Bats: The True Story

Whether or not you're interested in purchasing Bats: The True Story (which might have been more accurately titled Save the Bats--Send Money Now) will depend, to some extent, on how you feel about shelling out the public's money for what is a better-than-average video pamphlet. Hosted by Rob Mies and Kim Williams, founders of the Organization for Bat Conservation, Bats: The True Story gets off to a good start by dispelling a few myths (bats don't get in your hair, aren't blind, and only a tiny percentage are rabid) about the furry critters which have helped keep Hollywood and Anne Rice in business for years. The first truly awkward note crops up during a visit to the CDC, where an interviewee almost contradicts himself over the public health danger of bats (we get a very firm yes and no) and we begin to get the notion that maybe we're not going to get the true story of bats, after all. Disappointingly, we learn very little about the bat's life cycle, receive a rather poor talking-head description of echolocation, and witness a fair amount of repetitive footage. Arranged with no particular rhyme or reason, the program simply moves from one bat shelter or center to the next, where interviewees offer up a quick two-minute overview--in very general terms--of their institution's work with bats (what I'd call the off-the-cuff synopsis for the visitor off the street). The final seven or eight minutes is pure sales pitch, encouraging viewers to buy special bat houses and join the Organization for Bat Conservation. Very optional. Aud: J, H, P. (R. Pitman)