Born in China (2017)

The Worst Film Ever

An Exercise In Nonsense

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

God, this is just awful. While the photography is nice (if you like to watch an hour of wildlife moving in ultra slow motion) everything else about this ridiculous impersonation of the BBC is a real mess.All the animals have been given stupid names which are impossible to keep up with... Dim Dim, Bam Bam, Tip Tip, Bong Bong, Gob Gob... I lost count of the stupid names and who they were attached to. So will everyone else watching this rubbish. The Lost Boys is the name assigned to some made up monkey gang? For heaven's sake, give me a break!Also, there's quite a bit of misleading factual nonsense inserted to make the story more interesting. Apparently, a monkey who has been evicted from the family saves his sister from a bird and is welcomed back into the fold as a hero! This NEVER happens in real life. It's insulting to make this trash up simply to improve the 'feelgood factor'.The vocabulary and phraseology are way too advanced for a child to understand and the corny delivery is way to childlike for an adult to enjoy. How on earth this narration got past any kind of production meeting is just anybody's guess. After a few minutes of listening to this bilge, you'll want to punch the speaker in the face... or rip your ears off!Mute this nonsense or better still, simply avoid it.

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.

Skip my last paragraph for spoiler -- but if you are very sensitive you may want to read it. This is a beautifully filmed and narrated story of three families plus some additional animals who interact and/or hunt those animals. Lots and lots of "awww" moments.What I didn't like (actually hated): Snow leopards are, I believe, endangered. The mom snow leopard dies a slow death from injuries while hunting for her cubs. As far as I can tell the cubs were left to starve to death even though there was an animal rescue center connected with the movie. I watched til the very end hoping there would be something about saving the cubs -- then I came home and got online to search for the same but found nothing. I was supposed to go out to lunch with friends afterwards but was crying so hard (still am) that I had dry heaves and had to come home. Yes, I'm an adult. No more animal movies for me.

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