Hokum mars chimp tale
By Todd McCarthy |
April 27, 2012, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
SOME privileged nature footage from the African rainforest is dishonored by deeply silly narration in "Chimpanzee," which follows a particular group of chimps in the Ivory Coast's isolated Tai Forest.
This fourth documentary from the Disneynature label shares with last year's "African Cats" the fault of talking down and sugarcoating to coddle the tyke audience, a shame given the rarity of the intimate portrait provided of chimp life in rarely visited remote regions.
With the sophistication and scientific information provided on TV nature docs steadily increasing, this sort of throwback aimed squarely at little kids feels very old school. The division's first release, in 2007, "Earth," pulled in an impressive US$108 million worldwide and its follow-up, "Oceans," earned US$82 million. "African Cats" dropped to US$21 million, a figure perhaps more in the range of what this one will do.
Everyone loves chimps for the simple reason that to regard them is, but for a slight biological rearrangement, to look at ourselves. The close-together forward-looking eyes, warm child rearing, manipulation of tools, omnivore habits, communal spirit and general intelligence are undeniably relatable, even if humans generally see the animals only in the relative isolation of captivity.
Catching them on home turf in Africa is not easy, as they generally live in dense jungle, are not keen to be surrounded by a camera crew and can easily scamper off faster than they can be followed through the bush.
So high marks to Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield, who also directed "Earth" together for finding a way to comprehensively cover a particular group of chimps in the Tai Forest for a period of time long enough for young chimp Oscar to grow and learn a few survival tricks. The story line the filmmakers stitched together from incidents that took place during the shoot follows the survival and education of Oscar, initially under the watchful eye of his mother Isha, as he learns to fit in with an extended family of about 36 chimps led by grand old man Freddy.
The film runs into trouble the moment it introduces the chief of the rival group as "Scar." From that point, repeated references to "Scar and his gang" or "his mob" suggest that there are such things as good and evil chimpanzee clans.
After an attack by Scar and his "thugs" make an orphan of Oscar, the little guy looks like he'll soon be a goner too until Freddy takes him under his wing, a rarity for an alpha male. This is very nice and all, but by this time the uncredited narration, voiced in cornball fashion by Tim Allen, has made this turn of events seem like old-style Disney hokum, whether it actually happened this way or not.
This fourth documentary from the Disneynature label shares with last year's "African Cats" the fault of talking down and sugarcoating to coddle the tyke audience, a shame given the rarity of the intimate portrait provided of chimp life in rarely visited remote regions.
With the sophistication and scientific information provided on TV nature docs steadily increasing, this sort of throwback aimed squarely at little kids feels very old school. The division's first release, in 2007, "Earth," pulled in an impressive US$108 million worldwide and its follow-up, "Oceans," earned US$82 million. "African Cats" dropped to US$21 million, a figure perhaps more in the range of what this one will do.
Everyone loves chimps for the simple reason that to regard them is, but for a slight biological rearrangement, to look at ourselves. The close-together forward-looking eyes, warm child rearing, manipulation of tools, omnivore habits, communal spirit and general intelligence are undeniably relatable, even if humans generally see the animals only in the relative isolation of captivity.
Catching them on home turf in Africa is not easy, as they generally live in dense jungle, are not keen to be surrounded by a camera crew and can easily scamper off faster than they can be followed through the bush.
So high marks to Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield, who also directed "Earth" together for finding a way to comprehensively cover a particular group of chimps in the Tai Forest for a period of time long enough for young chimp Oscar to grow and learn a few survival tricks. The story line the filmmakers stitched together from incidents that took place during the shoot follows the survival and education of Oscar, initially under the watchful eye of his mother Isha, as he learns to fit in with an extended family of about 36 chimps led by grand old man Freddy.
The film runs into trouble the moment it introduces the chief of the rival group as "Scar." From that point, repeated references to "Scar and his gang" or "his mob" suggest that there are such things as good and evil chimpanzee clans.
After an attack by Scar and his "thugs" make an orphan of Oscar, the little guy looks like he'll soon be a goner too until Freddy takes him under his wing, a rarity for an alpha male. This is very nice and all, but by this time the uncredited narration, voiced in cornball fashion by Tim Allen, has made this turn of events seem like old-style Disney hokum, whether it actually happened this way or not.
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