'The Jungle Gang' out in English

Animation Xpress for 24 July reports that the four The Jungle Gang films are out, starring Bo, the bar-headed goose; Kuttu, the Slender Loris; and Bhoora, the blackbuck.

The Jungle Gang is the first Indian wildlife film series that has been made exclusively for children and young adults. The series has been created by Earthcare Films of Krishnendu Bose and financially supported by WWF-India.

“Jungle Gang is a fusion of CGI and live action wildlife footage shot in some of the most iconic National Parks of India.” The films are 15 minute each. “Bo is portrayed as a Ms. Know-it-all, Kuttu as a witty joker and Bhoora as a wide-eyed kid and foodie.”

Watch: Animated trailer for The Jungle Gang Meets the Rhino

These three friends bring the flavor of three different habitats of India. They travel together to different parts of the country and seek out the threatened animals to tell their stories about their habitats, threats and conservations efforts, which have saved them from extinction. Along their journey, these friends have adventures and play pranks on each other and happen to meet the Indian one horned rhino, the tiger, the elephant and the sloth bear.

The first, in 2009, featured the rhino; the three others, made in 2011, star the tiger, the elephant, and the sloth bear.

The Tamil language version of the series was released on 28 June. Today is the English-language version. The Hindi and Assamese versions will be next. Each will premiere at a prestigious school in its language region.

Going wild

Launch Of the CD The Jungle Gang in Tamil

Catch them young, they say. And that’s what WWF- India seems to have done. It has come up with The Jungle Gang , an animated movie in Tamil for children, directed by Krishnendu Bose. The film’s CD was launched recently.

Three animated characters are part of the film — a bar-headed goose, a slender lorries and a black buck. These three friends take the viewers to different habitats in the country, locate animals on the verge of extinction and talk about conserving them. The film strives to make children a part of wildlife conservation.

For details, visit WWF-India, Tamil Nadu State office, Old no. E-96 / New no. 16, 13th West Street, Kamaraj Nagar (West), Thiruvanmiyur or call 4211-0690.

WWF-India release the Jungle Gang Film series

The Jungle Gang film series was released on 24th July in Dehradun by Dr. R. B. S. Rawat, PCCF, Uttarakhand Forest Department in the presence of Mr. Chandra Singh Gwal, Director Education, Government of Uttarakhand , Mr. Samir Sinha, CF, Uttarakhand Forest Department, Mrs. Gunmeet Bindra, Principal, Welham Boys High School, and eminent filmmaker and producer of the series Mr. Krishhnendu Bose at a special event organized by WWF-India’s Dehradun Programmer office at the Welham Boys School, Dehradun.

The Jungle Gang is the first Indian wildlife film series that has been made exclusively for children and young adults. The mission of the film series is to expose them to the diverse wild flora and fauna of India and encourage them to actively participate in wildlife conservation.

The film has three animated animal characters – Bo- the Bar Headed Goose, Kuttu- the Slender Loris and Bhoora- the Blackbuck. These three friends bring the

flavour of three different habitats of India. They travel together to different parts of the country and seek out the threatened animals to tell about their habitats, threats and conservations efforts, which have saved them from extinction.

The animals they meet are the Indian one horned rhino, the tiger, the elephant and the sloth bear. The film series is a mix of animation and live action wildlife footage. Each film in the series is about 15 mins in length and has been dubbed into Assamese, Hindi and Tamil to reach out to a wider audience. The series has been created by Earthcare Films of Mr. Krishnendu Bose and financially supported by WWF-India.

During the release event the guests was welcomed by Dr. Harish Guleria, Head, Terai Arc Landscape, WWF-India. Dr. Dipankar Ghose, Director, Species and Landscapes programme, WWF-India talked about how the Jungle Gang films would help in spreading the message of conservation.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Guest, Dr. R. B. S. Rawat said, “It is very important to reach out and educate the next generation about the importance of wildlife conservation. I congratulate the filmmaker and WWF-India for making such a special series using the powerful medium of film to target children.”

The Special Guest, Mr. Chandra Singh Gwal added, “I’m particularly happy that the film series has been dubbed into languages like Hindi, Tamil and Assamese as this will really help the film series find a large audience. We need more films like these to ensure that the message of conservation is spread far and wide and I hope that more schools in Dehradun get to see these films.”

Following the release, the tiger and elephant films in the series were screened to the guests and school children in the audience. The filmmaker, Mr. Krishnendu Bose, then took part in an interactive session with the children in the audience and shared his experiences and the challenges in making the film series. He also answered many questions posed by inquisitive and enthusiastic children wanting to know more about wildlife and conservation.

School children of Welham Girls, GGIC, RIMC, Welham Boys, DPS, Raja Ram Mohan Rai , Doon University participated in the event. In addition to participation from different schools, various local institutions and ngo’s participated in the release event. More than 200 people participated in the event.

The Jungle Gang Series release event was coordinated by WWF-India Dehradun Programme Office through Dr. Jatinder Kaur and team comprising Prashant Gaur, Narshima Rajan and Interns from Doon University.

The DVDs of the film series are available from WWF-India.