Here’s a kid friendly animated film that you can be assured will entertain and provide educational value in a way youngsters can understand. Using a voice cast that’s easily understood, bright and involving, the film takes children on an adventure with cute characters, youngsters and a quest to help put nature back on the right track. For boys and girls Adventure Planet is now available for your home entertainment on DVD.
The adventure begins with Norva and Jorpe, a brother and sister in Thailand, noticing that the sky has changed with fire streaking above. A phenomenon to the other members of their tribe, it’s very concerning to Norva and Jorpe who are nature lovers and interested in things that upset it. Jorpe has a special gift being able to communicate with nature’s flowers, insects and animals that can reveal to him things that are important to life on Earth and need help to preserve.
An international scouting event, The World Scouting Jamboree, is taking place at the same time in Thailand and Samuel Johnson Jr. has been waiting for this day to show the scouting abilities he has learned. His father, the president of Capital State is proud of him, but has been distracted by the United Nations with the fire in the sky.
The first day of the Jamboree the scout squad Sam’s in has the task of traveling through the jungle to a destination on a map. They are competing against other squads from around the world and Sam is determined to win. He convinces his squad to take a short cut that will get them there quicker. His special watch GPS fails due to solar fires and the other boys want to stay put until help comes, but Sam goes on. When he falls off a hill and gets rescued by Norva and Jorpe, a new adventure begins.
The movie gets involved with global warming and how the sun is damaging the Earth. It also shows the value of friendship between nations, how to get along with nature and how rain, man and the forest are all connected. Adventure Planet also reveals how some children can be persistent and egotistical, but when faced with the realization that it’s much better getting along with other children their age they can come down to Earth and just be a boy or girl.
I like the lessons and messages that become more educational seeing it in this animated story form. The script does become a little over the heads of the youngest ones, but the message gets delivered in more ways than one. The film is very colorful and the sound is excellent on the DVD.
Adventure Planet does have some perilous situations including an earthquake and fire balls from the sky. Also in one scene Sam gets knocked unconscious and wakes up unclothed blocked by a group of youngsters. Moms and dads should watch the film with their children in the event they need explanations on global warming or other nature issues.
Specifications and additional film information:
Cast: Jane Lynch, Brooke Shields, Bailee Madison, Drake Bell, J.K. Simmons
Director: Kompin Kemgumnird
MPAA Rating: PG for some peril
Genre: Family, Animation
Running Time: 1 hr 21 min
Video Release Date: August 23, 2014
Language: English
Format: DVD
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Video: Full Widescreen HD 16×9, Aspect Ratio 1.78:1
Subtitles: None
Number of Discs: 1 Disc
Distributed by: ARC Entertainment
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
