AllMovie

Kid in Africa is a one-reeler that places young children in the roles usually played by adults in a typical jungle adventure. Shirley Temple plays Madame Cradlebait, a missionary determined to civilize the cannibals in the jungle. Her expedition, weary from travel, settles in a camp after a long journey. Unfortunately, cannibals immediately appear. Her party flees, and Cradlebait is captured and placed in a giant stew pot. As the cannibal chef prepares his tasty dish, her cries for help are heard far away by a jungle boy (played by Daniel Boone Jr.). He gives his famous yell several times, spraying his throat when necessary, and rides his trusty elephant to the rescue. Cradlebait enlists the jungle boy's help in civilizing the cannibals by building a city in the jungle, the straw buildings of which replicate a busy hotel, gas station (dispensing milk), etc. The jungle boy has also been civilized, now wearing middle class finery and apparently married to Cradlebait, who forbids him to golf as he wants, as he must go home and do the dishes. She takes the reins of the elephant from him and guides them home, where he is also called upon to take a diaper and attend to the cries of the little one in their tree house home.