Leslie Felperin 

Panda Bear in Africa review – bear meets dragon in cross between Lion King and Kung Fu Panda

A panda travels to Africa to save his kidnapped dragon bestie in this bland, animated attempt to imitate some distinguished predecessors
  
  

Panda Bear in Africa.
Monkey business … Panda Bear in Africa Photograph: PR

Here is an animated feature, financed by production companies spanning the European Union, about a panda and his dragon best friend having adventures in Africa; it is, to be honest, sensationally derivative and not on the same level as Pixar, Disney or even Dreamworks films at their best. Even those studios are very derivative these days, quite inferior to their best from just a few years back. But it doesn’t really matter because most kids are fantastically uncritical viewers, bless them, so this ought to earn back in receipts the equivalent of its tax exemptions at least.

Judging by the smooth rendering and thoughtful character design, the film-makers probably spent a fair few euros pulling it together, but it comes perilously close to competitors’ intellectual property, especially The Lion King franchise and to a lesser extent Kung Fu Panda. The plot starts with panda boy Pang (voiced with an American accent by Yootha Wong-Loi-Sing, while all the adult characters around him sound significantly more Asian) palling around with his best friend Jielong (Georgina Verbaan), a girl dragon who is still struggling to control her weather-shaping ice breath and flying skills.

But Jielong gets kidnapped by a baboon and a crocodile and taken by ship all the way to somewhere in Africa (the geography is sketchy) in order to be a secret weapon for a pride of lions. This pride is nominally headed by princeling Ade (Namisa Mdalose), a bit of a spoiled but aimable brat, though the real power behind the throne is his uncle, a character who didn’t necessarily kill Ade’s parents but didn’t raise a claw to save them when they fell into a fast-moving river. Pang somehow finds a way to make it to Africa to save his best friend, with assist from annoying wisecracking monkey (Maurits Delchot).

It’s quite impressive how screenwriters and co-directors Richard Claus and Karsten Kiilerich and their collaborators Rob Sprackling and Zhang Sujuan have ensured it all feels deeply familiar yet not so much as to frighten the lawyers. There are a few good gags, a well-milled pace that keeps the action flowing, and some funny enough one-liners to tickle adult fancies. Although as a total package it’s horrifically bland and forgettable the moment the credits start.

• Panda Bear in Africa is in UK and Irish cinemas from 17 January.

 

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