JUNGLE BEAT 2 THE PAST™ – IN Cinemas 27 June 2025
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FROM FEATHERS TO PIXELS, THE DREAM AND TEAM BEHIND THE JUNGLE BEAT PHENOMENON
JUNGLE BEAT 2 THE PAST™ arrives at cinemas nationally on 27 June, marking the second feature film based on the phenomenally successful Jungle Beat series for children. It is also testament to filmmaker Phil Cunningham’s vision and determination to create stories that bring joy to children.
Phil had always been a storyteller, had written a book for children titled “The Legend of the Sky Kingdom”, but did not set out to be a filmmaker. He and his wife Jacqui were chicken farmers; an industry far removed from that of filmmaking. While farming was a business, storytelling was a passion and Phil recognised that filmmakers were the great storytellers of our generation, and if he were going to get his stories out there, he would have to become one.
Of the various film genres, it was the magic and broad appeal of animated films and series that resonated with him. The ability of animation to connect with people of all ages, languages and cultures fired his imagination. Soon the husband-and-wife team traded chicken farming for pixels and filmmaking, setting up Sunrise Animation Studios.
Their vision was to create entertainment for children that offered loveable characters, plenty of adventure and fun, had positive messaging and gave parents the assurance that what their children are watching is wholesome.
Their first project was to create Africa’s first feature-length animated film, “The Legend of the Sky Kingdom” based on the book. The film’s 3D stop motion style was based on found objects, the puppets and the set design made out of trash that the filmmakers sourced from a scrapyard next to their office. With this film, Phil and his team pioneered the animation style known as junkmation.
“The Legend of the Sky Kingdom” was released in cinema and screened at festivals around the world, including The Montreal World Film Festival (African Horizons Section), Annecy International Animated Film Festival, The London Film Festival and The New York International Film Festival.
After “The Legend of the Sky Kingdom,” Phil and Jacqui produced the first series of 13 episodes of Jungle Beat, created by Brent Dawes. The series performed well internationally and was broadcast in most countries worldwide. Jungle Beat ran for 8 seasons totaling 104 episodes and spawned 2 spin-off seasons “Munki and Trunk” and “Jungle Beat Explorers”.
As the exclusive TV deals for Jungle Beat expired, Sunrise Animation Studios made YouTube the repository for the library of the series. This proved a canny move because the series exploded on YouTube and Jungle Beat currently has 12 million subscribers, 100 million monthly views and 6.6 billion views to date. The series earned a Diamond Award from YouTube for exceeding 10 million subscribers.
The phenomenal success of the series led to the first Jungle Beat feature “Jungle Beat: The Movie”, produced by Sandcastle Studios in Mauritius through a licensing partnership with Jungle Beat. The film was scheduled for global release in 2020, then the pandemic struck, and the film was pulled. Netflix then snapped up the film as an Original Netflix title and streamed the film in over 180 countries. The film shot to the Netflix top 10 in the US, UK and Australia.
With the imminent release of Jungle Beat 2 The Past™, Phil and Jacqui have the distinction of producing Africa’s first animated feature film and Africa’s first animated feature film franchise. No mean feat for the former chicken farmers.
Despite their massive success over the past 20 years, their philosophy stays the same. “Fundamentally, the most important thing for us as a studio remains our mission to inspire through story and our goal is to remain true to this – continuing to develop and create wonderful stories, while keeping a finger on the pulse in terms of the broader industry,” says Phil.
Jungle Beat 2 The Past™ is released by Indigenous Film Distribution in South Africa.
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