Jungle Beat 2 – Delightful Animated Entertainment for The Young Ones

Review
As Dee Theart mentioned in her review of the first film version of the Jungle Beat franchise, the story is originally based on an African tale that has aired in 200 countries since 2005 as 104 mini-episodes over eight seasons.
Jungle Beat: The Movie was released in 2020, and the second in the series appeared in theaters on 27 June this year. I didn’t personally see the first one, but I could still enjoy the second film as a standalone. The storyline does, however, pick up where the first one left off, with the jungle duo Munki the monkey (David Menkin) and Trunk the elephant (Ina Marie Smith). I’m not usually a big fan of either animation or children’s films (which usually go hand-in-hand), especially not when they are aimed solely at kids without any “grown-up jokes” like Shrek. And yet, I actually really enjoyed the story. (Who knows – maybe my inner child has finally come out again!)
In this second film, Fneep (Ed Kear) accidentally opens a time portal, causing a stegosaurus to end up in the jungle. Trunk is pulled into the past, while Munki gets trapped in an outer-space zoo. Separated by centuries, the two friends must work together: Trunk with dinosaurs, Munki with escape plans – all to restore the timeline and save their world.

Production Information
Running Time
90 min
Writer and Director
Sam Wilson | Sam Wilson & Brent Dawes
Website
Screens
∞
Age Restriction
A
Cast
David Menkin, Ina Marie Smith, Ed Kear, Rob van Vuuren, Jenny Stead, Sandra Dickinson en David Rintoul
Rating
4/5
Box Office
See NFVF

Written by Roelof Bezuidenhout
Roelof Bezuidenhout is currently the Video Production Manager and Story Editor at the EDUNAKHO Group, a global educational media company supporting prospective MBA and master’s students. He previously headed the Higher Certificate course in Film, Television, and Entertainment at AFDA in Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), where he also earned his MFA, and held academic roles at both AFDA and Boston Media House.
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