Born to Be Wild

With ambitious, sprawling, visually impressive BBC productions such as Planet Earth setting a high bar for natural history documentaries, this hour-shy IMAX production feels more like a snack than a full meal, taking a light approach to the serious issue of wild animal preservation. Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas, a primatologist working in Borneo, and Dr. Daphne Sheldrick, who studies elephants in Kenya, are the ostensible subjects—two women who have dedicated their lives to rescuing animals orphaned by poachers and then raising them in preparation for survival in the wild as adults. But the real showstoppers here are, of course, their adorable and playful charges: the delightful brood of baby orangutans that Galdikas mothers and the baby elephants under the watchful eye of Sheldrick. Narrated by Morgan Freeman, Born to Be Wild does feature the respective doctors talking about their work, but this is less a probing documentary than a wonderfully cinematic trip to a wild animal preserve, making it well suited for young viewers. Extras include bonus "webisode" shorts. Recommended. Aud: E, I, P. (S. Axmaker)