Born to be Wild 3D [Blu-Ray]

As a bifurcated narrative running only 40 minutes, Born to be Wild is more like a protracted feel-good commercial or particularly cinematic nature channel special than a film. It divides its time between animal husbandry expert Daphne Sheldrick, who dedicates her time to raising orphaned elephants in Kenya, and expert primatologist Birute Galdikas, who raises orangutans in Borneo. Both women utilize the same principles to animal rescue: emulate the natural process of childrearing as closely as possible to ensure a smooth transition back into the wild once they're old enough. And as a viewer, we get only the most superficial sense of the experience, with brief mentions of the extensive struggle in developing a nutritional formula for elephants and some discussion about teaching orangutans the basics of life in the wild. There's an elephant rescue sequence, as well as some monkey shenanigans, to keep things moving ahead, but it's only broad, soothing statements by Morgan Freeman that tie together a very flimsy narrative. This isn't to say that it's unpleasant at all, since the actual footage is wonderfully shot and the story, regardless of how trite and slight it is, is quite remarkable. The treat is that of visual spectacle, which is at its peak in IMAX form, but works well enough on a 3D television at home. Since the entire film was shot in 3D, with special attention paid to creating dimension through low angles, everything is astonishing to look at in this impressively transferred film. In fact, aside from Transformers 3, this might be the best 3D option for those that have opted to buy the 3D television and deal with the nuisance of the pricey glasses associated. Included with the set are bonus digital copies and DVD copies of the film, as well as webisodes that actually give the central women, Galdikas and Sheldrick, a chance to expand upon their experiences with the animals. There's also some context on shooting with clunky 3D equipment in remote areas of the world, which doesn't sound like a picnic at all.