MOVIE OF THE WEEK #3 (4/8/11): BORN TO BE WILD

"Who said this is monkey business ... I'm an orangutan!" Employees at the Orangutan Foundation International make the most out of playtime at the Care Center's jungle gym with one of its playful residents in BORN TO BE WILD 3D.
Credit: Drew Fellman. © 2011 Warner Bros. Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

KEY CAST MEMBERS: Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas, Daphne Sheldrick, the voice of Morgan Freeman and a whole bunch of people who spend a lot of time with a bunch of elephants and orangutans!

WRITER: Drew Fellman

DIRECTOR: David Lickley

WEB SITE: www.imax.com/borntobewild

THE PLOT: Narrated by documentary voice-over king Morgan Freeman, Born To Be Wild 3D takes you to Kenyan savannah to introduce you to Dame Daphne M. Sheldrick, a noted elephant authority who works to save young pachyderms who have been orphaned by poachers seeking their parents' ivory tusks. You are then are invited to spend time with Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas, a woman who - along with her son and fellow primate enthusiasts - works to save orangutans orphaned by foresters cutting down their homeland.

While the two women work on different parts of the globe, their mission is the same: To help nurse these animals to health so that they can one day return to the wild in protected natural parks where they can live their lives in peace. In documenting both women's work, you get to see how elephants and orangutans, much like us, cherish their families, enjoy life and most of all, are truly (cue movie title)!

THE TAKE: Presented in the IMAX format, Born To Be Wild 3D is visually enthralling. Actually making better use of the 3D format than most major Hollywood releases, the film makes you long to visit the African Serengeti and the lush rainforests of Borneo to experience elephants and orangutans in their natural habitat. With the animals literally leaping off the screen, the film serves to draw you in, empathize with their plight and educate you without hitting you over the head with educational facts or taking staunch political stances. Likewise, as opposed to getting into issues of Creationism or evolution, the film simply sticks in the present - or as hip-hop fans might say, it "stays in its lane" - well, humanizing the wild creatures without losing the aspect that makes the film so enjoyable: Preserving their lives in the wild.

If there is anything to complain about, it might be the film's short run time (40 minutes with credits), the extra price you're going to be pay for the 3D presentation (it's worth it!) and the little amount of time paid to going into the Galdikas' and Sheldrick's respective backgrounds. Then again, given the finished product, those complaints are minor at best.

PARTING SHOT: A film that is informative and entertaining alike, Born To Be Wild is a near-flawless exercise in animal education - and our role in making sure they survive for generations to come.

RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
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