Kristen Bell narrates cuddly IMAX doc ‘Pandas’

LOS ANGELES Anyone who has seen Kristen Bell break down in (happy) hysterics over a sloth knows the actress’ affinity for animals, especially those of the cute and cuddly variety. So when the people behind the new IMAX original film “Pandas” asked “The Good Place” star if she would consider narrating the documentary, it was a no-brainer.

“I’m not un-secretive about the fact that I’m an animal lover, or an IMAX lover to be totally honest with you,” Bell said. “I think they produce some of the best content out there and I take my kids to the science centre every time there’s a new IMAX movie. I just think the patience with which they produce particularly their animal documentaries is kind of astounding.”

“Pandas,” from David Douglas and Drew Fellman takes audiences to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China where scientists are working toward a goal of releasing captive-born pandas into the wild, where only about 2,000 remaining pandas live.

The film, out Friday, focuses in on one, Qian Qian (pronounced Chen Chen), from cub stage to her supervised release in the wild and the humans trying to make that happen. Hou Rong, the director of research at Panda Base since 1994, has raised over 200 baby pandas during her tenure and hopes that one day their work will help pandas thrive outside of captivity.

Bell got involved later in the process and didn’t get to meet the pandas but hopes that one day she will.