{ "id": "epnn19k4x4", "slug": "boonie-bears-back-to-earth", "title": "Boonie Bears: Back to Earth", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form", "label": "Films by genre, form, and subject", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts", "label": "Animated and short films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts.animated-features-by-country", "label": "Animated films by country and region", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts.animated-features-by-country" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.chn.t2021.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form", "label": "China · 2021 and later: Films by genre, form, and subject", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2021.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form", "path": [ { "id": "geo.chn", "label": "China", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2021", "label": "China · 2021 and later", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2021" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2021.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2021.culture" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2021.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2021.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2021.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2021.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2021.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2021.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2021.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form", "label": "Films by genre, form, and subject", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2021.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Boonie Bears: Back to Earth (熊出没·重返地球) is the eighth Boonie Bears film, a 2022 Chinese sci-fi animated comedy directed by Lin Huida, grossing about 977 million yuan, a Chinese New Year animation record.", "snippet": "Boonie Bears: Back to Earth (熊出没·重返地球) is the eighth Boonie Bears film, a 2022 Chinese sci-fi animated comedy directed by Lin Huida, grossing about 977 million yuan, a Chinese New Year animation record.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts.animated-features-by-country", "markdown": "# Boonie Bears: Back to Earth\n\n**Boonie Bears: Back to Earth** (熊出没·重返地球) is a 2022 Chinese 3D animated science-fiction comedy film, the eighth theatrical feature in the [Boonie Bears](https://www.edgepedia.org/boonie-bears) (熊出没) series, directed by Lin Huida (林汇达) and released in mainland China on February 1, 2022, at the start of the [Chinese New Year](https://www.edgepedia.org/chinese-new-year) holiday season[1](https://www.zgdypw.cn/zzxm/gcpxfxm/xfxmzzxq/202209/15/t20220915_7348968.shtml). It was the first film in the franchise to be built mainly on science-fiction elements, and with a final gross of about 977 million yuan it became the highest-grossing Chinese animated film released during a Chinese New Year period[2](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_21758396) • [3](https://www.fantawild.com/en/NewsList/Show/5206.htm).\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Chinese title | 熊出没·重返地球 (Xiong chu mo: Chong fan di qiu)[1](https://www.zgdypw.cn/zzxm/gcpxfxm/xfxmzzxq/202209/15/t20220915_7348968.shtml) |\n| Release | February 1, 2022 (mainland China); 99 minutes[4](https://cccsydney.org/2025/01/09/boonie-bears-back-to-earth/) |\n| Director | Lin Huida (林汇达)[1](https://www.zgdypw.cn/zzxm/gcpxfxm/xfxmzzxq/202209/15/t20220915_7348968.shtml) |\n| Franchise position | Eighth Boonie Bears theatrical film; first with science fiction as the main element[3](https://www.fantawild.com/en/NewsList/Show/5206.htm) • [2](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_21758396) |\n| Box office | About 977 million yuan (over $150 million), a series record at the time[2](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_21758396) • [3](https://www.fantawild.com/en/NewsList/Show/5206.htm) |\n| Visual effects scale | Roughly 2,000 shots, 1,500 of them VFX shots; over 80% of the film by shot count[2](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_21758396) • [5](https://www.xinhuanet.com/ent/20220215/b2688d03ca0141d3a207acb181d68d1e/c.html) |\n| Reception | 67% Tomatometer and 98% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes; 6.5 on Douban[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/boonie_bears_back_to_earth) • [7](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7y_hzAJJ5k) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nThe story begins when an alien object, the \"original core\" (原核), falls on Bear Ridge (狗熊岭), the forest home of the bear brothers Briar (熊大) and Bramble (熊二) and the former lumberjack Logger Vick (光头强). Bramble merges with the core by accident and gains the ability to control a flying craft with his mind[8](https://ep.ycwb.com/epaper/ycwb/html/2022-01/30/content_6_468122.htm).\n\nA mysterious alien named Avi (阿布) then arrives at Bear Ridge and, after an initial falling-out, befriends Bramble. Bramble learns that Avi's people, the Rhyt (莱尔特), originated on Earth millions of years ago as a highly developed civilization that damaged the planet's environment so badly that they had to leave and wander the universe[4](https://cccsydney.org/2025/01/09/boonie-bears-back-to-earth/) • [9](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/boonie-bears-back-earth). While Bramble and Avi search for the Rhyt's ancient relics, they are attacked by a mysterious high-tech military force that threatens Earth, and the bears must team up to defend their home[4](https://cccsydney.org/2025/01/09/boonie-bears-back-to-earth/). Avi's underlying motive is to return to the Rhyt reserve in the [Antarctic](https://www.edgepedia.org/antarctic) region where his people's cultural treasures and high-tech legacy were sealed away, and to find his parents[5](https://www.xinhuanet.com/ent/20220215/b2688d03ca0141d3a207acb181d68d1e/c.html). The official registration summary describes the outcome as the bears defeating the villains and restoring the Earth to life through love, courage, and justice[1](https://www.zgdypw.cn/zzxm/gcpxfxm/xfxmzzxq/202209/15/t20220915_7348968.shtml).\n\nThe film keeps the series' regular comic trio of Briar, Bramble, and Logger Vick and adds new characters, including the alien Avi and the Niu couple[10](https://chinafilmnews.cn/Html/2022-02-16/8266.html).\n\n### Place in the franchise\n\nFantawild [Animation](https://www.edgepedia.org/animation) launched the Boonie Bears television series in 2012 as an edutainment comedy about two bears defending their forest from the lumberjack Logger Vick, and the brand has since been distributed to more than 100 countries and territories[19](https://www.fantawild.com/en/comic_xcm.shtml). The theatrical series began in 2014, and *Back to Earth* was its eighth entry[3](https://www.fantawild.com/en/NewsList/Show/5206.htm). Its success extended the series' audience beyond young children toward family viewing, aided by the emotional storyline of Avi searching for his parents[5](https://www.xinhuanet.com/ent/20220215/b2688d03ca0141d3a207acb181d68d1e/c.html).\n\nThe film's world continued in later entries. A derivative special-format film set in the *Back to Earth* universe, in which the villain Niu Daheng steals a spacecraft core holding Bramble's memories and enters the memory world, was approved for production by the National Film Administration in 2023[20](https://www.chinafilm.gov.cn/dybalxgs/202306/t20230619_717969.html).\n\n## Production and visual effects\n\n**A science-fiction turn.** Director Lin Huida had experimented lightly with science fiction in the previous installment; for this film the team, in his words, committed fully to \"hardcore science fiction\"[10](https://chinafilmnews.cn/Html/2022-02-16/8266.html). The production moved the setting from the forest to outer space and the Antarctic, and the studio described the film's production focus as its visual effects[5](https://www.xinhuanet.com/ent/20220215/b2688d03ca0141d3a207acb181d68d1e/c.html).\n\nThe scale of the effects work was unprecedented for the series: nearly 2,000 shots in total, 1,500 of them effects shots, with more than 300 characters and more than 300 environments[2](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_21758396). The alien Avi received upgraded fur effects with 3D enhancement, aiming for visibly distinct strand thickness as well as volume[5](https://www.xinhuanet.com/ent/20220215/b2688d03ca0141d3a207acb181d68d1e/c.html). In the cyberpunk city scenes and aerial mecha battles, single frames carried particle counts in the tens of billions and took more than 20 hours to render per frame[5](https://www.xinhuanet.com/ent/20220215/b2688d03ca0141d3a207acb181d68d1e/c.html).\n\n**The Rhyt flashback.** The most complex sequence depicts the rise and fall of the Rhyt civilization in only about a dozen shots. The ruined garbage-city scene alone contained 29 billion particles, 7.3 billion models, and 125.61 billion polygon faces, with a single frame taking 20 hours to render; the dozen shots took three months to produce[2](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_21758396). Chinese trade commentary credited the film with setting benchmark image quality for domestic animation in several key scenes[5](https://www.xinhuanet.com/ent/20220215/b2688d03ca0141d3a207acb181d68d1e/c.html).\n\nThe production took two years, with [Fantawild](https://www.edgepedia.org/fantawild) investing 82.5 million yuan[2](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_21758396). The three production companies were Fantawild (Shenzhen) Animation, Zhejiang Hengdian Pictures, and China Film Co., with Fantawild holding a 55 percent stake[2](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_21758396).\n\n## Box office\n\nThe film opened in the 2022 Spring Festival slot, the busiest release window of the Chinese year, against seven other new films including *[The Battle at Lake Changjin II](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-battle-at-lake-changjin-ii)* and *[Too Cool to Kill](https://www.edgepedia.org/too-cool-to-kill)*[11](https://www.chinafilm.gov.cn/xwzx/gzdt/202202/t20220208_441247.html). It debuted on 32,000 screens in 8,000 cinemas and earned $142 million in its first three weeks[3](https://www.fantawild.com/en/NewsList/Show/5206.htm).\n\nBy February 16, 2022 its cumulative total had passed 851 million yuan, breaking the series record of 717 million yuan set by *Boonie Bears: Blast into the Past* and making it the highest-grossing animated film in the history of the Chinese New Year box office[12](https://www.dianyingjie.com.cn/2022/0217/318188.shtml). Its Spring Festival slot gross was about 560 million yuan, fourth place in the slot[13](https://ycpai.ycwb.com/ycppad/content/2022-02/07/content_40560646.html). The final gross was 977 million yuan[2](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_21758396), which Fantawild reported as 955 million RMB (over $150 million) at an earlier stage, ranking third among Chinese animated films at that time behind *[Ne Zha](https://www.edgepedia.org/ne-zha-2019-film)* and *[Legend of Deification](https://www.edgepedia.org/jiang-ziya-film)*[3](https://www.fantawild.com/en/NewsList/Show/5206.htm). It was the highest-grossing film of the series to that point[7](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7y_hzAJJ5k).\n\n## International release and reception\n\nThe film received its global premiere in the United Kingdom on May 27, 2022, opening in 347 cinemas across 207 cities in its first week, a record number of cinemas for a Chinese film in the UK, surpassing the 278 cinemas of *Kung Fu Panda* (2005)[14](https://www.cnfilmrank.com/zh/movies/1279). It was later released in Turkey in December 2022 and on home video in the United States by Cinedigm in March 2023[15](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Boonie-Bears-Back-to-Earth-%282022-China%29). It has streamed on Disney+, Hulu, and other platforms in English dubbing[16](https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-03707d56-e559-4385-9029-f116ec0fe6dc) • [17](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/boonie-bears-back-to-earth).\n\nOn Rotten Tomatoes the film held a 67% Tomatometer from six critics and a 98% audience score from more than 250 ratings[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/boonie_bears_back_to_earth). The Guardian's Phil Hoad gave it 3 of 5 stars, calling it refreshing that some things remain old-fashioned within the digital animation blitz; other critics were less positive, with La Nación's reviewer finding the animation strong but the narrative incoherent and unoriginal[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/boonie_bears_back_to_earth). On Douban it scored 6.5[7](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7y_hzAJJ5k).\n\nChinese commentators received it favorably. Li Jianping, dean of the Animation School of the Beijing Film Academy, praised the fuller characterization of Bramble and the film's craft level; Song Zhiqin of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles' film art center called it an \"emotionally rich, visually splendid domestic animated work\" and noted that the combination of science fiction and comedy suits child audiences[18](https://o.cflac.org.cn/wenyirenwu/xhcljjj/202201/t20220130_582145.html). Reviewers also noted the film's environmental message about caring for the planet, consistent with the franchise's founding theme[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/boonie_bears_back_to_earth) • [19](https://www.fantawild.com/en/comic_xcm.shtml).\n\n## References\n\n1. [熊出没•重返地球, 中国电影数据信息网](https://www.zgdypw.cn/zzxm/gcpxfxm/xfxmzzxq/202209/15/t20220915_7348968.shtml)\n2. [《熊出没》才是真正稳定的财富密码, 澎湃新闻·湃客](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_21758396)\n3. [Fantawild's \"Boonie Bears: Back to Earth\" Is the Most Successful Film of the Franchise, Fantawild](https://www.fantawild.com/en/NewsList/Show/5206.htm)\n4. [Boonie Bears: Back to Earth, China Cultural Center Sydney](https://cccsydney.org/2025/01/09/boonie-bears-back-to-earth/)\n5. [合家欢题材影片需把国民IP转化成文化记忆, 新华网/文汇报](https://www.xinhuanet.com/ent/20220215/b2688d03ca0141d3a207acb181d68d1e/c.html)\n6. [Boonie Bears: Back to Earth, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/boonie_bears_back_to_earth)\n7. [电影《熊出没·重返地球》, YouTube (Hollywood Moni)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7y_hzAJJ5k)\n8. [独家专访导演林汇达, 羊城晚报](https://ep.ycwb.com/epaper/ycwb/html/2022-01/30/content_6_468122.htm)\n9. [Boonie Bears Back to Earth, Australian Classification](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/boonie-bears-back-earth)\n10. [\"创新+快乐\"是创作团队最关心的事, 中国电影报](https://chinafilmnews.cn/Html/2022-02-16/8266.html)\n11. [2022年春节档票房超60亿, 国家电影局](https://www.chinafilm.gov.cn/xwzx/gzdt/202202/t20220208_441247.html)\n12. [动画电影《熊出没·重返地球》票房8.51亿, 电影界](https://www.dianyingjie.com.cn/2022/0217/318188.shtml)\n13. [2022春节档盘点：8部大片各拿了啥\"剧本\"？, 羊城晚报](https://ycpai.ycwb.com/ycppad/content/2022-02/07/content_40560646.html)\n14. [《熊出没·重返地球》英国上映创纪录, 中国电影票房榜](https://www.cnfilmrank.com/zh/movies/1279)\n15. [Boonie Bears: Back to Earth (2022), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Boonie-Bears-Back-to-Earth-%282022-China%29)\n16. [Boonie Bears: Back to Earth, Disney+](https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-03707d56-e559-4385-9029-f116ec0fe6dc)\n17. [Boonie Bears: Back to Earth streaming online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/boonie-bears-back-to-earth)\n18. [《熊出没·重返地球》：\"科幻元素+合家欢\", 中国文艺网](https://o.cflac.org.cn/wenyirenwu/xhcljjj/202201/t20220130_582145.html)\n19. [Boonie Bears Series, Fantawild Holdings](https://www.fantawild.com/en/comic_xcm.shtml)\n20. [备案公示查询结果（重返地球衍生片）, 国家电影局](https://www.chinafilm.gov.cn/dybalxgs/202306/t20230619_717969.html)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Films by genre, form, and subject › Animated and short films › Animated films by country and region*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/boonie-bears-back-to-earth", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/boonie-bears-back-to-earth.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Boonie Bears: Back to Earth\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/boonie-bears-back-to-earth. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Boonie Bears: Back to Earth](https://www.edgepedia.org/boonie-bears-back-to-earth)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/boonie-bears-back-to-earth](https://www.edgepedia.org/boonie-bears-back-to-earth). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Boonie Bears: Back to Earth\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/boonie-bears-back-to-earth. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Boonie Bears: Back to Earth is the eighth Boonie Bears film, a 2022 Chinese sci-fi animated comedy directed by Lin Huida, grossing about 977 million yuan, a Chinese New Year animation record." }