A fuzzier fish-out-of-water tale is headed to North American theaters, as Shout! Studios announces it has acquired all rights to the family animated feature Panda Bear in Africa from Cinema Management Group (CMG). The pic was selected to screen at Annecy Festival in June and enjoyed brisk sales at the Cannes Film Market.
The film follows an adventurous panda named Pang, who journeys from China to Africa to rescue his friend Jielong the dragon, who has been kidnapped. In this unfamiliar environment, Pang meets a variety of animals he’s never known before, and adds a few new friends and a quest to help save their jungle home to his intercontinental itinerary.
Panda Bear in Africa is directed by Richard Claus and Karsten Kiilerich (The Little Vampire 3D), who also penned the script with Rob Sprackling (Gnomeo & Juliet, Sherlock Gnomes). Producers are Claus (Ainbo: Spirit of the Amazon) and Anders Mastrup (Checkered Ninja, The Giant Pear). The creative team also included production designer Edwin Rhemrev (Minions 2, Over the Moon).
The film is a production of Cool Beans and Katuni in The Netherlands (Ainbo), A. Film (Denmark) and Comet FIlms (Ireland).
CMG and Shout! have previously struck distribution deals for the animated features The Canterville Ghost, Ainbo: Spirit of the Amazon and The Little Vampire 3D.
Shout! has secured all distro rights to Panda Bear in Africa for the U.S. and Canada, including theatrical, home entertainment and other media platforms.
[Source: Variety]
