The Disneynature film Chimpanzee opened last Friday to rave reviews from primatologists, zookeepers, and banana fanciers across the country. Chimpanzee tells the story of “Oscar the Grouch” — a young chimpanzee who is “grouchy” because a Jaguar ate his mom. It is a beautifully filmed and inspirational movie, culminating in a brilliant, tear-jerking surprise ending involving the (spoiler alert) Statue of Liberty.
Disneynature will continue it’s string of animal documentaries next year with Elephant, which — for budgetary reasons — is being filmed entirely at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (in the tradition of television’s classic Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, filmed entirely in California’s Lion Country Safari. Note that Elephant replaces the previously announced Poodles, which was canceled due to difficulties with finding significant quantities of the title animal in the wild.
