
Chimpanzee Review
Chimpanzees are adorable. Baby chimpanzees.... Likeohmygodtheyresocuteiwantoneiwantoneiwantone. So, the overlords over at Disney decided to make a movie about a baby chimpanzee. And just to ensure they don't confuse anyone, they named the documentary Chimpanzee.
Chimpanzee is a stunningly beautiful and entertaining documentary that is a huge step above most of the other fare in theaters these days. Cute, funny, emotional and at times gripping, directors Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield paint a heartwarming picture of Oscar, a young sapling of a chimp just beginning to find his way through the world. Oscar is about as cute as cute comes, the perfect protagonist for a documentary such as this.
Whether Oscar is trying to [unsuccessfully] break open a nut with a piece of wood or steal honey from a beehive, he is a sight to behold. Just as impressive is the high-definition footage that captures the chimps and their forest in incredible detail. The settings in Chimpanzee look like they're straight out of a special effects studio - Avatar comes to mind, frankly - and people will be amazed at the real-life beauty that Fothergill and Linfield capture.
Chimpanzee is an incredibly engaging and fulfilling drama that the whole family will enjoy. The documentary shows through simple footage how similar these creatures are to humans, but just as importantly does so in an entertaining and often funny way. This is nature filmmaking at its finest.
Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.