PANDAS – Review

Why are pandas so darn cute? There must be a scientific explanation for their soft, cuddly power! With their chubby cheeks, snub noses, and toddling gaits, there’s nothing like a baby panda lying on its back sucking from a baby bottle to make a moviegoer say “Awww“. The kid-friendly IMAX film PANDAS doesn’t answer that question but it delivers oodles of charm and has all the elements you would expect from this type of nature documentary: excellent production values, slick filmmaking and a generally wholesome approach. The Omnimax screen at The St. Louis Science Center, with its 360 degree perspective, is also a dazzling way to learn about a part of our planet most will never see otherwise. In the mountains of Sichuan China, American researcher Jacob Owens forms a bond with Qian Qian, a panda who is about to experience nature for the first time. He was born in captivity, along with 200 others, thanks to the hard work of Chinese scientist Rong Hou. PANDAS follows Qian Qian as he’s being let out into the wild, accompanied by Owens (and a GPS collar) to live out his life where he belongs.

The highlights of PANDAS are the moments of pure observation, when the camera captures details of the animals’ behavior. Scenes of pandas playing in the snow, chewing bamboo (they eat 50 pounds of the stuff a day!), climbing trees, or even sleeping will provoke wonder and fascination in adults and children alike and the footage captured is impressive in its access and intimacy. Snappily-paced and pleasingly short, PANDAS should keep young animal enthusiasts happy. Though just 45 minutes, they manage to squeeze in a crisis and a tree-top rescue that generate real tension and concern.  Kristen Bell narrates PANDAS, and though she can’t attain the gravitas of a Morgan Freeman, her vocal stylings and gee-whiz enthusiasm are perfectly serviceable for the job of guiding us through this adventure. Some may have problems with the cloying way she ascribes human traits to wild creatures in ways that flirt with artificiality (“in the battle of the Panda versus the Snowman, there can only be one winner”), but it’s just the kind of real-world storytelling adults do with their kids all the time and Ms Bell turns out to be a good fit. Had PANDAS been feature length, I may have run out of patience (or dozed off), but it’s not.  It’s a perfectly nice nature documentary that that does its G-rated job well and deserves its IMAX theatrical release.

4 of 5 Stars

PANDAS opens April 6th in St. Louis at The St. Louis Science Center