Disney’s latest nature flick, ‘Born In China,’ takes place in the beautiful and wild landscapes of the country itself, and primarily tells the story of a family of Golden Monkeys, Snow Leopards, and Pandas. After screening the film a while ago, I had a chance to sit down with the producer of the movie, Roy Conli, who had previously worked on Big Hero Six, Treasure Island, and Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Throughout this interview, we discussed some fascinating things about the production and service behind the scenes, and with this came some absorbing facts.
So here are 5 Fun Facts About Disney’s Born In China:
1. Roy Conli was initially asked to “help out” with the film before they officially made him a producer.
Roy Conli stated: “Coming out of my last animated film, Big Hero Six, I was asked if I wouldn’t mind helping out (Born In China), and the next thing I know, I was producing it.”
2. Shane Moore spent 253 days on four trips in the Snow Leopard habitat and couldn’t get his first shot until his 90th day there.
Roy stated: “Shane Moore, the cinematographer for the Snow Leopard unit, was literally on the field for 253 days, four trips, about a year and a half to a two-year period, did not get his shot until the 90th day.”
3. The crew filmed at the Qinghai plateau which is about 16,000 feet about sea level, and it took the team ten days from Beijing to reach their destination.
Mr. Conli shared: “The Qinghai plateau ( where the snow leopard footage was shot ) was 16,000ft above sea level, there were medics on set as well as oxygen. It took them ( the crew ) ten days to get there from Beijing because they had to adjust to the climate slowly.”
4. The cinematographers had to put on panda suits and panda scent on themselves to get the footage of the pandas.
Conli revealed: “The photographers literally dawned panda suits and put panda scent on them in order to blend into the hillside and get the shots that they did.”
5. While the crew had to keep a distance from the Snow Leopards and Pandas, the Golden Monkey’s were very approachable and friendly.
Roy concluded: “They ( the crew ) know how to build a relationship with these animals by keeping their distance, they have been charged by other animals before. In the case of the snow leopard, the snow leopards are probably the most elusive creature on this planet. Not only elusive in the sense that they stay away from humanity but elusive in the sense that you can’t see them because they blend into their habitat. Shane ( the cinematographer ) started from about 400 meters away with a very high powered lens and slowly but steadily created a relationship with these animals where they knew he wasn’t a threat. By the time he got to the end of filming, he’d be able to get within 45-50 meters. The monkeys however are not a problem, the monkeys will come right up to you. They came up to us and climbed on the cameras, as seen in the post-movie credits.”
Born In China pounces into theaters April 21st so don’t miss it as it is a great viewing option for the family, as is most things here On The Scene. Furthermore, for every ticket sold through April 21st-27th, Disney will donate a portion of ticket sales to the World Wildlife Fund which will help animals like the ones you see in the film.
Until Next Time
JJ King.
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