Coaching Tiger, Hidden Giraffe is a 3 part episode of the third season of The Jungle Bunch to the Rescue.
Synopsis[]
Part 1 of 3: A symbol of yin and yang appears in the sky. This is a sign that Pong To, the greatest kung fu master of the jungle, is back to face the heir of his former disciple, Natacha, in a fight to the death…
Part 2 of 3: Maurice remembers his training with kung fu master Hector. He there learned the greatest lesson of all: humility. There is still a chance to defeat Pong To, which lies at the bottom of the Well of Truth…
Part 3 of 3: At the edge of the volcano where Pong To is waiting, no-one can resist the Master's power. Nobody, except Junior. Is it is actually him that Pong To came to face?
Plot[]
Part 1[]
The Jungle Bunch prepares for a solar eclipse, Al and Bob prepare porridge with a caterpillar that turns out to be sacred to the hamster tribe.
While observing a solar eclipse, Natacha saw a yin and yang symbol. Natacha explains to the others that the yin and yang she saw foreshadowed the arrival of the giraffe Pong To, who will decide to take Maurice as his student. Natacha and Tony tell the others about Pong To, who is a kung fu master, and he in turn trains students to the point that they can defeat him in mortal combat and receive the title of "Ultimate Fighter". Natasha was his student, but being disappointed in the learning process, she refused to follow his teaching, and he promised to take her unborn child as a student.
Realizing that Maurice may be recruited as an apprentice, Tony tells the team the story of how Maurice became addicted to martial arts. As a child, Maurice often listened to stories about the exploits of “The Champs” from Tony, although Natacha forbade him to talk about it. At the same time, Maurice tried to stand up for the children whose fruits were being taken away by the mandrills, but was always defeated.
Tony, noticing Maurice's unsuccessful attempts to fight back the mandrills, decided to teach him the arts. But Maurice's training was something completely different, like washing dishes, sweeping or giving Tony a massage. At the next skirmish with the mandrills, Maurice was able to fight back and they ran away, and Tony pointed out the conclusion from training with him.
The Jungle Bunch went looking for Hector.
Part 2[]
Al and Bob run away from the tribe of hamsters, because they learned that the frogs cooked the Kalima caterpillar, sacred to them, in porridge.
The Jungle Bunch, on their way to Hector, listen to the story of how Maurice met him. Young Maurice, together with the still little Junior, passed by Hector, who, listening to Maurice’s aspirations to comprehend kung fu, recommends that he learn humility and even teaches him a lesson in which he wins. Defeated by Hector, Maurice decided to learn kung fu from him.
Hector's training was unconventional: Maurice had to cut down a tree with his hands, drag a boulder with his feet and climb over a rock without arms or legs. Through training, Maurice was able to cut a tree halfway and lift a boulder. Soon, Hector introduces Maurice to his student Koro, and declares that Maurice will have a duel with him.
Heading to the fight site, Maurice notices a burning tent with a child inside. Maurice decided to distract himself from his goal in order to save the child. Successfully rescuing the child, it turns out to be Hector, who noted in Maurice that he decided to save another instead of the path to success. But as the fire began to spread, and Hector’s diapers prevented him from walking, Maurice was forced to pull out, managing to make a bridge out of half-broken wood and extinguish the flames blocking the road with a boulder.
Having escaped from the area surrounded by fire, Maurice, Junior and Hector climb to the top of the mountain where the duel was to take place. Koro taunts Maurice that he was the first to reach the finish line. But Hector notes that the final test was not a duel at all. Maurice also demonstrates on Corot the same technique with a blade of grass that Hector used on him earlier.
Arriving at Hector, Maurice tells him about Pong To, but he instructs him with the words: “By defeating him, you will not defeat Pong To, fighting him will destroy you.” Hector reveals that he once studied with Pong To and is ready to tell about his weak points and opens a secret passage where only Maurice, Junior and Hector enter.
Al and Bob, tired of running away from angry hamsters, stopped at one place and decided to fight off the hamsters, but unexpectedly the frogs ended up on Pong To’s headdress.
Part 3[]
The remaining part of the Jungle Bunch decided to meditate, and Gilbert decided to study hearing. And Maurice, Junior and Hector found themselves inside a secret entrance. Junior watches the fireflies that lead to the yin and yang symbol.
Soon the Jungle Bunch sees the volcano from afar and heads towards it, without waiting for Maurice and Junior. There, deep in the crater, Pong To awaits.
On the way, Maurice noticed how the hamsters drove Al and Bob to the edge of the cliff. Maurice, inquiring about the cause of the conflict, accidentally insulted Kalima in the opinion of the hamsters. Maurice defeated the hamsters, but one of them accidentally pushed the frogs, but they were saved by Kalima, who was reborn into a butterfly.
"The Jungle Bunch" and "the Champs" decided to defeat Pong To separately. But they all failed. Maurice soon arrived, but Pong To refuses to fight with him, since he sees only Junior as the chosen one. Maurice doubts that his son can be the chosen one and argues with him. As a result, Maurice is forced to admit to Junior that he is the one who should become the heir to kung fu, and he enters into a fight with Pong To.
During the fight with Pong To, Junior shows ingenuity and delves into the meaning of yin and yang. Junior uses water from his aquarium and overpowers the giraffe, but does not knock him out, leaving him alive. Pong To gives Junior the title of "Supreme Kung Fu Fighter".
The Jungle Bunch, on their way home, sees the Hamster Tribe honoring Al and Bob as Kalima's chosen ones. But Bob eats Kalima, shocking the hamsters.
Characters[]
Characters[]
- Maurice
- Junior
- Miguel
- Batricia
- Gilbert
- Al
- Bob
- Oumbaba Oumba
- Kalima
- Natacha
- Tony
- Goliath
- Pong To
- Ricky (mentioned)
- Hector
- Koro (flashback)
Species seen:
- Penguins
- Tigers
- Goldfishes
- Gorillas
- Bats
- Tarsiers
- Toads
- Hamsters
- Sloths
- Rhinos
- Flies
- Giraffes
- Jerboas (flashback)
- Crocodiles (flashback)
- Mandrills (flashback)
- Raccoons (flashback)
- Koalas (flashback)
- Marmosets (flashback)
- Oxpeckers (flashback)
- Caterpillars
- Flamingos
- Toucans (flashback)
- Kiwis (flashback)
- Echidnas (flashback)
- Cockatoos (flashback)
- Birds (flashback)
- Fireflies
- Butterflies
Gallery[]
Videos[]
Trivia[]
- The English title of the episode is a reference to the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
- The French title of the episode is in part a reference to the film The Karate Kid. Similar to the protagonist, Maurice was bullied as a child, and Tony, like that teacher, taught martial arts in an unconventional way in the form of everyday activities.