Silly animated adventure sequel has peril, potty humor.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 6+?
Any Positive Content?
Violence & Scariness
some
A mysterious pink, foam-like substance explodes when it comes in to contact with water/liquid. A young animal is injured because of the substance of doom and is later revealed to have a prosthetic hand. Two animals try to hurt the Jungle Bunch while on a journey. Three guard animals are subdued with humor. Batricia throws a snowball at Gilbert's head for making a sexist comment. The bunch must fight off the antagonist and his goons with martial arts, strength, and teamwork.
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Gilbert and Batricia are a couple who sleep in the same bedroom, kiss (in silhouette), and embrace. After an unintentionally suggestive comment ("hook up with him"), Gilbert has jealous daydreams that Batricia will fall in love with an old rival. In the daydream, they're about to kiss. Jokes about a naked mole rat. An animal needs eczema cream slathered on the red, swollen patches on his behind. Two characters are obviously interested in each other and eventually declare their love and move toward each other to kiss, but another character's head pops up, so viewers don't see the actual kiss.
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"Pee pee" several times, plus jokes about a naked mole rat's nudity, "badass" (as a compliment) once, and "lame." The phrase "girly walk in the park" is directed at a female member of the team.
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Promotes strong communication, teamwork, and perseverance. The bunch has to be open with one another to strategize and use everyone's skill sets. Also encourages honesty and respect in parent-child and romantic relationships. Women/females are proven to be just as capable and brave as men/males.
Positive Role Models
a lot
Maurice is a thoughtful leader who encourages members of the team to use their talents. Gilbert, while occasionally jealous and overprotective, is smart and quick-thinking and loves Batricia. Miguel is strong and sweet. Batricia is courageous and kind, as is new member Camelia, who's also a talented pilot and navigator.
Diverse Representations
a little
The Jungle Bunch is made up of animals from different species who each contribute to the "bunch" effort and earn respect for their talents and abilities. Representation includes a capable, brave, strong character with a missing hand who wonders whether another character isn't interested in her because of her prosthetic. The other female character stands up to a sexist comment and makes it clear that she's just as willing to handle challenges as her partner. References to positive adoption representation. Maurice is a penguin who was raised by a tiger mom and who later adopts a fish. The phrase "girly walk in the park" is directed at a female member of the team.
References to animal habitats and the environment's rainy season.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that The Jungle Bunch: Operation Metldown continues the animated franchise about a crew of different species of animals who defend their jungle homeland from various threats. It has plenty of bathroom humor and bodily function jokes, as well as shenanigans that will make early elementary-school-age viewers laugh. There are two romantic subplots that occasionally include embraces, hand/paw holding, and kissing. Characters occasionally use language like "hook up" and "badass," as well as "lame," "pee pee," and "girly walk in the park," which is directed at a female member of the team. There's some peril related to a mysterious chemical substance coating the jungle's trees that explodes when it gets wet (in one case, significantly injuring a main character). Characters also get trapped in a cave, and there's brief martial-arts fighting between the main characters and the villain. Kids unfamiliar with the characters may not understand some of the backstory, but it's not necessary to watch the previous movies or show to understand the plot. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
THE JUNGLE BUNCH: OPERATION MELTDOWN continues The Jungle Bunch franchise, which originated with a French children's TV show and movie. In this movie, the bunch—Maurice (voiced by Philippe Bozo in the original French and Scott Humphrey in the English dub), the penguin-turned-tiger leader of the titular crew; Gilbert (Laurent Morteau/Wyatt Bowen), the tarsier; Batricia (Céline Montsarrat/Dawn Ford), his bat girlfriend; banana-obsessed gorilla Miguel (Pascal Casanova/Mark Camacho); and Junior (David Vincent), Maurice's fish/adopted son—discover that a mysterious pink substance is covering the jungle's trees. When the substance gets wet, it explodes. With the rainy season set to start in a month, the bunch set off on a quest to find Albert, the brilliant but reclusive armadillo who Gilbert believes created the "substance of doom" and therefore must know the antidote. The bunch find Albert's estranged daughter, Camelia (Holly Gauthier-Frankel), in hopes that she has a clue where to find her father. Along the way, they realize that their real nemesis is tracking them and placing obstacles in their way.
This is a short animal adventure that's zany enough for younger kids to enjoy, even if it's not particularly original. Like Madagascar, Jungle Book, and pretty much any other jungle-set movie, The Jungle Bunch: Operation Meltdown features a diverse, quirky set of misfit animals who care about one another and must work together to save their home. Camelia is a sweet addition to the gang, particularly since—besides Batricia—there aren't any other female animals in the story. The movie's romantic subplots, while unnecessary, at least portray Batricia and Camelia as competent, talented, and intelligent. Gilbert, meanwhile, comes off as overly jealous and possessive.
Younger viewers enamored with talking animal stories will find the characters amusing, including the two frogs who want to join the bunch on their adventures, even though they have difficulty proving their skills. Viewers may even appreciate the villain's somewhat incompetent minions, who keep the bunch busy battling for the sake of their homeland.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how the different animals in The Jungle Bunch: Operation Meltdown work together. Why is teamwork important for them?
What, if anything, did you learn about jungle animals and their habitats from the movie?
What's the appeal of movies about talking animals? Which ones are your favorite?
MPAA explanation:
action, rude material and brief language
Last updated:
August 21, 2024
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By Sandie Angulo Chen
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