Chimpanzee (2012) Reviews

• Flawed but Enjoyable Documentary

  FFman-847-4601262012-04-20

  From the people that brought you the fantastic documentary—Earth—comes a documentary cut from an entirely different cloth. Unlike Earth, Chimpanzee is able to weave a storyline by following a specific clan of chimps, giving each one a name, and following a youngster as he learns the rough life of the forest. The personal touch is brilliant and allows for a heartfelt documentary. In the end, the only problems are in the way the movie is edited and narrated. One of the best things about Chimpanzee is the way in which it elicits empathy from the viewer. The movie focuses on features of chimpanzees that remind of us ourselves—using tools to get food, breastfeeding, and youth playing games while adults try to sleep. By the time the documentary develops a plot, you will honestly care about the characters involved. You will laugh time and time again. You will not cry. Despite the disturbing and depressing nature of the film, everything is glazed over. This points us directly at the core problem of Chimpanzee—the narration. First off, Tim Allen wasn't the right choice. He doesn't do the inflections correctly and often speaks far too excitedly. The other major problem with the narration is the script. When Tim Allen started speaking for the Chimps, I was amused. When it continued, it became rather annoying. The narration should have been used to support the documentary—not overshadow it. Chimpanzee was marketed as a children's film. We received the children's preshow and nothing but adolescent trailers. That is what stopped the documentary from being great. By skipping over the scenes that are too hard to watch and not diving into the real reason an Alpha Male would take in a young chimp, the documentary shortchanges itself. Earth was great because it wasn't directed at an adolescent audience. That freed the team up to build the best movie. The same was not the case for Chimpanzee. If you enjoy documentaries, you will enjoy Chimpanzee. Although the movie does not deliver critical thoughts, it is filled with incredible visuals and an intriguing storyline. If you are not a fan of documentaries, there is no reason to see Chimpanzee. I hope this movie does not show a trend for wide release documentaries. Documentaries are beautiful when they are not dumbed down for our children. reillyreviews.wordpress.com

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• A familiar story interpreted by some close relatives of us.

  davidtraversa-12012-09-23

  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.

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• Remarkable story and filming

  stewartpauld2012-08-05

  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!

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• Chimpanzee is for the whole family! Two bananas up!

  jennyallworthy2012-04-22

  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.

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• visually stunning

  movieman19472012-05-02

  What can really be said about this movie.... Its a fantastic documentary, and unlike other wildlife documentary's its not overly sad or graphic, so parents can bring their kids. The shots and views of the chimps and the rain forest, are absolutely amazing. All aspects of the lives of chimpanzees are shown, even the not so glamorous ones. However the filmmakers show the harshness of the lives of chimps while appealing to all ages, and not sacrificing content. For example: in one of the few scenes at can be perceived as violent, an obscured view of the chimps is shown, not enough to mask their actions, but enough to make it tasteful. Tim Allen does a fantastic job of narrating, being both funny and informative. He even makes a throw back joke or two. This film is inspiring, fun, and informative. Its fun for the whole family, and I am not just saying that. I left the theater thinking how alike humans and chimpanzees are, and would recommend this movie to any animal lover.

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