‘BORN’ FREE
Disneynature spotlights adorable, endangered species of ‘China’
Pandas don't have to do a thing to be utterly adorable. They're nature's cuddly charmers and the scene-stealing heart of the latest Disneynature documentary, “Born in China.” Appropriately timed to open the day before Earth Day, “Born in China” is narrated with a gee-whiz enthusiasm by John Krasinski as it spotlights the panda and snow leopard, cranes, golden monkeys and antelopes called chiru, all native to western China.
As a cinematic collaboration between the Mouse House and China's Shanghai Media House, directed by China's ecologically minded Lu Chuan, “Born in China” works as an upbeat valentine to the world's second-largest moviegoing market (we're still first). The mountain plateaus, forests and panoramic vistas on view are spectacularly free of human presence. The close-ups, often in slo-mo, are nothing short of amazing.
“Born in China” constructs three “stories” around its most photogenic, human-friendly players. A mother panda the filmmakers name Ya Ya takes months to raise her cub Mei Mei. Until Mei Mei climbs a tree and is able to be safe from predators, she is stuck in Ya Ya's protective embrace. As “Born in China” ends, Ya Ya gives birth to a tiny, hairless panda, which raises the simple question: Where's daddy? We've never seen any other pandas except mother and Mei Mei.
The second story spotlights Tao Tao, a 2-year-old golden monkey rejected by his family, supposedly by the birth of his (adorable, endangered) little sister. Startling with their brilliant red, blue and golden colors these monkeys are comic kings. But there's a magnificent predator in these woods, the largest hawk you've ever seen, who — when opportunity allows — spreads its wings and scoops up an unprotected infant monkey for dinner.
The real heartbreaker here is Dawa, a magnificent snow leopard who struggles to feed her two cubs as a single mother on China's 14,000-foot-high Tibetan Plateau. Dawa defends her territory against rival leopards and hunts goats, mountain sheep and even the dangerous yaks.
“Born in China” features life and (offscreen) death in the wild, although pointedly not from the humans who are these endangered species' greatest threat.