Walt Disney's new movie Trail of the Panda about a lost panda cub and his 10 year old rescuer opens this Friday in China.
China Daily reports "Set against the spectacular scenery of Siguniang Mountain, Balang Mountain and Wolong Giant Panda Nature Reserve in Sichuan province, the film's central character is an orphan named Lu, who finds a lost panda cub, carries his new friend on his back and starts a thrilling trip to return it to its mother.
"There were lots of documentaries about pandas but they were very factual," says co-producer Jean Chalopin. "We wanted to introduce pandas emotionally to people, to touch their heart."
"The film was conceived three years ago, when Chalopin read that one of the founders of the Wolong reserve had saved a panda during his childhood, forming a life-long bond between him and the animals. He and Jennifer Liu, the scriptwriter and CEO of Beijing-based Ying Dong Media, developed a story based on it, took it to Disney and quickly got a thumbs-up."
I can't wait to see this myself. It took six different panda cubs to play the part of the one cub in the movie. The filmcrew had to follow strict guidelines in how long the pandas could be used in a day and the pandas trainers were always on hand to care and feed them. Here is the trailer, thanks to SlenaMileyMania and laicambell of You Tube for the videos. You can read the complete article here Pandering to every whim - a real panda movie.
