Au secours petit panda

GOOD - There is some wonderful Chinese mountain scenery in here, really beautiful. The pandas are "cute," too, as expected. They are always fun to watch.

BAD - Instead of this being about the pandas, the kids in here (or the screenwriters) make it more about themselves. Included in their scenes are some incredibly stupid dialog. Just as insulting was a big scene near the end where the children physically fend off the adult poachers. Yeah, right. In between, we get the normal plug for New Age "mountain spirits" and the like.

OVERALL - Entertaining but the kids in her are very annoying at times.....too annoying for a second viewing.

The boy-hero is a brat. He is American and imagines this entitles him to royal treatment. He is somewhat contemptuous of anything different. He sees the words only through his own eyes, only through his desires. He is selfish.

His father is a work-aholic Panda researcher who repeatedly forgets that his son exists.

The mother is an airhead.

The movie is filmed in China, in places far more beautiful that you would have imagine existed, turquoise lakes, mist-shrouded mountains, gorges. The differentness of China in every respect is just so juicy including the livestock.

I have no idea how they pulled of the special effects without killing someone, falling from creaking wooden bridges, falling over cliffs, being swept downstream in torrents, riding a runaway horse cart... They never let you get your breath before some other calamity overtook our heroes.

Most of the dialogue is in Chinese without subtitles, though sometimes the young female translator gives you a bowdlerised version. You get sense of what they are saying from the tone of voice.

Much of the fun comes from the dialogue between the translator and Ryan. They have such different world views, they are constantly misunderstanding each other. He talks about "bull" and she assumed he had switched the topic to livestock.

Certain things did not make sense. How could a weaning baby panda stay alive for many days without any food? How could Ryan Slater manage to carry the bear mile upon mile. It was half as big as he was. Surely he would have to rest every 10 feet or so especially when climbing. Maybe it was just a stuffed toy. What are the odds a watch battery would be the same as one needed for a tracking collar? What are the odds you could remove a watch battery without tools?

The movie offers a rare glimpse into China's countryside (looks spectacular), and the pandas are pretty cute (when they show the real McCoy, and not the animatronics). Aside from that, this is a slow, almost pointless movie.

The American kid is very annoying, and I wished he'd fall off one of those gorgeous mountains. The Chinese girl is a little better, but her character is weak - they never explain how come her English is so good. The chemistry between both these kids is pretty much nil. At the end, they don't seem to be either friends, rivals, or anything else.

Some viewers may be offended by the way the Tibetian people are portrayed - there's no evidence of the persecution they are under. The poachers are not scary or interesting as well. I grew tired of hearing the same bars of music over and over, and I grew tired of seeing the same shots over and over! I think even kids may be frustrated with this movie.

Pretty average as far as family films go but it's totally harmless and good for all ages, especially young children. The best part of the film is the scenic shots of China's mountains and forests, and young kids will be delighted to see a cute baby panda bumbling around throughout most of the film. Overall, if you have children and don't want to expose them to more adult-oriented films, this one is a pretty safe and entertaining option.

I do remember 11 years ago (or so I don't know) seeing the trailer for this film, and I wanted to see it in theaters-but I didn't get a chance. But when it came out on video, I got it as a Valentine's Day gift from my mom. When I watched it, I really loved it, though I can remember having only watched it a couple of times long ago-until now, that is.

The film starts when 10-year-old Ryan Tyler goes to China during his spring break to visit his zoologist dad, Michael, who has been working on a project to rescue the dwindling panda population. But there was poacher trouble and Ryan, along with young assistant/translator Ling, decided to rescue an adorable panda cub, which had been "animal-napped" and they must return him to his mother, whom Dr. Tyler rescued from a trap and brought back to the reserve to care for. As they gain maturity and face unexpected adventures, the two youngsters learn to love and respect pandas as they gain maturity and tolerance for each other, of course.

Like I said (a million times), I was shocked by the negative reviews and ratings I would see on the web. I mean, I love films about human/animal relations; this film has heart and a little humor. And I think films like this one would enlist people's sympathies for the giant panda population.