It is somewhat refreshing to know that crazy crap in the animal world is not exclusively an American thing. Some things are so American, like Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse (and, in this century, the Minions and Buzz Lightyear), that we take for granted the United States has no monopoly on animated silliness; it simply has the best selection of such … for now. But, hey, look, other countries make crazy animated crap, too … and I’m not just talking about Japan.
Check out The Jungle Bunch, a group of questionably powered heroes who solve problems in the animal world despite being French. Being French is a tough handicap to overcome, of course, but these guys have managed to shelve their berets, baguettes, and attitudes to make good. At least I think that’s what they do; I have only been privy to a limited sample size.
There’s pink slime, er “foam,” collecting on all the jungle vegetation. The pink stuff explodes on contact with water. We learn this when a mole rat character complains of “atomic pee” (lest ye forget, this is a cartoon aimed at children). So, first big rain and the jungle will be destroyed. (Doesn’t it rain every day in the jungle? Never mind.) The evildoer is (I believe – it isn’t always clear) a Beaver named Henry (voice of Jérémie Covillault who says, “Jungle be dammed!” Actually, I just said that. It would have been better if the beaver said it.
Heros to the rescue! There’s, um, Gilbert (who may be a rat or a bush baby. Not sure), and Maurice (Canary? Tiger? Penguin?), Miguel (Gorilla. I know this one for sure), and Batricia (not obvious, but the portmanteaux suggests bat, oui?). The gang, known for solving jungle crises, immediately leaps into action … to find somebody who can solve this crisis.
The science smacks of long-lost inventor Albert. Unable to locate Albert, that group discovers his daughter Camelia (Armadillo? Pangolin?) Did I mention the bird who dresses as a tiger and falls in love with the pangadillo has a son who is a goldfish? Honestly, I’m not even criticizing. It’s a cartoon; this ain’t high school biology. But I am curious to understand the zoology behind this menagerie. Camelia is a genuine hero. She seems the Indiana Jones of the group and her eternal quest is to “sear
ch the world for stolen treasures and return them to their rightful owners.” Ummm, have you tried the Museum of London?
The Jungle Bunch has some cute ideas – there’s a parrot message service for instance which acts as a voice mail machine. Speaking of parroting, the gang literally runs into a Kung Fu Panda guard. Dudes … bros … madame et monsieur … even in France, you cannot possibly be unaware of Kung Fu Panda, can you? This is copyright infringement 101 stuff, no? Well, cute moment if a little … stolen.
I cannot say I loved enough of Jungle Bunch: Operation Meltdown to seek out more of these transspecies adventurers, but I cannot say I disliked what I saw. And I cannot possibly be angry with a movie that chose to give significant screentime to amphibians Al and Bob, who may or may not be frogs. So, no recommendation here, but parents will find the pain minimal when their children select these guys.
There once were a group of “can-do”
Who represented a species or two
Their abilities? Middling
Yet eternal diddling
Keeps these guys out of the zoo
Rated PG, 89 Minutes
Director: Laurent Bru, Yannick Moulin, Benoît Somville
Writer: David Alaux, Eric Tosti, Jean-François Tosti
Genre: Crazy crap with animals
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: French kids
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: “What is that thing? Armadillo? Pangolin? Aardvark? Human?”
