Panda Bear in Africa| Raising Children Network

Story

Jielong (voice of Georgina Verbaan) dreams of being able to change the weather at will, fly like other dragons, and freeze things with her breath. But despite Jielong’s best efforts and help and encouragement from her best friend and panda bear Pang (voice of Yootha Wong-Loi-Sing), she doesn’t seem to be able to do any of it. At least not yet.

When an evil lion from Africa orchestrates Jielong’s kidnapping, Pang chases after her, determined to save his friend no matter how long it takes or how far he must travel. Stowing away on a boat that later sinks in a storm, it’s not an easy journey for young Pang but he refuses to give up.

Reaching Africa, Pang is tricked by a monkey called JoJo (voice of Maurits Delchot) and then captured, chained and forced to work for JoJo’s evil boss. Pang and JoJo soon escape, and JoJo promises to help Pang find Jielong.

Pang and JoJo set out on a dangerous journey to Lion Rock, where Jielong is being held and forced to do terrible things in an evil plot to rid the land of hyenas. Along the way, JoJo and Pang make an unlikely friend, who just might hold the key to saving them all.

Themes

Kidnapping; animal enslavement; animal cubs separated from families; deceitfulness; prejudice

Violence

Panda Bear in Africa has some violence. For example:

Pang slides down a mountain and slams into a tree while running away from a dragon.
Pang and Jielong catapult themselves into the sky. Jielong tries to fly but falls instead. They both plummet towards the rocks and water below. Jielong’s father catches them just in time.
One character slaps another.
Jielong knocks a bully off a cart and onto the ground.
A character pushes Pang off a cliff, and he tumbles into a rocky pit.
Pang falls off a cliff, knocks into a tree and drops into the water below.
A character shoves Pang off a boat.
Lightning strikes the mast of a sailboat that Pang is clinging to. He falls with the mast and crashes to the deck, while the mast pins down another character. They make it to a lifeboat just before the ship sinks.
Jielong repeatedly hits another character with her tail.
Pang runs from jackals that are trying to eat him.
Pang and JoJo are chained to a wall.
Meerkats chase Pang and JoJo.
Jielong is restrained with ropes around her neck and told that she’ll never see her home or family again.
An ostrich trips Pang and knocks him to the ground.
Creepy snakes try to strangle Pang and JoJo.
Two snakes are tied together into a balloon-like animal and sent off into the sky.
A character explains how his parents were killed after being swept away in a river.
Jielong is told that she must freeze the hyenas and the forest that they live in.
Two hyenas punch and push each other.
A crocodile explains how his kind gets turned into shoes and handbags.
A character tells a crocodile to kill Pang. The character repeatedly makes a slicing motion with her finger across her neck.
A crocodile is smashed in the face with a shovel.
A character tells Jielong to freeze the hyenas or she’ll never see Pang again.
Jielong freezes a lion and a baboon’s butt.
A half-frozen lion is trying to attack Pang and JoJo.
A lion throws a spear at Pang, but it stabs JoJo in the heart. His medallion takes most of the hit.
Pang pokes a lion in the backside with his claw.
A lion falls over a dangerous waterfall.

Sexual references

Panda Bear in Africa has some sexual references in, including when a snake says that he has ‘a crush’ on Pang as she squeezes him.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

There’s no use of substances in Panda Bear in Africa.

Nudity and sexual activity

Panda Bear in Africa has some nudity and sexual activity. For example:

A baboon’s furry bottom gets frozen. When the baboon removes her hands from her bottom, both cheeks are red and bare.
A baboon makes another character touch her bottom. He says he doesn’t want to, but she grabs his hand and makes him touch her anyway.

Product placement

There’s no product placement in Panda Bear in Africa.

Coarse language

Panda Bear in Africa has some coarse language, including ‘Shut up!’, ‘You big ape!’, ‘butt’, ‘buffoon’, ‘suckers’, ‘stupid’, ‘dummy’, ‘idiot’, ‘fools’ and ‘chicken’.

Ideas to discuss with your children

Panda Bear in Africa is an animated adventure. The plot is predictable, the movie copies scenes from other movies like The Lion King, and the dialogue is sometimes clumsy. But the characters are cute and endearing, and younger children are likely to enjoy the movie.

These are the main messages from Panda Bear in Africa:

It’s never too late to change.
There’s always hope.
Everyone deserves a second chance.
Friendship and kindness can be the most powerful forces on earth.

Values in Panda Bear in Africa that you could reinforce with your children include friendship, courage, forgiveness, determination, kindness and helpfulness.

Panda Bear in Africa could also give you the chance to talk with your children about the real-life consequences of things like:

going off without telling your parents (or anyone else) where you’re going
exploiting animals for financial or personal gain
promoting conflict and disunity among groups
treating others unkindly.