Staci Layne Wilson’s Bongee Bear and the Kingdom of Rhythm review says it’s a sweet, tuneful flick for young kids, especially around the holidays.

While Bongee Bear and the Kingdom of Rhythm is not a holiday-themed movie, it’ll be great to entertain your kiddos while you’re busy wrapping gifts, baking, or adding to your Amazon Wish List. The dancing and singing bear and his forest animal buddies are not only cute, but they impart an important message about kindness and acceptance.

Set somewhere in a forest far, far away, we are introduced to Bongee Bear (voiced by Rob Paulsen), his person, Princess Katrina (voiced by Debi Derryberry), and her parents, the King (voiced by Julien Sands) and Queen (voiced by Danica McKellar). We soon learn that every year, The Kingdom of Rhythm throws a huge party, where everyone is invited—even the evil witch who lives on the outskirts of town.

Bandrilla (voiced by Ruth Buzzi) is a classic crone but she’s not too scary looking for the little ones. Despite her witchiness, she decides to go to the annual ball to let loose and party. At first, it seems that everything will be all fun and games, but when the King asks Bandrilla to dance, everyone sees that she’s got two left feet inside those pointy black shoes. The whole town laughs at her, and the embarrassed Bandrilla responds by putting a curse on the kingdom before vanishing in a puff of smoke. Once the witch is gone, the townspeople find that they can no longer sing and dance—how can they be citizens of the Kingdom of Rhythm without singing and dancing?

After a gentle nudge by the owl Mindy (voiced by June Lockhart), Bongee volunteers to find the evil sorceress and reverse the spell. This promise puts him on a journey of danger and discovery, and shows him how very little he knows of the outside world. The brown bear brings along his ostrich friend, Myrin (voiced by Dom DeLuise), and once the two set off, they meet an array of colorful characters that distract them, but they never stray from their mission to ask Bandrilla to forgive the townspeople and restore music to the Kingdom of Rhythm.

Bongee Bear and the Kingdom of Rhythm is an old-fashioned, fairytale storybook in colorful 2-D animation with all kinds of characters that sing and dance, and, along the way, show young children that showing kindness to those who may be different from us is always the best path.

Not Rated
1 Hour 18 Minutes

Does this Bongee Bear and the Kingdom of Rhythm review make you want to tap your toe to its beat? It’s on VOD and limited release now. Find times and tickets at Fandango.com.

Staci Layne Wilson’s Bongee Bear and the Kingdom of Rhythm review says it’s a sweet, tuneful flick for young kids, especially around the holidays.