Rilly steps back, pauses, and then takes a deep breath. In his head, he has already visualized a joyful, adventurous trip. “Rilly, come on, we have to leave now,” a female voice behind him cries. “Otherwise we won’t get there by dawn.” Rilly sets his eyes firmly on the distant horizon and begins moving his legs, lifting his wings, pounding them faster and faster. The combined momentum of wings and feet catapults him high above the ground. The little duck has just taken off for his first big journey.

Rilly is the youngest of a Mandarin duck family that must migrate to a warmer place to avoid the harsh winter back home. Their journey is the subject of a film being screened in the newly opened 4D animation theater at Bali Bird Park in Batubulan, Gianyar regency.

Before entering the theater, which still smells of freshly laid carpet, children and their parents are equipped with 3D glasses so they can experience the three-dimensional effects when watching the film on the theater’s 6×4-meter screen. “The fourth dimension is achieved by producing additional visual effects as well as wind and scents,” said Bayu Yustitia, the park’s sales & marketing manager.

Indeed, the effects in the 20-minute movie make you feel as though you were alongside Rilly as a migrating duck yourself, flying over land and sea with him as he faces a series of unexpected dangers. First, after strong winds separate him from the flock of migrating birds, Rilly must deal with an eagle determined to make a good meal out of the young duck. As the eagle swoops down on Rilly, sharp talons at the ready, the intensity and authenticity of the scenes had spectators breathless on the edge of their seats.

Rilly and his family end their trip safely after thrilling and educational moments. Parents will be taken with the “listen to your parents” message that is conveyed very strongly in the movie. “The movie is so real and even has some gripping moments when I held my breath,” one audience member, Ade P-Marboen, said.

The animation movie Rilly’s Sky Adventure was produced by Mahaka Entertainment, a joint Japanese and Korean venture. In 2008, the entertainment company opened six theaters around Indonesia in 2008. “Qualified education and entertainment are our main focus in launching this new product,” Yustitia said. “We would like children to learn about bird migration because many don’t know what is happening when they see huge masses of birds flying above their heads.”

Eagles coming from China can be seen over Bali between October and April, as they cross Indonesia on their way to Australia. The Bird Park sanctuary is home to 250 different species of Indonesian and foreign birds and incorporates a breeding, research and veterinary facility within the complex.

Within the complex are several vantage points from where visitors can catch glimpses of free-flying birds as they follow their survival instincts of foraging for food, nesting and mating. These protected enclosures keep rare species safe from outside predators, while still exposing them to the various aspects of living in the wild.

The park has a high success rate in the captive reproduction of exotic birds such as the Bird of Paradise and Hornbill. Visitors can walk within the botanical sanctuary and watch birds from Borneo, Papua, Java, Sumatra, South America, Africa and, of course, Bali. “We also have a program to breed the highly endangered Bali Starling in our nursery,” Yustidia said. “We want to enlarge the population again.”

Fewer than 50 Bali Starlings are believed to live in the wild. The bird, snow-white with a distinctive patch of blue skin around its eyes, fetches prices of up to US$2000 on the black market, making it very popular to poachers.