5 days ago
From coop to cinema: Phil and Jacqui Cunningham's inspiring animation journey with 'Jungle Beat 2: The Past'
The delightful animated characters in the movie, 'Jungle Beat 2: The Past'.
Image: Supplied
Several years ago, an itch to take kiddies' storytelling further saw Phil Cunningham and his wife Jacqui make an interesting leap into film-making from chicken farming.
It was on the back of the release of Phil's children's book, "The Legend of the Sky Kingdom".
This endeavour evolved significantly when he and his wife established Sunrise Animation Studios.
Their debut project was Africa's inaugural feature-length animated film, rendered in 3D motion style, based on Phil's book. What was remarkable about this undertaking was that it was based on puppets and a set design made out of trash sourced from a scrapyard closeby to their office.
In doing so, they pioneered an animation style known as junkmation.
The film was screened at festivals all over the world, and it led to the couple embarking on 'Jungle Beat', a 13-episode series created by Brent Dawes. It ended up running for eight seasons and fuelled two other spinoffs, 'Munki and Trunk' and Jungle Beat Explorers'.
'Jungle Beat' found a new home on YouTube when the TV deals ran out, and, based on it exceeding 10 million subscribers, led to the release of 'Jungle Beat: The Movie", which was shown on Netflix when the pandemic struck.
Several years later, the husband and wife duo have dropped the sequel, "Jungle Beat 2: The Past", which was released on the big screen on June 27.
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Film-maker and passionate storyteller, Phil Cunningham.
Image: Supplied
In a quick chat with Phil, he unpacked the journey.
'It's such a rewarding and exciting moment for everyone who has been part of this journey. We wrapped production on the first movie just as the pandemic swept across the world, and the cinema release plans in most of the 30 countries where we had signed were scuppered.
'The movie still found an amazing audience on streaming platforms, but it's really special to see 'Jungle Beat 2: The Past' going to the big screen.'
On the shift from chicken farming to filmmaking, Phil explained: 'I grew up with a deep love for storytelling from early childhood, and my upbringing in Zimbabwe was filled with larger-than-life characters and incredible stories.
'My first experience of a movie in a cinema was when I was 14 years old, so it was a late introduction, but I was so impacted by the power of film as the most effective story medium of our generation. I initially built a business in the agricultural industry, but was always writing and sketching and had a very clear sense that film-making and storytelling were what I was born for.
'Fortunately, my wife is one of the most courageous, adventurous people I know, and she played a major role in encouraging me that life is too short not to pursue our greatest passions.'
Unpacking the key aspects in making an animated feature, he noted: 'Our mission statement is to inspire through story, and I think that a story worth telling is the most important aspect of making any film.
'On that foundation, I think animation production is an incredible, integral team effort, where the collaboration and trust between each artist and department are so important.
'It's been such a joy to work with the extraordinary team we had on 'Jungle Beat 2: The Past'. Our production timeframe was just over two years, which was accelerated through having so many of our character models and other assets already created from the first movie.
'However, my initial idea of a nice, efficient sequel process was disrupted by the imagination of our director and writer, Sam Wilson, whose inspiration brought dinosaurs, time travel and a whole new Jurassic world into play!'
He added: 'The film is a joyful, wholesome celebration of loyalty and friendship, and I think these themes are carried by a really exciting, funny story and group of characters. I think families will share a lot of laughs and leave feeling uplifted.'
Phil revealed that there are plans to also release the movie worldwide.
∎ 'Jungle Beat 2: The Past' is showing at cinemas nationwide.
