Born in China (2016) Reviews

• "Born in China"- Gorgeous imagery with a lack of real substance or information.

  MaximumMadness2017-05-06

  The real shame with Disney's nature documentary "Born in China" is that the potential was there for a remarkable film. The imagery captured of both the landscapes and of the beautiful and elusive animals on which it is centered is completely awe-inspiring and never less than completely engrossing and compelling. And it tells the oft-poignant story of what it is like for families and packs of animals in the vast reaches of China, including adorable pandas and stunning snow leopards. Unfortunately, the film's failing is a complete and utter lack of any real substance or information regarding these subjects, which is instead traded for often contrived schmaltz and "jokey" narration. For all it does right with the stunning visuals... all else seems forced and a tad bit trite. The footage itself is incredible. Especially when viewed on the big screen. Director Lu Chuan and his team of cinematographers and cameramen truly do capture some compelling and beautiful looks into the lives of these animals, and it's a pleasure seeing what it's like for them as they struggle to thrive and survive over the course of just over a year. The most outstanding of course being the snow leopard referred to as "Dawa" and her cups, simply because they are such stunning creatures and they face the most adversity and tragedy throughout the film. Chuan and the rest of the crew feverishly document these wonderful creatures to the greatest of extents. The problem is that through editing and over-written narration delivered by comedic actor John Krasinski, the entire message seems a bit undermined. I know that it wouldn't work for some, but in my mind, simply showing the footage over music or with only minimal information carefully doled out through brief bits of narration would have worked best. But you get the feeling that Disney's nature department felt they needed to add more of a "message" to the film, and it feels tacky and silly. The film starts out promising with some actual key information about China and a pleasant explanation of the symbology involving cranes taking flight... but it quickly becomes an "Ohh, so cutesy!" affair with Krasinski "speaking" for the animals and inserting odd random jokes while never doling out more than the most basic and bland of facts. This was an opportunity for education, but instead it places too much focus on talking about how much animal-mommies love their animal-babies, and throwing in some really odd references to appease the young children in the audience. (The film likes to constantly remind us that it refers to a clan of Snub-Nose monkeys as the "Lost Boys" about once every 30 seconds in certain scenes.) It's borderline condescending. I remember when I was a child watching nature documentaries in school or on television... I wanted to learn. This film instead feels the need to talk down. Still, I can't say that this fact ruined the film as a whole. Because it didn't. There's still so much to take in through the 76- minute run-time that I'd definitely give it a mild recommendation, especially to families with young children or general nature enthusiasts. While critical facts are few and far in-between and the over-done narration does drag it down a bit, the footage enclosed is constantly and consistently enthralling and exquisitely captured. And it did save the film for me, and make it an enjoyable watch as an entire cumulative experience. Seeing pandas, snub-nosed monkeys and of course the snow leopards in their natural habitats, living and breathing is just too magical to dismiss over my squabbles with the production. I give it a slightly above average 6 out of 10. It could have been better, but there's still just enough to make it worth a watch at least once.

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• Nice Footage, Probably Good for Children But for Adults...Disney isn't BBC Quality

  prestondell2017-05-07

  Born in China was a mixed bag - some spectacular footage only partially spoiled by the editing and narration Disney imposed upon it. This has a very different tone than your usual David Attenborough BBC Nature Documentary (such as Planet Earth), adopting anthropomorphizing storytelling of the characters (I initially hesitated to use the word characters to describe animals, but such was the extent of Disney's approach that it is, unfortunately, fitting here) instead of the objective, informative narration you might be expecting. I think it's likely well-suited for children, but if you're a nature documentary loving adult without children, my advice would be to pass. I'm still giving it a 6/10 for the quality of the footage itself and what I'm estimating is a decent film for its target audience, very young children. The good: The footage itself was wonderful. The team captured some beautiful and fascinating nature scenes. The detail into which the film delved into the social life of the monkeys was interesting and new. There were lots of baby animal scenes and who doesn't love baby animals?! John Krasinski of "The Office" fame was, in my opinion, an excellent narrator *for the material given to him*. Because Disney chose a more playful, childish tone in the narration, I think an actor's touch was needed, and John Krasinski handled the material well. I just didn't care for the material (ok sorry that was a good and a bad, but it's hard to praise the narration without acknowledging the terrible writing!). And onto...the bad: * The writing itself. While John Krasinski performed the playful tone well, I disagree with the choice for the writers to use that tone to begin with (or at the very least, if I'm to temper my criticism I'll say it's not well-suited to adults). This film was not highly informative, and most of the narration felt like it was projecting human emotions onto the animal "characters", which I found very irritating. * Predator subjects but no successful hunting footage. With a significant portion of the film covering snow leopards, one of nature's most capable and majestic hunters, one would hope for some spectacular hunting footage! Disney omitted it, presumably as a concession to their target audience. Another thing that's not *necessarily* worse if you concede that the movie is strictly for young children, but in my opinion makes it worse for anyone *but* that small audience. * "Dishonest" editing. I strongly suspect the filmmakers fixed a LOT in post to fit the narrative they wanted to tell, and make things "more interesting." You would think after Disney's history of this (Google "Disney Lemmings" for more, and prepare to be shocked if you don't know the story!) they would be extra vigilant to be honest in their depictions, but Born in China appeared to cheat a LOT. For example, there's a scene with the Baby Panda climbing, and the footage would cut back and forth between face shots of the baby panda and a "nearby" red panda, who they imply with the juxtaposition of shots is watching the whole ordeal. But an establishing shot with the baby panda and the red panda is never shown, and the implied perspective of the red panda remains static, even after the baby panda takes a tumble down a hill. For all we know (and I strongly suspect), the footage of the red panda was completely separate, but they chose to inject it into this scene to tell a more "interesting" story. This is just a minor example of manipulating the footage shot to support a slightly more compelling narrative, but I for one would prefer honesty. There are other examples as well, and you'll notice watching the film that the edits are more like that of a sitcom than a nature documentary - character focused rather than an objective account of the events. They try too hard to tell a story, and beyond the tone of the writing itself, it appeared that they spliced together disjointed footage to make it fit their narrative. This kind of "dishonesty" in portrayal upset me the most about the film, because it goes against what I feel a nature documentary should be. 6/10 is higher than my own enjoyment of the film (which I'd put more along the lines of 4/10, with Planet Earth being an easy 10/10), but I think for its target audience it's a bit better than my own experience so I'm giving it some benefit of doubt there, and again the footage itself was excellent. It probably deserves some real credit for that alone, as well as some adjustment for the context of its target audience.

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• Such a sad, disappointing movie

  katarina22042017-08-24

  Born In China is a beautifully filmed documentary with an abundance of magnificent scenes and heartwarming moments. However, there is one thing I - nor any other animal lover - can possibly forgive this movie. SPOILERS BELOW! Namely, I am talking about the fate of the snow leopard mom Dawa and her two beautiful cubs. As some of you may know, snow leopards are an endangered species. They are actually so rare that this movie features the first ever footage of snow leopard cubs! Keeping in mind these facts, I find it impossible to believe that the filmmakers - who supposedly want to raise awareness about endangered species and help pandas and snow leopards - didn't help the snow leopard mom in any way. She was hurt and she died of hunger, leaving her cubs alone. Not only did they watch her die, talking about the circle of life and how her soul is immortal, they also apparently left her cubs there. I expected the filmmakers to insert a note at the end of the movie how they actually saved these babies but instead, they opted for funny videos of themselves and the other animals. There is nothing online that suggests that they even tried to help the cubs, there is no mention of them whatsoever in the interviews. This movie didn't make me feel happy; on the contrary, I was left in tears, hopelessly trying to discover what happened to the cubs.

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• Oddly disturbing, depressing, disappointing film

  2001ASOfan2017-04-27

  The trailer for "Born in China" promised stunning cinematography and a focus on the animals and birds native to China, and advertising for the film prominently featured it was being presented as one of the ongoing "Disneynature" series as well. Pre-opening ads also mentioned that if viewers saw the film during opening week some of the profits would go to endangered animals. We decided to support the film during its opening week without having read much about it, hoping for a beautifully-photographed, in-depth documentary on each of the animals and birds featured. However, disappointment settled in early in the film for both of us, when the narrator (who is not credited at the beginning of the film, so we were in the dark as to who it was) clearly was not the right choice for this type of narration. You know how some narrators are like great storytellers, drawing you in with their voice because they sound so fascinated with, and curious about, the subject matter? This narrator immediately struck both of us as an amateur, and you could practically see him in a recording booth just reading the material rote, almost as if he wasn't watching the actual footage of the film as he was doing so. He never got better, and I was genuinely surprised to learn he turned out to be John Krasinski of TV's "The Office," who displayed a lot more life and vitality on that show than he does here. He wasn't the only problem, though, as the film is far too short, skipping between seasons of the year too quickly, and, while I appreciated the fact (to a degree) the film showed just how harsh real life can be for animals and birds in the wild, some of the more gruesome killings and deaths seemed too much a focus of the film. The genuine overall wonder of how the balance of life plays out in the wild seemed less an inspiration for the filmmakers than just how grim the wild can be. We both came away feeling like the filmmakers rather enjoyed their depictions of baby monkeys being plucked from their families by birds of prey and a snow leopard mom who freezes to death after being injured during a hunt, and that they were less impressed by the more upbeat and miraculous aspects of life in the wild. I'm all for showing a balance, but, as one example, this film left us wondering what happened to the two snow leopard cubs orphaned by their mom's death. The narration tries to imply hope that they survived (vaguely), but logic says otherwise, and you then find yourself wondering why the large crew depicted in the credits (local guides and filmmakers plus their crews) didn't then intervene to rescue the cubs so they could live out their lives instead of dying of starvation. The credits leave you with jokey moments with a camera operator who is waiting out a storm for a perfect shot of his surroundings rather than answering any of the many questions you're left with at the film's (too soon) ending. After viewing we discovered the film was only about 80 minutes long, and we felt cheated on multiple levels. We'll be cautious at paying to see Disneynature films in theaters in the future. On a final note, I had a difficult time coming up with an overall rating for the film, and settled on a "5 out of 10" only because most of the cinematography is genuinely, undeniably stunning, and it did feel at times very moving to witness up-close the lives these beautiful animals and birds we share the planet with live every day. Unfortunately, the filmmakers' apparent interests in featuring the harsher realities of life in the wild overshadowed the wonder and miracle of it all--and their lack of follow-up in the closing credits as to what happened to their subjects (particularly the orphaned snow leopard cubs) while focusing instead on jokey material about the filmmakers left us with a sour, depressed feeling on exit.

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• beautifully photographed, too talky

  ferguson-62017-04-20

  Greetings again from the darkness. You'd be hard-pressed to name or find anything cuter than a baby Panda, and the folks at Disneynature don't hesitate in taking full advantage of our affinity for such fuzzy black and white cuddliness. Am I upset with them after watching this documentary? Only because they periodically cut away to a herd of antelope. This is the next in a line of Disneynature films dating back to 2007 (Oceans, Bears, African Cats) that usually hit theaters in close proximity to Earth Day. This particular screening was also affiliated with the inaugural year of EARTHxFilm, a Dallas-based festival dedicated to all things nature, natural and earthy. Acclaimed Chinese director Chuan Lu and his photography crew take us into some stunning wilderness areas and parts of China that we rarely, if ever, get to see … all to witness intimate wildlife moments in shockingly close proximity. If what comes to mind are those charming Disney animal features from the 1960's – the ones that featured the great Rex Allen as narrator, you're in for a surprise. Hey, I loved Charlie, the Lonesome Cougar and Yellowstone Cubs as much as the next kid, but rolling down a leaf-covered hill with a baby Panda that can't walk yet is a whole new level of awe. Watching a mother Snow Leopard (what an incredible creature!) hunt so her two cubs can eat takes us to the highest standard of respect and admiration for this elusive species. Heck, even the rebellious Golden snub-nose Monkey teaches us about family and community within the monkey world … and how they don't appreciate cold weather any more than I. Director Lu provides a loose ancient Chinese structure to the film by explaining that every time a crane takes flight, it's believed to be relocating the soul/spirit of one dying being into that of a newborn. The spectacle of watching these creatures majestically soar through the orange-sun soaked sky is merely one of the many breathtaking examples of spectacular photography during the film. We are bounced between mountains and forest and rocky vistas and are taken closer than you've ever been to a Great Panda scratching her baby, a Snow Leopard on the prowl, or a monkey rescuing his baby sister from an ominous winged predator. The only downside for grown-ups is the over-narration from John Krasinski, an admitted necessity for the youngsters in the audience who will appreciate the one-liners that go along with the cuteness. In Disney fashion, most of nature's violence takes place off screen, but what we do see are parts of nature that will amaze. Be sure to stay for the closing credits for a glimpse at how the photographers managed to get some of their shots – as well as how they sacrifice for their work.

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