Born in China

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.

The DisneyNature documentaries are interesting enough though some are better than others, for examples 2011's 'African Cats' being very good and 2020's 'Elephant' being a let down. The most common plus points being that they are all amazingly photographed and the scenery and animals are every bit as awe-inspiring. But when it comes to narration (writing and delivery) and tone the documentaries vary in quality, some work and others don't.

2016's 'Born in China' is one of the DisneyNature documentaries that could have been a lot better and didn't work as well as it ought to have done. The production values are extremely high but when it comes to the narration (John Krasinski on paper sounded wrong narrating a nature documentary so that already raised alarm bells) it is near-disastrous all round. As far as they go, 'Born in China' is in the lower end and am saying this with regret, being a fan of both Disney and documentaries.

'Born in China's' best aspect is the photography, which is nothing short of stunning. Likewise with the scenery, where the colour literally bursts out while also showing that the habitats can pose challenges for the animals. The music is grandiose without being over the top, while having some nice variety of tone.

In terms of footage, the footage visually is a wonder and unlike anything seen before by me. The animals, a nice mix of familiar and not so much and a mix of prey and predator, look photogenic and have a lot of personality that is more than just cute (quite wide-ranging and individual).

So sad though that the narration and the pace are massive minus points. The writing of the narration, as well as too talky, is very childish, if it was trying to appeal to younger audiences it was taken to extremes here, and tends to have a talking down to people quality. There is little sincere about the content and nothing struck me as illuminating, not to mention like some other DisneyNature documentaries it has a bad habit of over-explaining what's going on in a contrived way. And then it was delivered by Krasinski in a way that does not fit with what is going on in the imagery, even for the writing it was like he was acting out a mild comedy sketch, and is well over-the-top.

Pacing is pretty poor in 'Born in China'. It feels incredibly rushed, as a result of being far too short (it needed to be at least 15 minutes longer) and trying to squeeze in too much content. As incredible as the footage and animals took, not enough time is taken to explore them properly, very "talk about one thing and then a few minutes later literally jump to another" quality. The editing also tended to be too gimmicky and choppy, with a feeling of incompleteness. 'Born in China' tonally is a muddle, we have childish narration and then we have scenes that will disturb younger viewers and make adults understandably question the target audience. The storytelling is too contrived, too underdeveloped, too rushed and at times too schmaltzy to allow me to invest emotionally in what was going on.

On the whole, a disappointment. 4/10

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.

The story of the animals is very touching and the scenery is beautiful.

While Disney Nature's Born in China is a fascinating mix of gorgeous animals and breathtaking cinematography, it does tend to feel a little too staged for my liking.

I'll always support documentaries like Born in China, especially if they provide a different viewpoint on creatures and landscapes that are unfamiliar to most of the general public. Born in China focuses on a few animals, including Pandas, Golden Monkeys, and Snow Leopards. All of which, center upon one common theme, family. Although the story lines feel entirely made up, which include gimmicky names, the scenarios aren't. It's interesting to watch different animals try and fight the elements and other competitors to provide for their family just like us humans. In that way, Born in China is for people of all ages.

But when the film adds too much fake subtext from John Krasinski's narration, it feels like something for kids looking for some silly giggles. Because it is Disney and the audience is mostly families, the film does feel a little safe. Sure, we do have Planet Earth and other documentaries that show us some of the harsher sides to animals of the wild, but I think we could have used a little more from each animal in Born in China. Either that, or just focus on 1 or 2 animals instead of a half dozen.

Does Born in China accomplish what it set out to do? Yes. It's an entertaining and at least somewhat informative look at wildlife in parts of China. However, there are several moments that feel entirely fabricated and may take away from the viewing experience. In short, if you're going in looking for a short history lesson, I think you'll come out at least pleased with what you get. I mean, who can honestly be upset after watching pandas for an hour and a half.

6.5/10