The latest installment in the Boonie Bears franchise, Boonie Bears: Time Twist, hits UK and Irish cinemas on September 13. Fans of the Chinese animated television series, which has already spawned several feature films, will likely know what to expect: a whimsical journey involving two bears and their friend Vick, a former logger. However, newcomers might find themselves puzzled by the film’s convoluted storyline.
Boonie Bears: Time Twist focuses primarily on Vick, who embarks on an alternative-reality and time-travel adventure, aided by mysterious guardians of timelines and a mad scientist’s experiment gone wrong. While the premise of exploring multiple realities holds potential, the execution falls short.
Unlike traditional “what if” narratives like A Christmas Carol or It’s a Wonderful Life, Time Twist complicates its plot with excessive twists, making the storytelling feel overly complex. Unfortunately, the humor, often relying on tired gags like a character unknowingly imitating their boss or forcing someone to eat unappetizing soup, does little to compensate.
Neither the characters nor the English-language dubbing elevate the experience, with much of the voicework feeling grating. Even the animation, apart from brief moments of visual appeal during time-travel sequences—such as a scene where the characters shrink to the size of insects in a meadow of giant dandelions—lacks the vibrancy seen in many other animated films.
Ultimately, while Boonie Bears: Time Twist may satisfy dedicated fans of the franchise, its lack of wit and charm makes it hard to recommend to a broader audience.
