Pandas: The Journey Home

Originally released in IMAX theaters, this charming National Geographic Movies documentary details the efforts by China's Wolong Panda Center to introduce captive-bred pandas into the wild. Thanks to a vigorous campaign by the Chinese government to save the species from extinction, a successful captive breeding program is now being transitioned into an effort to move young pandas away from human care and into a self-sufficient life in the wild. This is not an easy endeavor, by any stretch, and the Wolong staff is not above dressing up in panda suits and dousing themselves with the scent of panda excrement in order to gain the confidence of their skittish subjects. Success is still some years away: the first effort to bring a captive panda into the wild failed when the animal died after a year, but a second panda was last recorded making a life for himself away from human eyes. British actress Joely Richardson narrates in a lullaby voice that is sometimes annoying, but the film's gorgeous cinematography is a treat in director Nicolas Brown's nature documentary chronicling China's belated yet aggressive efforts to preserve this endearing creature. Recommended. [Note: Blu-ray/DVD Combo extras include a “Save the Panda” featurette (58 min.). Bottom line: a solid extras package for this engaging nature doc.] (P. Hall)