Disneynature’s Kingdom a Fun True Life Adventure
Much like environmental documentaries African Cats, Chimpanzee and Bears, Disneynature’s latest Earth Day offering Monkey Kingdom is a family-friendly look inside a naturalistic world most never could imagine let alone see. This one heads to the jungles of South Asia and a ruined city that was once the glory of all Sri Lanka a thousand years ago, now nothing more than just a gigantic, overgrown jungle gym a tribe of toque macaques call their home.
Like those previous pictures, Disney crafts a story of perseverance and resilience out of their hard-fought footage, this one revolving around an eight-year-old female the filmmaker’s name Maya. She’s on the lowest rung of the toque macaques hierarchy, forced to feed off the jungle floor instead of safely within the tangled branches of the massive fig tree at the center of her group’s domain. The story gets complicated, however, after she gives birth to a son, dubbed Kip, fathered by a young newcomer, called Kumar, whose presence riles alpha male Raja to the point he and his minions force the upstart back into the jungle. Now even lower on the totem pole, Maya is forced to do what she can to fight for her son’s survival, in the process upending the tribe’s status quo unusual for the species.
Monkey Kingdom is a very nice movie. It’s fun to watch. It has a litany of beautiful moments that take the breath away. It’s suitable for viewers of every conceivable age. At only 81 minutes, it doesn’t come close to wearing out its welcome. The film offers up numerous insights into the world of the toque macaques and, in some ways for the very first time, also shows directly how humankind and nature’s creatures interact with one another in ways that are oftentimes unexpected and surprising. This has the subtle effect of clearly showcasing how civilization’s constant encroachment into the wilderness changes the ballgame as far as our planet’s delicate ecosystem is concerned, giving an extra little food for thought families are almost certain to be discussing as they exit the theater.
As nice as all this is, and it is oftentimes wonderful, there’s no escaping that, once again, this isn’t a nature documentary interested in digging all that deeply into the toque macaques’ world. Nothing showcased is anything more profound or interesting than what could be found on PBS or the National Geographic Channel. Director Mark Linfield (Chimpanzee) and co-director Alastair Fothergill (who has worked on every Disneynature production save Oceans) may not pull their punches, but that doesn’t mean they throw a whole lot of them either, choosing the path of least resistance as they shape their story to entertain and educate viewers of every conceivable age.
Be that as it may, Monkey Kingdom is awfully enjoyable, and I definitely hope parents make the decision to schlep their kids to the multiplex to give it a look. Engagingly narrated by Tina Fey, featuring a core narrative that’s hard to not become emotionally involved with, the film is another engaging riff on Disney’s iconic “True-Life Adventures” that’s incredibly difficult to dislike.
Review reprinted courtesy of the SGN in Seattle
Film Rating: 2.5 out of 4
