Panda Bear in Africa

image for Panda Bear in Africa

Short takes

Not suitable under 5; parental guidance to 7 (violence, scary scenes, themes, language)

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This topic contains:

  • overall comments and recommendations
  • details of classification and consumer advice lines for Panda Bear in Africa
  • a review of Panda Bear in Africa completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 25 June 2024.

Overall comments and recommendations

Children under 5 Not suitable due to violence, scary scenes, themes and language.
Children aged 5–7 Parental guidance recommended due to violence, scary scenes, themes and language.
Children aged 8 and over Ok for this age group.

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.

Name of movie: Panda Bear in Africa
Classification: G
Consumer advice lines: Very mild themes, animated violence and coarse language, some scenes may scare very young children
Length: 89 minutes

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

A synopsis of the story

Jielong (voice of Georgina Verbaan) dreams of being able to change the weather at will, fly like other dragons do, and freeze things with her breath but, despite all her efforts and all the 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 is not an easy trip for young Pang but he refuses to give up. Reaching Africa, he is tricked by a native monkey called JoJo (voice of Maurits Delchot) and is captured, chained and forced to work for JoJo’s evil boss. The pair soon manage to escape, and JoJo promises to help Pang find Jielong. They set out on the 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 encounter an unlikely friend who just might hold the key to helping save them all.

Themesinfo

Children and adolescents may react adversely at different ages to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, death or separation from a parent, animal distress or cruelty to animals, children as victims, natural disasters and racism. Occasionally reviews may also signal themes that some parents may simply wish to know about.

Kidnapping; Animal enslavement; Animal cubs separated from families; Deceitfulness; Prejudice.

Use of violenceinfo

Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.

Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.

There is some violence in this movie, including:

  • 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 rocky 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 down and then 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 another character down. They make it to a lifeboat just before the ship sinks.
  • Jielong repeatedly hits another character with her tail.
  • Pang runs from a pack of jackals that are trying to eat him.
  • Pang and JoJo are chained to a wall.
  • A bunch of meerkats chase Pang and JoJo.
  • Jielong is restrained with ropes around her neck and is told that she will never see her home or family again.
  • An ostrich trips Pang and knocks him to the ground.
  • Creepy snakes try to strangle and asphyxiate Pang and JoJo.
  • Two snakes are tied together into a balloon-like animal and sent off into the sky.
  • A character recounts how his parents were killed, getting 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 by repeatedly making 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 will 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, though his medallion takes most of the hit.
  • Pang pokes a lion in the backside with his claw.
  • A lion falls over a waterfall that has claimed the life of others.

Material that may scare or disturb children

Under fiveinfo

Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children under the age of five, including the following:

  • The film opens with Pang running away in terror. He is being chased by what appears to be a deadly beast who is in hot pursuit. He runs through the jungle, glancing back to catch brief glimpses of his pursuer who is urging him to run away from his imminent demise. Pang is trapped by a high, stone wall and desperately seeking an escape when he realises that he is trapped and has nowhere left to go. It is very tense for a moment but then it turns out his dragon friend has been the one chasing him.
  • Pang is nearly eaten by a pack of jackals who chase him and repeatedly try to take bites of him with their sharp teeth.
  • Jielong is told that she must freeze and kill a chicken to prove her powers. She doesn’t want to and is trying to figure out a way not to when she is threatened. The chicken is terrified and looking at her with huge eyes. She manages to freeze a tree instead.

Aged five to eightinfo

Children aged five to eight will also be frightened by scary visual images and will also be disturbed by depictions of the death of a parent, a child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes and scary visual images, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged five to eight, including the following:

  • After being kidnapped, Jielong is locked in a cage, restrained and muzzled. She is often threatened and told that terrible things will happen if she does not obey her captors who want her to kill hyenas for them. She is later threatened with the information that she will never see Pang again because he will be killed if she doesn’t do what they say. Some sensitive children may find these scenes upsetting.

Aged eight to thirteeninfo

Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.

  • Nothing further noted.

Product placement

  • None noted.

Sexual references

There are some sexual references in this movie, including:

  • A snake says that he has “a crush” on Pang as she squeezes him.

Nudity and sexual activity

There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:

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

Use of substances

  • None noted.

Coarse language

There is some coarse language in this movie, including:

  • Shut up!
  • You big ape!
  • Butt
  • Buffoon
  • Suckers
  • Stupid
  • Dummy
  • Idiot
  • Fools
  • Chicken.

In a nutshell

Panda Bear in Africa is an animated adventure. The plot is predictable and it copies scenes from other films, such as The Lion King. The dialogue leaves something to be desired but the characters are cute and endearing and the film will be most enjoyed by younger children.

The main messages from this movie are that it’s never too late to change; that there is always hope; that everyone deserves a second chance; and that friendship and kindness can be two of the most powerful forces on earth.

Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:

  • Friendship
  • Courage
  • Forgiveness
  • Determination
  • Kindness
  • Helpfulness.

This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as:

  • Going off without telling your parents (or anyone else) where you are going.
  • Exploiting animals for financial/personal gain.
  • Promoting dissention and disunity between groups.
  • Treating others unkindly.