Boonie Bears: Time Twist (2024)

Boonie Bears is the English language version of a Chinese animated TV series that first aired from 2011. From 2014, the franchise has also spun-off ten feature films, that have been huge hits in China and elsewhere. The latest feature Boonie Bears: Time Twist is released in cinemas in the United Kingdom and Ireland this September. The 2024 feature is a celebration of the 10th anniversary of the release of the first film.

For the uninitiated, recounted through a nicely animated 2D sequence Boonie Bears follows a pair of bears Briar and Bramble. A logger named Vick is sent to chop down the forest, but he and the bears unexpectedly become the best of friends.

The story then cuts to Vick now living in the big city (with no explanation). He's swapped his life in the country for an office job, working towards his dream of owning his own home (possibly very relatable to the average millennial) He is chosen by his somewhat intimidating boss to accompany her to meet their new client out in the boonies.

The new client is a mad scientist... and it turns out that this is a time travel movie. The science-fiction element is pretty incomprehensible- something about key events and time fragments. But it's mainly an excuse to revisit earlier films in the franchise, in the manner of Back To The Future 2 or Avengers Endgame.

The latter comparison is particularly apt, with the film climaxing in a battle royale featuring a giant roster of characters facing off to save the world.

Thanks to the timey-wimey shenanigans, Time Twist is not really newcomer-friendly. At times it feels like watching Endgame without having seen the previous 19 Marvel movies first. It can be watched as a standalone sci-fi flick but it's pretty baffling. Boonie Bears series veterans will get the most out of it and will be able to spot the references along the way. Newbies will be pretty lost.

In all honesty, it's not that easy to understand why Boonie Bears is the biggest animated franchise in China. But then again, I'm not sure exactly how characteristic of the series Time Twist is- The Boonie Bears themselves are barely in it, and Vick (originally the antagonist) is the lead character.

The animation and design is perfectly decent enough. There are some beautiful looking vistas, and some interesting character designs, which seem to be influenced by Akira Toriyama at times. It does also fall into the trap where it feels they have spent more time designing certain female characters than the males.

At one hour and forty-four minutes, the film does begin to outstay its welcome. It's not that it does anything particularly badly, but Time Twist doesn't really excel at anything. Even it's English-language dub isn't particularly inspiring.

If you're going to give Boonie Bears a go, this isn't the best place to start. For Boonie Bear fans there may be lots here to enjoy- but it's hard to recommend to anyone else

 FORMAT: MOVIE AVAILABLE ON: CINEMA (UK & Ireland) ; FROM:  DAZZLER MEDIA  RATING: U RUNNING TIME : 1hr 44mins 

IN A NUTSHELL:

Unless you're a Boonie Bear Fan, This is Barely Worth Your Time

★★☆☆☆