist beaver Henry (Camacho again) enslaves fellow rodents through hypnosis and assembles an airborne army to spray a volatile pink chemical over the lush ecosystem. If water mixes with the substance, it produces a violent, exothermic reaction. Vegetation will be reduced to ash. With one month until rainy season, Maurice leads The Champs on a daredevil mission to locate the toxin’s creator, Albert the armadillo (Richard Dumont), in the hope he can engineer an antidote. The group recruits Albert’s adventurous daughter Camelia (Holly Gauthier-Frankel), who sparks potential romance with Maurice. Meanwhile, villain Henry dispatches hench-creatures Youri the vulture and Serguei the capuchin monkey (both Terrence Scammel) to sabotage The Champs’ globetrotting endeavours.

The Jungle Bunch World Tour is a sweetly inoffensive jaunt that improves slightly on the original with greater visual sophistication to warrant a stampede on the big screen. Violence is cartoonish, diminishing the potential for a feathered or furry character to come to serious harm. At worst, an ego might be bruised for one throwaway scene.

– Sarah Lee