Review: Born in China is Well-Filmed but Misleading

BY CASSIDY NOWOSAD

“Born in China” is an American and Chinese nature documentary film directed by Lu Chuan and co-produced by Disneynature and Shanghai Media Group. “Born in China” was released in the United States just in time for Earth Day.

The film features several animals each living in their distinct habitat as each season passes. The first follows a snow leopard desperate to feed her young, the second a golden monkey no longer with his family, and a giant panda raising her cub. The movie is overall geared towards younger ages but can still be enjoyed by any age for its entertaining story.

Cinematography-wise, “Born in China” is breathtaking. The advanced camera shots and the amount of effort taken to get them were absolutely incredible. You could almost see each individual hair on the giant panda as she was feeding her young. The overall transitions were done nicely, showing a broad view of the landscape panning across as time passed.

The ending was also intriguing, as it showed the type of equipment the filmmakers used and the harsh conditions they had to go through to film.

The overall narration discussed what was happening in the film but gave false details to make it more of a storybook-esque film.

For example, when the golden monkey was discarded from his family, he met a group of male monkeys which the narrator called the “Lost Boys.” The narrator provided false ideas as to how they lived their lives saying things such as “the golden monkey has trouble fitting in because the leader lost his eye to the golden monkey’s father.” This obviously pointed to the fact the movie was geared for younger children, but was still puzzling due to its violent scenes like when one of the smaller monkeys is snatched by a hawk.

Overall I’d give this movie a 7/10 for its very appealing visuals, but content-wise it was lacking. The humor wasn’t very funny and often cheesy, but the appeal is how sometimes cute the animals behaved. I wouldn’t recommend anyone from 11-30 going to see this movie as it isn’t very action packed, and has a more childish tone throughout.

Photo courtesy of English CCTV