Starring: Tim Allen, Oscar, Freddie
In the rain forests of Africa, a story is unfolding. A baby
chimpanzee named Oscar is being cared for by its mother and is learning how to
be like the older chimps in the group. However, Oscar will eventually come to
learn that the jungle isn’t the most forgiving place.
Disney has trodden into the territory of wildlife
documentaries before with African Cats (2011) and the media empire even has a
whole division dedicated to such films that in typical Disney fashion tailor
the approach to wildlife towards young children. That isn’t to say Chimpanzee
is a disingenuous film; the events seem to be, essentially, without contrivance
and there’s even some rather uncomfortable truths that are faced. However, some
of the efforts to make a story for the youngsters presents troubles, mostly in
the depiction of an ‘enemy’ group of chimps since the animal kingdom doesn’t
really run on ideas of good-and-evil (also, unless it’s the case of the main ‘bad’
chimp being named Scar by those observing the animals before Disney turned up,
you can’t blame people for instantly thinking of the villain in Dinsey’s own
Lion King (1994)). Tim Allen also has a few too many one-liners and gags (even
with the noticeable reference to his sitcom, Home Improvement) but the film
looks stunning and kids should love it; there’s just not much there for anyone
else.
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