I don’t generally watch animal documentaries. It’s not that I don’t love animals; I do. The problem with animal documentaries for me is that I dread the inevitable death scene where one of the animals, usually one that I’ve grown to like, meets a bloody end. Although I understand the circle of life, watching it is not how I like to be entertained.
Disneynature’s (Earth, Oceans, and African Cats)Chimpanzee begins with sweeping views of a beautiful rainforest in Africa. Inside, we find newborn Oscar, in the arms of his mother, Isha. What follows is up-close, crystal clear footage that was filmed throughout Oscar’s first three years of life. In the hours of documentary footage, Disney found the story. Narration, provided by Tim Allen, tells this story and makes comparisons between Oscar’s life and ours.
The film shows both Oscar’s playful antics and the serious business of surviving in the forest. Oscar learns to climb, find food, use tools, and deal with the threat of a rival band of chimpanzees competing for limited food resources. There are the inevitable sad moments, but they mostly happen off-camera, allowing the touching moments and the laugh out loud funny moments to be the ones to remember.
Overall, I enjoyed Chimpanzee, especially the behind-the-scenes footage, shown at the end of the movie, of the filmmakers enduring a shoot that was at times harrowing and at others touching and intimate.
Chimpanzee opened in theaters on April 20th, 2012.
You might also enjoy:
Jenny’s movie bucket list http://mydreamcametrue.com/moviebucketlist
More of Jenny’s movie reviews http://mydreamcametrue.com/moviereviews
