As we celebrated the release of DisneyNature Film Born in China a few weeks ago, we got to sit with Producer Roy Conli to get the inside scoop of what putting together such an intricate film was like. If you’ve seen the movie, you’ll know that it’s not a typical kind of film that follows a usual set of procedures and order. This film took place on 3 different continents, filming in truly unchartered territories, and umm… involving wild animals. Here are some of the cool facts we learned from Roy Conli about the making of Born in China.
See Also: Meet the Characters in Born in China
When filming the snow leopards in the mountains, it took eight days for the crew members to acclimatize because of the sixteen thousand feet altitude. They would arrive Bejing and drive eight days up with medics and oxygen on deck.
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NGOs such as the Snow Leopard Trust and World Wildlife Fund were partnered with on this film. Roy Conli shared that ironically, even before shooting this film, his family had been giving to for over 15 years.
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They had a Chinese crew working with them on the film for a perfect “Eastern/Western union”
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Lu Chuan, Director of Born in China actually stayed in contact with the rangers that were on the ground and about six weeks after the crew left to check on the progress of the animals in the film.
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The story of the chiru of China featured in the movie also served as an important wake-up call to the people of China, as they hadn’t been aware of the fact that they were on the edge of extinction. Roy recalls that when they premiered the film in China, the awareness that this film brought and the pride that they had in because they don’t get to see this stuff was enormous and there has been a boom in nature filming in China now as a result of this film.
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The story that they envisioned for the film was exactly what it ended up being. Roy shared that it wasn’t until the third installment of footage that a story began to evolve. For example, they were initially going with the concept of the birth of Tao Tao’s little sister. However, they soon began to notice how the story of a little monkey who had been somewhat removed and ostracized from his family. He and the crew had shared stories of feeling the same way when a younger sibling showed up and knew that was actually the more interesting story to tell.
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We had to know if Roy Conli and his crew had any censorship issues with the government, but were surprised (and pleased) to learn that they did not. In fact, Roy recalled that they were incredibly helpful, gracious, and proactive in supporting this effort. Shanghai Disneyland opened which made for a very good relationship with the government and they trusted them with this project.
Moreover, during the snow leopard shoot, at one point, there was a little problem with the local government being reluctant to let them into a park, but it was the Federal Government who stepped in to alleviate the situation.
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The crew had to wear panda suits while filming Born in China. Interestingly enough, the suits were necessary while 
filming, along with the addition of the “panda scent.” If you’re wondering what that is, think of the potential things pandas omit.
Can you hug pandas in China?
Yes, our group was dying to know this. Roy’s response: “You can hug pandas in China if you’re a VIP and you set it up.” Not that I’d ever imagined hugging a real Panda, but in case you’re ever so inclined, he offers the following advice. 1. You would only want to hug a small one because the big ones might hug you too much. 2. Should you have enough clout, you might be able to hold a panda. In that case, put on a mask because you don’t want to give them any kind of disease, nor do you want them to imprint on you.
Roy, ironically, did not hug a panda.
There are so many more fun stories we learned about the film, but you’ve got to check it out for yourself! It’s now available in Digital HD and Blu-Ray. Let me know your thoughts on the film when you see it!
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