Chimpanzee

After taking my husband to see Chimpanzee last night (as I have no school age kids to drag) I have to give it two bananas up! We both loved it. What a refreshing change to see a film that almost any age could see together and have a great discussion afterward.

Gorgeously filmed and just the right length to keep smaller ones from getting bored, I was amazed at the footage that the filmmakers got of these chimps. I am one of those who has trouble leaving the primate area of the zoo and it does make you marvel at their similarities with humans.

You'll feel like you just went on a trip to the rain forest of Africa, and I can't imagine a child or teen not liking this. Or an adult for that matter.

I work as a wildlife cameraman - but (sadly) was not involved in this film. When I watched it I realised a new bench mark has been set for these wildlife feature movies. Anyone who has worked in West Africa will agree it is one of the toughest habitats to film in - and chimps can be one of the hardest animals to follow. With that in mind, the achievement of getting a unique true story like this - one that brings us so close to the animals in every way - is quite remarkable. I don't want to put in spoilers, but the story is heartwarming and the characters so strong that you could almost believe this was animated - but it is much better than that. This is true life. A beautiful movie!

I have noticed something after seeing several of the recent Disney nature documentaries. Several of them are perfect--among the best films of their type ever made. This would include "African Lions" and "Crimson Wing". However, there also are some that instead of showing the footage and providing intelligent narration, they instead try to tell a story and often ascribe human feelings, actions and emotions on the animals. It's as if the narrator is expected to entertain the audience instead of letting the footage speak for itself. The worst of these that I've seen is "Born in China", a film whose narration is simply inane. While "Bears" isn't nearly as bad as "Born in China", its great footage is likewise often overshadowed by the occasionally dopey narration. It is quite strange that such a scientific and informative film is shackled with insipid narration at times. And, unfortunately, the same is true (though to a lesser extent) in this film, "Chimpanzee"...a film which too often favors cutesy or funny narration over accuracy and information.

"Chimpanzee" is not as visually striking as some of the Disneynature documentaries and it's because instead of having gorgeous panorama shots of the plains or lakes, it's constricted and is filmed entirely in the dense forest. After all, this is where Chimps live! And, there is still some lovely footage to be seen--particularly when an alpha male suddenly and unexpectedly becomes the foster parent for a young chimp. Great footage in this sense.

This film can be enjoyed by everyone, even with some inane narration. Much of it is because although you see chimps fight in the film, they don't show how truly nasty chimps can be. I've watched other documentaries where male chimps tear baby chimps apart and eat them....and it's pretty nauseating to watch. Fortunately, this one is murder-free! It also never mentions that chimps have very, very active sex lives...and then have it very often (though it's amazingly brief)....and again, Disney chose not to go there. So parents don't have to worry...it's pretty kid friendly and enjoyable by all.

The most striking feature I noticed while watching this film was the resemblance of these creatures to my neighbors. It's incredible how similar to us they are!

Granted, Doña Carmen and Don José don't go as far as to deflea each other while carrying on a casual conversation on a sidewalk, but the similarities in body gestures and specially when persistently looking at the camera lens (it happened several times, whether intentionally or not) and we could see overwhelmingly human eyes looking at us, can be quite disturbing.

Impeccable photography with so many close ups that one wonders constantly at how they had managed to take those shots without disturbing the animals. I'm sure Disney has the most sophisticated equipment in the World in order to present such splendipherous depth of lenses and superb sharpness all the time, even from long distances, but even so, chimpanzees have a very sensitive sense of smell and I'm sure they could detect human presence from afar, but apparently it left them unconcerned and they proceeded naturally with their daily chores.

The forest, breathtaking, specially from the air, and the lushness of all that green carpet we see below seems to go forever on behind those far away mountains; when the camera goes down to ground level it's disconcerting to notice how very little sunlight reaches these animals.

Since it was a Disney film, obviously thought out for children, the notorious lack of restrain among monkeys and chimps when it comes to bodily functions, including everything related to sex, which is so habitual to see in zoos in broad daylight, here there is no trace whatsoever of it, like in those old Doris Day films, where everything was squeaky clean.

A good film for Eco-friendly fans.

P.S.: I gave it a 9 because of the titanic efforts of the whole crew and the tenacity they put into the project, working under such harsh and probably dangerous conditions.

I walked into this movie not knowing what to expect. I am more of a "serious" moviegoer, and I generally don't see films geared towards children. I would describe this movie as half brilliant documentary and half cheesy kids movie.

I had issues with the color timing in parts, which made the film look almost animated and artificial. I wasn't quite sure what to believe was natural footage and what was some sort of staged animal wrangling or CGI. As the movie progressed it became pretty clear that it was all authentic, but Tim Allen's narration combined with the almost-too-convenient dramatic story arc still kept me at arm's length.

Ultimately this movie delivers a touching story of a young primate and his tribe. Though somewhat contrived at times there are many, many moments of genuine intimacy that tug the heartstrings and also make you wonder how in the world they got these shots. Thankfully there's a bit of explanation at the end.

Do I regret seeing it? Not at all. Do I wish it had been made as a more traditional documentary? Yes.