The Amazing Panda Adventure (1995)

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?

Lighten up! This movie IS FOR KIDS! My 9 year old daughter and her Chinese mom really enjoyed this. The admittedly fake storyline (which could have been stolen from any of about nine million family wildlife movies) is overcome by the sheer personality of the panda cub and the terrific scenery. There are very few movies that depict either pandas or the beautiful Chinese panda reserves. The movie also shows the American contribution to the preservation of the pandas; the Chinese government wasn't doing much at all until American naturalists got involved in the 70's.Kids will enjoy this and you crabby adults will survive it.

I watched this movie with friends and we laughed the whole way through. This would be fine, if the movie was a comedy, but instead its a bland and ultimately forgettable childrens flick. You can tell that RYAN only got the part because he was Christian Slaters brother, as he hams up the screen throughout its entirety. LING is certainly no better, her fake asian accent is pathetic, as is her acting ability. I realize they are only kids but there have been good child actors before, and these two aren't up to scratch. The real star of the show is the panda, it shows character throughout, especially in the scene when it attacks Ryan on the bridge. This of course excludes the scenes in which it is played by a robot, did the director actually think that thing looked like a real panda? Overall this film is bad, but watchable Family material. The kids will probably love it, but there are better films around. Rehire E.T., the Goonies, or even Toy story, these films are more sincere and watchable then this movie, and will actually be remembered in time to come.

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.