People share more common ground with animals than many think. The IMAX documentary Born to be Wild 3D follows two rescue efforts in parallel: in Borneo, Birutė Mary Galdikas leads the Orangutan Foundation International, raising orphaned orangutans to reintegrate with wild populations; in Kenya, Daphne Sheldrick of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust does the same for elephant orphans. The film pairs these narratives to tell a universal story that resonates with audiences across Canada and the United States. The power lies in the connections among the animals, the keepers, and the people who watch.
Birutė Mary Galdikas runs a pioneering facility in Borneo that raises orphans without domesticating them, preparing them for life back in the forest. The second facility, run by Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick, supports elephant orphans in Kenya. The result is a compelling narrative that invites North American viewers to witness these deeply bonded relationships and the science behind animal rescue.
In discussing the film, David Lickley notes that orangutans feel surprisingly humane, a reflection of their close kinship with people. “Elephants are really intelligent and they show depth of feeling, especially among themselves,” he says. “They accept orphans into the herd, guiding and protecting them as if they were family.”
One moment stands out for him as a turning point in the story. The sight of large adult elephants greeting new orphans on release is unplanned yet undeniable. The elephants travel from distant areas and respond to a subtle form of communication that humans cannot hear, converging precisely when the babies arrive. It is a sequence no one staged; it is pure wildlife behavior.
His personal favorite is the ending, where the entire herd accepts the newcomers and the orphans join the group again. It conveys a message of belonging and resilience, a quiet triumph after years of care and growing trust between animals and people.
The film also captures the elephant memory and the fear of captivity. In a poignant scene an infant elephant is captured, terrified, and kept in a nursery. The keepers manage to calm him and feed him, illustrating the remarkable patience and skill of the caretakers. Within hours the young elephant is drinking milk and finding ease in the arms of those who care for him, a telling sign of recovery.
Workers at the shelters share a deep bond with their charges. The keepers carry the orangutans and the elephants with tenderness, and the animals respond with trust. In the orangutan sequences the babies cling to their caregivers, mirroring a mother’s role in wild life. These moments anchor the film in practical care as much as in emotion.
With a runtime of about forty minutes, choices had to be made. The team kept the strongest material and told two parallel stories that converge, creating a tight, compelling arc rather than a longer, rambling piece. Audiences leave with a clear sense of purpose and connection.
Filming in remote locations presented technical hurdles. The crew hauled tens of thousands of pounds of gear into forests and savannahs, fighting terrain and weather to position cameras for eye‑level shots with orangutans high in the canopy. A lightweight digital IMAX camera was developed for this project, marking an early use of digital IMAX in a wildlife feature and yielding seamless, vivid imagery.
The shoot spanned roughly sixty days across each site, with nursery sequences easier than the later forest work where older animals roam freely. The team prioritized authentic moments over scripted drama, letting nature reveal its own rhythm while capturing the rare bonds as they happened.
On the question of 3D, Lickley believes the format works best when the subject is within reach. When animals are close, 3D adds depth that pulls viewers into the scene. For distant or fast action, 3D loses its edge, so careful subject choice matters. The result is a vivid, immersive experience that makes audiences feel present with the animals.
In reflecting on the future, Lickley emphasizes that he is a storyteller at heart. He merges science, memory, and emotion to create experiences that are accessible to non‑scientists while staying faithful to the science behind them. He expects to pursue similar projects, continuing to tell remarkable animal stories in ways that resonate with broad audiences.
Born to be Wild 3D continues to resonate with audiences and invites viewers to consider the connections between humans, caregivers, and wildlife, and the enduring bonds that form when trust is earned in the wild.