IMAX documentary makes most of animal stars
“This story's like a fairy tale,” narrator Morgan Freeman tells us with his mellifluous vocal chords, “except it's entirely true.”
Of course, it's not entirely true that raising orphan orangutans in Borneo and orphan elephants in Kenya is like a fairy tale at all.
That's the strained metaphor that Drew Fellman's script wants to force on David Lickley's 3-D IMAX documentary “Born to Be Wild,” and he has limited success.
But that's OK, because, most IMAX nature documentaries, like this one, are tailored to the sensibilities of family audiences who expect pleasant, unthreatening images thrown up on a screen several stories high.
What we get in “Born to Be Wild” is a lot of sumptuous, detailed landscape spectacle mixed with shots of cute and cuddly baby elephants engaging in a group hug-fest, and of a band of merry orangutans enjoying a mild ride in a wheel barrow.
“Born to Be Wild” juxtaposes the stories of two women who've dedicated their lives to helping orphaned wildlife. Freeman refers to them as “fairy godmothers.” But they hardly use magic wands to get the work done.
They have armies of volunteers to help because, as we learn, it takes a literal village to raise orphan animals until they can be self-reliant.
In Kenya, Daphne Sheldrick heads a sanctuary for elephants whose parents have been killed by poachers. We learn how elephants are communal and are never left alone for many years. So, human handlers must sleep with the babies to make sure they get their mandatory daily allowance of shut-eye.
In Borneo, Birute Galdika leads an organization dedicated to helping orphan orangutans cope with growing up until they can be set free in a nearby preserve. Orangutans quickly become loners in the wild.
At a brisk 40 minutes, “Born to Be Wild” doesn't tax your temples with 3-D glasses, but it whisks along too quickly to develop the animals' remarkably different personalities, as Freeman's authoritative voice assures us they possess.
Speaking of whisking along, one of the problems with IMAX 3-D is fast motion. It's difficult to follow people or animals running, or even walking quickly, as they easily blur. In this movie, harsh sunlight is also a problem, in that the shadows register so dark that details become completely blotted out.
“Born to be Wild” (thankfully, the overdone Steppenwolf song doesn't pop up on the soundtrack) is the sort of kiddie doc that could get gooey.
Lickley doesn't allow that to happen.
His amazing animal stars earn their oohs and ahhs without any help from the humans.
<b>“Born to Be Wild”</b>
<b>Three stars</b>
<b>By:</b> David Lickley
<b>Other:</b> A Warner Bros. documentary release for IMAX screens Rated G. 40 minutes.