Common Sense Media Review
By Tom Cassidy
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Animated tale has cartoon violence, QR code for chat app.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 6+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Boonie Bears: The Big Shrink
What's the Story?
In BOONIE BEARS: THE BIG SHRINK, bears Briar (voiced by Gene Hobbs) and Bramble (Joseph Lambert) get caught by Logger Vick's (Paul "Maxx" Rinehart) shrink ray. This causes the bears to see the forest from a whole new, and way more dangerous, perspective. Meanwhile, Vick's dad returns to make amends.
Is It Any Good?
The fifth movie of this Chinese animated series has many parts. Boonie Bears: The Big Shrink has a deep and dramatic father-son study, an eco-drama about electronics being dumped into a lake and stopping salmon migrating, and a shrink-ray adventure. The family drama element plays out in a thoughtful, intelligent way, with deep analysis of the father-son relationship and clever devices to make its points. Yet it also feels a little heavy-handed for a film aimed at very young kids. Then there's the shrunken character plot, which, to be fair, the movie has fun with as it depicts the world from a different perspective. But then it runs out of steam and turns into a messy, cluttered, and dull trudge to the finish line.
The eco-drama portion that involves a sinister duo dumping old electronics into the lake is another muddled and age-inappropriate turn. Coupled with a handful of scenes lifted directly from Toy Story 3 and the result is an uncomfortable mishmash of too many elements pitched at completely different tones. And then there's the QR code. Scanned in the hope it might provide a funny or interesting Easter egg, the glum realization that it's just there to get a huge messaging app onto more phones -- the phones of kids, no less -- leaves a particularly bad taste.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the environmental messages in Boonie Bears: The Big Shrink. What messages did you take from the movie? What can we do in real life to help look after the planet?
Did you find any of the more scary scenes too extreme for a movie like this? Which ones in particular? What's the impact of media violence on kids?
When the bears and Vick are shrunk down, they see the forest from a new perspective. What can we learn by viewing our surroundings with fresh eyes?
The movie includes a scene where a QR code for a real-life product is clearly shown. What do you think to this kind of advertising? Should it be allowed in a kids' movie?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : July 17, 2019
- Cast : Gene Hobbs , Joseph Lambert , Siobhan Lumsden
- Directors : Leon Ding , Huida Lin
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Fantawild Animation
- Genre : Family and Kids
- Topics : Animals ( Bugs , Wild Animals ) , STEM
- Run time : 90 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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