Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		5.0

Pandas 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman August 8, 2019

Warner Brothers has released Directors David Douglas and Drew Fellman's IMAX film 'Pandas' exclusively to Best Buy. The two-disc set includes the film on both Blu-ray and 4K UHD. Both share identical DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtracks. Only one brief supplement is included. The film is an agreeable, though brief, excursion to China and New Hampshire in exploration of the urgent process of repopulating China's wilderness with panda bears, a species which have become endangered. The film is narrated by Kristen Bell.

The film follows Panda Expert Hou Rong, Director of Research at the Chengdu Panda Base in China’s Sichuan province. She studies and cares for captive-born pandas with the goal of returning them to the wild to reignite the natural population. Through her quest to do so, raising them practically from birth, the film explores one of the most widely known and beloved but little understood species in the world, which is also the most endangered species in the world. It explores what is pushing the species to extinction, including man’s development of their natural habitat and their lack of genetic diversity. In her efforts to learn how to best introduce her pandas into nature, she travels to Lyme, New Hampshire to the home of Ben Kilham, a man who specializes in just that process who himself raises young black bear cubs and gradually introduces them into their natural habitat. The film looks at the life of a panda named Qian Qian, the first of the captive pandas introduced into its natural home.

As IMAX documentaries go, this one is solid but not spectacular. The material is worthwhile and approachable but the presentation is not entirely engaging. It's more intimate than some IMAX films, lacking the prodigious and pronounced scope and substituting spectacle for a special glimpse into a praiseworthy process. The film doesn't get too technical in the scientific ins-and-outs of the process of raising the pandas and placing them in the wild, even if that is the film's entire focus. It's fairly superficial, sharing broad stroke necessities but never at the expense of film flow or narrative approachability. And, of course, the pandas are the true highlight. They're beautiful animals that the IMAX cameras capture with incredible detail and splendor. They play for the camera and are the stars of the show (though who knows how many hours of footage was required to capture some of the best of the film's fleeting moments). The humans seem to know that they are information vessels and never interfere with the film's secondary focal point of shooting and showing some of the world's most incredible creatures. Pandas is, of course, first and foremost a story of conservation and the efforts to save a species, but it also doesn't forget to warm the heart along the way.

Pandas 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from the 1080p Blu-ray disc.

Pandas is included on both Blu-ray and UHD in this two-disc set, and there is no standalone Blu-ray release: want one, buy both; want both, get both. The Blu-ray is crisp and sharp. It enjoys an abundance of clarity and high end detail, offering both intimate panda fur textures and sprawling natural wilderness with striking screen command and authenticity. The lush, stunning IMAX photography and full-screen aspect ratio largely yet intimately pull the viewer into the natural wonders of both China and New Hampshire and up close and personal with the pandas and bears, from their early months on through several years of development. Colors are bold, particularly barrages of natural greenery and some of that world-famous New England foliage seen in a few scenes. Human clothes, including several blue scientific uniforms, offer positive color depth and saturation. Skin tones appear true, bear fur is organically colorful, and black levels are pleasantly deep. The image does suffer through some noise, which is ever-present and increases in density and visibility at several junctures. The image is otherwise very pleasing and capable at the 1080p resolution.

The UHD image is better, unsurprisingly, than the Blu-ray. Its superiority in all areas of concern is evident right out of the gate. The white title letters are noticeably more bold and bright than they are on the Blu-ray, finding a luminance and intensity that is far more agreeable than the comparatively creamy colored whites on the 1080p/SDR image; it's a fine example of the brighter and wider color gamut available under the HDR spectrum. That extends to panda bears, too, and it's particularly critical in those areas where white and black fur meet and the odd white hair that stands apart from the black, the former appearing much more crisp and the latter much more stable and dark. Indeed, all colors pop under the HDR spectrum. Greens are more effectively accurate and those blue scientific suits spring to life with a vibrancy beyond what the Blu-ray can offer. There's a general increase in brightness across the board too, almost a glossiness to some shots, but the color presentation is supremely crisp and accurate from start to finish. Natural wilderness details enjoy more stable footing. Clarity is increased on various terrains while foliage and trees appear more organically sharp. Furs enjoy improved crispness, too, and the image's overall feel for heightened sharpness is evident in practically every shot, from dense cityscapes to intimate and cozy wilderness locales. The UHD doesn't blow the Blu-ray away, but it's a solid improvement that is certainly the version to choose.

Pandas 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Pandas' DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack, the primary soundtrack for both the Blu-ray and the UHD presentation, capably carries the material, though it's not quite as dramatically large and sonically engaging as many other IMAX soundtracks. Music is well defined, with good front side spacing but not much surround usage. A couple of popular songs zip out of the speakers with impressive verve and detailing to both instruments and lyrics. Score is likewise well balanced and sonically fruitful. There's not a prodigious amount of engagement into the back channels here but at least clarity and width are positives. The track folds in some wonderful natural ambience in New Hampshire -- buzzing insects, singing birds, rustling leaves -- as well as in bustling Chinese streets and wooded locations. Dialogue is clear, though some of the in-film exchanges are a little low. Kristin Bell's narration is center focused, well prioritized, and effortlessly detailed. The track could stand some added stage presence and oomph, and a larger channel landscape would benefit it greatly, but within the 5.1 constraints it's not a terrible listen by any means.

Pandas 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Pandas contains one supplement. Making 'Pandas' (1080p, 2:47) recounts the narrative and more closely explores the human and animal characters who appear in the film. It also looks briefly at the benefits of the IMAX format. This supplement is exclusive to the Blu-ray disc; there are no extras on the UHD disc. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code is included with purchase. A DVD is not.

Pandas 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Pandas may not be a narratively compelling documentary, but it is infinitely watchable. It nicely balances purpose and pleasure, pulling the viewer into the panda population crisis while spending just enough time counterbalancing those details with precious shots of the pandas (and some black bears) being as cute and cuddly as they can be. The presentation shines on both formats but is clearly superior on the UHD where clarity and color greatly surpass the otherwise more than capable Blu-ray. Audio is limited to a 5.1 lossless configuration but serves the material well enough. One extra of little value is included. Recommended.