Born in China

2017
7.1| 1h16m| G| en| More Info
Released: 21 April 2017 Released
Producted By: Disneynature
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://nature.disney.com/born-in-china
Synopsis

Venturing into the wilds of China, "Born in China" captures intimate moments with a panda bear and her growing cub, a young golden monkey who feels displaced by his baby sister, and a mother snow leopard struggling to raise her two cubs.

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TxMike I watched this at home on BluRay from my public library system. The picture and sound are just great, the documentary takes us into parts of the world most of us would never get to see otherwise. It focuses on the cycle of seasons and cycle of life of a panda bear and her growing cub, a young golden monkey who feels displaced by his baby sister, and a mother snow leopard struggling to raise her two cubs.The animals are anthropomorphized, that is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. The narration, done well by John Krasinski, tells us how the animals feel and what their priorities are.This sort of treatment is likely to appeal more to the younger viewers but most of it is done interestingly. The film clips show animals doing things and the narration story is made to seem like a script.Overall I found it enjoyable but probably a bit too long for what it needed to tells us.
PFunk 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.
trinaboice Grade: A-Rating: G, 79 minutes In a Nutshell: Disney Nature presents a beautiful look at some fascinating creatures born in China. Narrated by John Krasinski (The Office: The Complete Series) , this eco- documentary illustrates the circle of life and introduces the world to some stunning locations and animals that most people will never get a chance to see in real life.I've been to China twice this past year and have fallen in love with its culture, topography, people, art, language, and food. It is an amazing country and this film offers a deserving spotlight. The film is full of "Awwww" moments.Timed perfectly for Earth Day 2017, a portion of ticket sales will be donated to the World Wildlife Fund.Uplifting theme: Family The circle of life and death The beauty and duality of nature: freedom vs. security Each of us is a part of a much larger story.Things I liked: John Krasinski offers a familiar, comfortable voice to walk us through the lives of the featured animals. He does a great job, although the script could have been even better. The golden snub-nosed monkeys steal the show. They're gorgeous and hilarious, providing delightful monkey mischief. One thing Disney Nature does very well is introduce children to things they could never see in a zoo. The Tibetan antelope, called chiru, provides the film with some epic moments and cinematography. My question: why don't the males accompany the females on their birthing journey to protect them? A crane in China is a symbol of longevity and fortune. It is believed that when a crane takes flight, it is carrying an animal's soul to another world. That theme and sentiment and used at the beginning and end of the movie. I love it when a film ties ends together. How do the photographers get those shots????? It's pretty incredible. You get to see gorgeous red pandas, black and white pandas, snow leopards, antelope, and monkeys. All adorable.Things I didn't like: This version of Disney Nature doesn't offer anything particular new to the nature story narrative. I wish we could have learned more about the animals, more facts and information. Humans project their feelings and descriptions on what's going on with the animals. Who knows if any of that is true. It's very predictable.Interesting lines: "China is a land of myth and mystery." – John Krasinski "Each life is just one beat in the beautiful cyclical rhythm." – John KrasinskiTips for parents: There are several scenes when animals and birds prey on other animals. Some animals die. Children need to learn about life and death, and this movie does not shy away from the brutal realities. Some fighting and bullying. No profanity. Thank goodness, animals don't swear. It's not all happy and beautiful. There are some sad moments. You see a mother give birth and later nurse babies. Your kids may have questions
hollywoodhernandez-70868 Just in time for Earth Day 2017 comes a Disney Documentary called BORN IN CHINA. It's a majestic film shot in the mountains of China that shows the life cycle of a herd of elk, a family of rarely seen snow leopards, a mischievous two year old monkey and his family and a mother panda bear with her daughter. John Krasinsky, from the TV show The Office, narrrates the movie, which takes us deep into the wild in China and shows us places rarely seen by man.It is a beautiful movie that took four years to film. It shows the intimate lives of the animals involved. From a herd of migrating elk to a rarely seen (much less shot on film) mother snow leopard the movie takes us up close in the life cycle of these rare and exotic creatures. The movie does a great job in the story telling in this real life nature story. It personalizes the families of animals (in a way that only Disney would do) by giving names to the animals such as Tao Tao the golden snub nosed monkey, Dawa the mother snow leopard and, the star of the movie Ya Ya the mother panda bear who's recently given birth to a baby panda bear. The cuteness in this film is off the chart!The visual experience of BORN IN CHINA is worth the price of admission. The nature and natural beauty of China, away from the big cities with it's huge population, traffic and pollution, is a feast for the eyes. I loved this movie! BORN IN CHINA is rated G and has a short run time of one hour and sixteen minutes. Take the family and experience this excellent Disney documentary. On my "Hollywood Popcorn Scale" BORN IN CHINA is a JUMBO! Hollywood Hernanadez