GROWING UP IN AN APARTMENT BUILDING, our pet bird was more like the family dog. We had gotten her as a baby when I was in elementary school. She was a very smart bird and if we had spent more time teaching her, I am sure she would have been able to speak. When I would walk into the living room, I would stand just inside the entryway and call out her name. She would jump out of her cage and fly right to my outstretched arm. Once landed she would walk up my arm to my face and plant a kiss on my cheek; seriously, she would do this every time and not just to me. She would do the same thing to anyone in the family. During the summer months I would ask her if she wanted to take a refreshing bath and she knew to immediately fly over to the windowsill, where I would set up her bathtub. One trick I especially enjoyed was pretending she was a hawk. With her perched on my arm I would tell her to “go get them” and she would takeoff and fly around the room once or twice then come back to land on me.      BECAUSE WE HAD GOTTEN HER SO young, I wondered at the time if she had bonded with us like I had seen done in a classic comedy cartoon. Ducklings had hatched just as a different species of animal walked by them and the little ducks imprinted themselves onto this animal as their parent. I have seen similar circumstances when friends and family members have adopted a kitten or puppy. When there is more than one person in the household the little puppy or kitten can focus solely on one particular member. I know this married couple who got a puppy that bonded to the “father.” The female puppy wanted to be in his lap anytime he was sitting down; it got harder for him as she grew into a 65-pound dog. If she heard him sneeze she would race into the room and jump up on him to lick his face. I have to say it was funny to see her standing on her hind legs with her front paws up by his neck, licking his face because he was standing when he sneezed; it almost looked as if they were dancing. So, you are wondering now how the dog interacted with the “mother” aren’t you? The dog would let the “mother” pet and feed her, but she would have to go over to the dog to pet her. The baby/parent bonding thing certainly is fascinating; you will not believe how it was done in this beautifully filmed documentary.      RESEARCHERS BASED IN SICHUAN, CHINA solicit the help of a man from New Hampshire who has a special way with bears, earning him the nickname of Papa Bear. This film was being shown at the IMAX theater at the movie complex near my house. Did it need to be in this format? No not really, but I will say the scenery in this picture was gorgeous. With that being said the stars of this film were the panda cubs. I could not get over how much they looked like a bunch of kids playing. With the movie only being 40 minutes in length, I enjoyed the way the story went because it evoked different emotions out of me. Narrated by Kristen Bell (Bad Moms franchise, The Good Place-TV), one would be hard pressed not to fall in love with the pandas. If the reason for filming this movie with the IMAX format was to increase profits, then I am comfortable with it if some of the proceeds are going to help the panda institute. My only criticism is the film was too short; I could have sat there for a longer time just to see what the pandas would do next.

3 stars