The Amazing Panda Adventure (1995)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Christopher Cain

Writers (WGA):

John Wilcox (story) &
Steven Alldredge (story) ...

Release Date:

25 August 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Adventure | Drama

Tagline:

In the sweeping highlands of China, a boy begins a magical journey to save the life of a natural wonder.

Plot:

A young American boy visiting in China helps his zoologist father rescue a panda cub from unscrupulous poachers and save a panda reserve from officious bureaucrats.

Plot Keywords:

Panda | Poacher | China | Bureaucrat | Summer Vacation

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Stephen Lang	...	Michael Tyler
Ryan Slater	...	Ryan Tyler
Yi Ding	...	Ling
Wang Fei	...	Chu
Zhou Jian Zhong
Yao Er Ga
O Mi Jia Can
Cheu Gang
He Yu
Yeh Hui
Shou Wei
Isabella Hofmann	...	Beth (as Isabella Hoffman)
Brian Wagner	...	Johnny
Joanne Dorian
Doug Abrahams

Also Known As:

Little Panda
The Amazing Panda Rescue

MPAA:

Rated PG for adventure action and brief mild language.

Runtime:

Germany:84 min | UK:81 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Portugal:M/6 | Netherlands:6 | Germany:6 (bw) | Iceland:L | Singapore:PG | UK:U | USA:PG (certificate #33795)

Filming Locations:

Chengdu, China

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Goofs:

Continuity: At the end Ryan is shown with the cub, while the camera cuts back twice to show the baby panda still in the jeep with Grandfather Chu.

Quotes:

Ryan Tyler: I've seen naked women before. A, I have cable TV. B, I just happen to be quite a lady's man.

Movie Connections:

References "American Gladiators" (1989)

All this movie has in its favor is scenery and cuteness

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.