The DisneyNature documentaries are interesting enough though some are better than others, for examples 2011's 'African Cats' being very good and 2020's 'Elephant' being a let down. The most common plus points being that they are all amazingly photographed and the scenery and animals are every bit as awe-inspiring. But when it comes to narration (writing and delivery) and tone the documentaries vary in quality, some work and others don't.
2016's 'Born in China' is one of the DisneyNature documentaries that could have been a lot better and didn't work as well as it ought to have done. The production values are extremely high but when it comes to the narration (John Krasinski on paper sounded wrong narrating a nature documentary so that already raised alarm bells) it is near-disastrous all round. As far as they go, 'Born in China' is in the lower end and am saying this with regret, being a fan of both Disney and documentaries.
'Born in China's' best aspect is the photography, which is nothing short of stunning. Likewise with the scenery, where the colour literally bursts out while also showing that the habitats can pose challenges for the animals. The music is grandiose without being over the top, while having some nice variety of tone.
In terms of footage, the footage visually is a wonder and unlike anything seen before by me. The animals, a nice mix of familiar and not so much and a mix of prey and predator, look photogenic and have a lot of personality that is more than just cute (quite wide-ranging and individual).
So sad though that the narration and the pace are massive minus points. The writing of the narration, as well as too talky, is very childish, if it was trying to appeal to younger audiences it was taken to extremes here, and tends to have a talking down to people quality. There is little sincere about the content and nothing struck me as illuminating, not to mention like some other DisneyNature documentaries it has a bad habit of over-explaining what's going on in a contrived way. And then it was delivered by Krasinski in a way that does not fit with what is going on in the imagery, even for the writing it was like he was acting out a mild comedy sketch, and is well over-the-top.
Pacing is pretty poor in 'Born in China'. It feels incredibly rushed, as a result of being far too short (it needed to be at least 15 minutes longer) and trying to squeeze in too much content. As incredible as the footage and animals took, not enough time is taken to explore them properly, very "talk about one thing and then a few minutes later literally jump to another" quality. The editing also tended to be too gimmicky and choppy, with a feeling of incompleteness. 'Born in China' tonally is a muddle, we have childish narration and then we have scenes that will disturb younger viewers and make adults understandably question the target audience. The storytelling is too contrived, too underdeveloped, too rushed and at times too schmaltzy to allow me to invest emotionally in what was going on.
On the whole, a disappointment. 4/10
2016's 'Born in China' is one of the DisneyNature documentaries that could have been a lot better and didn't work as well as it ought to have done. The production values are extremely high but when it comes to the narration (John Krasinski on paper sounded wrong narrating a nature documentary so that already raised alarm bells) it is near-disastrous all round. As far as they go, 'Born in China' is in the lower end and am saying this with regret, being a fan of both Disney and documentaries.
'Born in China's' best aspect is the photography, which is nothing short of stunning. Likewise with the scenery, where the colour literally bursts out while also showing that the habitats can pose challenges for the animals. The music is grandiose without being over the top, while having some nice variety of tone.
In terms of footage, the footage visually is a wonder and unlike anything seen before by me. The animals, a nice mix of familiar and not so much and a mix of prey and predator, look photogenic and have a lot of personality that is more than just cute (quite wide-ranging and individual).
So sad though that the narration and the pace are massive minus points. The writing of the narration, as well as too talky, is very childish, if it was trying to appeal to younger audiences it was taken to extremes here, and tends to have a talking down to people quality. There is little sincere about the content and nothing struck me as illuminating, not to mention like some other DisneyNature documentaries it has a bad habit of over-explaining what's going on in a contrived way. And then it was delivered by Krasinski in a way that does not fit with what is going on in the imagery, even for the writing it was like he was acting out a mild comedy sketch, and is well over-the-top.
Pacing is pretty poor in 'Born in China'. It feels incredibly rushed, as a result of being far too short (it needed to be at least 15 minutes longer) and trying to squeeze in too much content. As incredible as the footage and animals took, not enough time is taken to explore them properly, very "talk about one thing and then a few minutes later literally jump to another" quality. The editing also tended to be too gimmicky and choppy, with a feeling of incompleteness. 'Born in China' tonally is a muddle, we have childish narration and then we have scenes that will disturb younger viewers and make adults understandably question the target audience. The storytelling is too contrived, too underdeveloped, too rushed and at times too schmaltzy to allow me to invest emotionally in what was going on.
On the whole, a disappointment. 4/10