The Jungle Bunch review – happy, zappy animal animation

A chirpy penguin and his gang of underdogs set out to save the jungle from an evil koala bear in this family-friendly adventure

Not a patch on the Madagascar films, this relentlessly chirpy kids’ animation is set in a colourful jungle menaced by a pyromaniacal koala bear called Igor (overlooking even the basics of natural history, since it’s a fact widely known that koalas sleep for up to 22 hours a day, the lazy blighters). The only thing standing between Igor and jungle annihilation is a plucky orphaned penguin and his gang of underdogs.

Loud and zappy, The Jungle Bunch trots out predictable be-kind-be-brave platitudes, but lacks anything distinctive of its own. And at the risk of sounding like a nannyish custodian of young minds, it’s pretty aggressive in places – one of the good guys is a dimwitted gorilla with an almighty thump.

Contributor

Cath Clarke

The GuardianTramp

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