Panda City, USA

We’ve all seen the ads. They cover the billboards on the way into the city. They are plastered up at bus and T stops. Commercials are peppered throughout our morning news shows and favorite evening programs. The Museum of Science has single-handedly transformed Boston into Panda City, USA.

Hosted at the Mugar Omni Theater, the film documents the introduction of pandas into their natural habitat, covering everything from their conception, birth (which will be difficult to forget, by the way), nursing, and… two words… panda kindergarten. There is nothing else in this world quite like panda kindergarten. Only the Puppy Bowl can approach it in terms of raw cuteness.

The real stars of the show, however, are the people who work with the pandas, and you would never guess what fills up their days. Would you reply to this ad listing? Full time animal worker needed. Looking for someone unafraid of smelling like a bear, dressing like a bear, and taking cubs from mama bears. Also, bear kindergarten. Okay, the first three points sound stressful and/or dangerous, but think about that last point. It’s basically Kung Fu Panda, but baby pandas.

Dream. Job.

That’s what this movie is all about.

As an alternative to a feature film, consider finding your way to the Mugar Omni Theater at the Museum of Science. If the runtime for Pandas: The Journey Home is concerning (less than an hour), consider this: if you would pay just under $20 for a two hour 3D IMAX movie at AMC, why not pay half that for half the runtime? Point being, if you look at it proportionately, your hard-earned money is being stretched the same distance. Also, as always, it starts with this:

Til next time!