Born to Be Wild Review

Born to Be Wild

For those of you interested in Warner Brother’s new documentary, “Born to be Wild,” may you be warned: You will cry! Not from dejection or sadness or anything horrible like that. You will bawl tears of joy. The adorable characters the film introduces are so cute and touching that giant IMAX images cannot contain the happiness they elicit.

“Born to Be Wild” concerns itself with orphaned baby elephants and orangutans. Animal lovers have no chance. The film takes place in two different stunning and lush locations, the Kenyan savannah where the wee elephants are rescued and care for by Dame Daphne Sheldrick, and the dense rainforests of Borneo where Dr. Birute Galdikas rears the tiny orangutans. Both ladies have been saving the lives of abandoned animals for decades and their efforts are noble.

It isn’t as easy as you might think. Dame Sheldrick had to invent methods to raise the baby elephants and, up until her efforts, none had survived. She developed a formula that gives the nutrients the young ones need and they are bottle feed for years. The devotion of both these women is unparalleled and hundreds of innocent critters would have died without them. The orangutans are a constant source for laughter. Ever childlike, they swing and frolic, and always seem to have a distinct thought on their mind that they will share with you at any moment.

The film is shot in IMAX 3D and the material lends itself to the process. Shots of vast landscapes have great depth and there are times when you feel as if you are peering out a window into the lush forests that the animals call their home. We share many intimate moments that are enhanced by the immensity of the image. This format was made for this sort of storytelling.

Morgan Freeman lends his voice to narrate the film. This, coupled with his work on “March of the Penguins,” solidifies him as the premier voice for documentaries. I would like to present this idea: Mr. Freeman should narrate every movie that is pumped out of Hollywood. Wasting time with any other is ridiculous.

“Born to be Wild” tells a simple story and clocks in at a slim 50 minutes. The running time works with the material but it barely seems like a movie. It plays more like a gorgeous television episode that you would find on PBS. This is a small gripe, however, and “Born to be Wild” deserves to be seen on the biggest screen you can find.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv2Af-H7ZnI