Susan Granger’s review of Disneynature’s “Born in China” (Walt Disney Company)
This G-rated Disneynature documentary focuses exclusively on animal species unique to China: pandas, golden snub-nosed monkeys, snow leopards, Chiru antelope and red-crowned cranes, a traditional Chinese symbol of good fortune and longevity.
Educational, it’s filled with spectacular landscapes and extraordinary close-ups of animal activity, centering on three specific families over the span of a year, beginning and ending in the spring.
In the Wolong National Nature Reserve in Sichuan Province, attentive Ya Ya is a first-time mother, raising her curious cub Mei Mei in a forest habitat, where solitary adult pandas consume 40 pounds of bamboo each day. Until vivacious Mei Mei can quickly climb a tree, making her safe from predators, Ya Ya must watch over her.
Nearby, there’s a mischievous troop of golden snub-nosed monkeys. Tao Tao is an adolescent male who is being forced out of his family fold to learn to fend for himself. Rebellious, he joins an all-male sub-group, dubbed the “Lost Boys.” Parents should know there’s a huge predatory goshawk that swoops in, determined to devour Tao Tao’s little sister.
Then, thousands of miles away on the craggy highlands of the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai Province, there’s majestic Dawa, an elusive snow leopard, representing one of the endangered species. Hunting wild goats, mountain sheep and belligerent yaks, she’s raising two little cubs while facing ever-present danger from other ferocious leopards, as a snarling rival triggers an ominous territorial challenge.
Directed by ecologically-conscious Lu Chuan of China’s Shanghai Media House, it’s scripted by Lu, David Fowler, and renowned British nature filmmakers Brian Leith & Phil Chapman (BBC’s “Wild China” series). Barnaby Taylor’s orchestral score incorporates Asian instruments, like a Tibetan horn, Mongolian fiddle and Chinese dulcimer. It’s cross-cultural diplomacy at work.
Like most Disney films, it anthropomorphizes adorable animals in order to teach life lessons, yet I found it curious that Disney chose John Krasinski, not a woman, to narrate this story about animal mothers.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, Disneynature’s “Born in China” is a suspenseful yet sedately spiritual 7, as the circle of life continues.
