Sunrise Animation Studio is rolling out its latest Jungle Beat film

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Have you heard or seen Jungle Beat, the animation produced by Sunrise Animation Studios in Cape Town? Locally produced animations very seldom get their time in the sun. Not only is this series and film one widely enjoyed, but it is also receiving a sequel, and this second instalment will be shown in cinemas.

WHAT IS JUNGLE BEAT 2: THE PAST ALL ABOUT?

Jungle Beat 2: The Past is an animated odyssey that sees Munki and Trunk on a time-travelling journey. An eccentric stegosaurus appears in their jungle home. They come to learn that their at times ditsy alien compadre, Fneep, accidentally opened up a time portal. The two principal characters then try to return the dinosaur to its rightful place in time. Trunk mistakenly slips into the portal and finds himself trapped in the Jurassic era.

Phil Cunningham, the founder of Sunrise Animations, revealed what the journey of getting this project to this point has been like.

“What started as an animation test grew into a TV series with eight seasons (so far), and a YouTube audience of over 100 million views per month. The series has always been non-dialogue and is built around the incredible friendship between Munki and Trunk (a monkey and elephant character, respectively).

“We wanted to showcase values like loyalty, kindness and putting the needs of others above your own,” Cunningham explained.

LICENSING JUNGLE BEAT AND INTRODUCING DIALOGUE

Jungle Beat: The Movie (2021) was produced by Sandcastle Studios in Mauritius through a licensing partnership with Sunrise Animation. It began with the idea of a little alien character, Fneep, who crash-lands his spacecraft in the Jungle. He has fantastic alien tech (a speech pod). It allows us to hear Munki, Trunk, and their friends speak for the first time.

“Introducing dialogue and new characters allowed us to continue to explore the same themes that the series elevates. We could do this, but in a richer, deeper sense, and to a broader audience,” Cunningham elaborated.

OVERCOMING THE PANDEMIC

The movie was completed in early 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit, which harmed cinema attendance.

“Jungle Beat had been licensed by distributors in over 30 countries, including theatrical rights in many of those territories. Fortunately, we were approached by Netflix to acquire the movie as a Netflix original. We were able to negotiate with the licensees that were already in place to allow that to happen.”

When the movie came out in 2021, Netflix’s audience data was somewhat scarce. Cunningham and his team couldn’t track their performance as it moved into the Top 10 carousel in most major territories worldwide.

In 2023, Netflix began to share audience numbers. We learned that in the first six months of the year, two full years after release, Jungle Beat was in the top seven per cent of all titles on the platform. That was exciting,” Cunningham bragged.

Following the popularity of the first movie, their writer and director, Sam Wilson, had an idea about Fneep bringing time-warping portal technology to the jungle. This results in a whole new ensemble of dinosaur characters for Munki and Trunk to engage with.

“Without giving too much of the story away, Jungle Beat 2: The Past is about friendship that spans both time and space. It is also packed with fun and adventure.”

YOUNG AND OLD ALIKE ARE CATERED FOR IN THE JUNGLE

Jungle Beat has grown from a series to a Netflix hit feature film and now a sequel. For Cunningham, the beauty of animated films lies in their ability to entertain audiences of various ages in different ways.

“Jungle Beat 2: The Past has a slightly higher level of tension and adventure than the first movie. We have some adventurous scenes, and our goal was to delight our core audience of young children, while also being enjoyable for parents and older siblings.”

He believes they were able to strike a balance between providing young audience members with their dose of entertainment while also making the offering engaging for parents and older siblings.

“The dinosaur characters add scope for a lot of laughter. Trey (the King of the Dinosaurs) is brilliantly voiced by Rob Van Vuuren. He brings incredible comedic value to the movie.”

The growth of their YouTube audience was explosive, reaching 40 million views per month by 2019. They averaged well over 100 million views monthly since 2020.

“I think the key is to bring exceptional people together behind a clear vision, and with enough room for each of them to have authentic input without being micromanaged or dictating the creative process too much.”

THE DIFFICULTIES OF BEING IN THE ANIMATION SPACE

We do tend to prioritise international productions across the board in South Africa. This has resulted in some challenges for Cunningham and his stable of talents.

“Living through an extended period of disruption in the way content is sold and consumed worldwide has created a lot of uncertainty in terms of the business model for animation producers (and other genres too).”

Previously, a successful film would benefit from a profitable cinema release, before earning good fees from the TV broadcast, and then enjoying revenue from DVD/home video sales.

“All of those windows have been eroded for most films over the last decade or so. Netflix and the other major streamers have re-trained audiences to expect unlimited content to be available on demand in the comfort of their homes.”

He said that the business model for filmmakers is still in flux, as the big streamers were spending huge amounts of money to acquire content and subscribers for several years. In the last five years, however, that has started to recede.

“This is an ongoing challenge. Ultimately, I believe that the market will find a way to meet the global audience’s desire for fresh, excellent film content. We as filmmakers need to be adaptable and optimistic.”

WHAT OF THE FUTURE OF LOCAL ANIMATION?

“On a local level, I think South African animators and studios are increasingly being recognised on the international stage. I think we’re in an exciting moment of stepping up to the challenge of creating content for a global audience. We are sharing this space with the biggest international players.”

The creative mind who was born in Zimbabwe believes there are many interesting and disruptive trends happening right now.

“The way social media is leading young audiences to consume very short-form content and the implications of A.I.’s growing capacity.”

What is being touted as Africa’s first film animation franchise will be in cinemas on June 27.