An Animated feature film
Free Your Inner Bear
A young panda with a magic golden paw finds himself swept up in a quest for survival and lost legends when he’s thrust from the comforts of home into the perilous wild.
Synopsis
Chin is a rare and pampered Goldpaw Panda living his life as the star attraction at Gold Moon Panda Sanctuary under the care of his human mother, Sun, and a small army of keepers. Thousands of visitors stream past every day to witness the miracle of Chin’s golden paw, said to bring great luck and possess incredible healing powers.
Billionaire big game hunter Wilberforce searches frantically for a cure to his fatal illness and becomes obsessed with an unproven remedy: the bones of a Goldpaw Panda. Wilberforce kidnaps Chin believing the panda is his last hope.
Chin manages to escape from Wilberforce's cargo plane, crashing into the harsh Himalayan wilderness, where he meets a plucky red panda called Bo. Bo becomes Chin's wilderness survival guide; Chin must become wild to survive, which turns out to be tricky for the pampered Chin.
To make matters worse, Wilberforce gathers his forces to recover Chin, as his keeper Sun also mounts a rescue mission.
Bo reveals he is on a search to find the Gate of Pearls, which legend claims serves as the refuge for a lost tribe of Goldpaws. At first Chin doesn't want anything to do with Bo’s crazy adventure, but eventually Chin realizes being free has changed him and he cannot return to the life he knew.
The pandas head for the Desert Of Shifting Dunes, where a hidden temple contains the last clue to the lost tribe of Goldpaws. In a brutal altercation with Wilberforce, Chin discovers that his golden paw was fake all along; a lie perpetuated by Sun, his beloved keeper.
Bo has been mortally wounded by Wilberforce, but luckily Sun and her keepers are there to rescue the pandas. Back in a cage and on his way back to his old home, Chin realizes that only a real Goldpaw could save his friend Bo.
Wilberforce has found the map to the lost Goldpaws and heads there to kill them for his ‘cure’. Chin must embrace his inner bear and confront his former hunter to save the Goldpaws and his friend Bo - But a final shocking surprise awaits them at the Gate of Pearls.
Director’s Notes
Over the past few decades, China has successfully implemented measures to protect and re-introduce Giant Pandas to the wild.
This triggered the ‘what if’ question that prompted us to develop Goldpaw, where we explore the journey to freedom for one Giant Panda called Chin. At the heart of this film is the emotional, transformative journey that he undertakes, wherein his beliefs and values are turned upside down.
In Goldpaw, we seek to appeal to audiences’ full spectrum of emotions; from laughter and love, all the way to suspense and fear. Despite this being an animated film, we want the emotions and stakes to feel real.
As well as this strong focus on character development, Goldpaw is a fun and action packed adventure comedy for the entire family to enjoy.
Our desire to bring a unique and cinematic experience to the big screen. Amongst the current trend of overly cartoony films, we want to emulate the beauty and craft of the early classic Disney films, where every frame is a painting.
