Disney's docu-feature about some adorably cute chimps is dangerously anthropomorphic
There are some nice shots in this Disney docu-feature about the adorably cute lives of chimps. But the sugary, anthropomorphised approach – to which even our own David Attenborough is no longer immune – is just getting ridiculous, even outrageous. The action, we are told, takes place in a jungle in "Africa", as if this landmass were not divided into individual nation states. Tim Allen provides the folksy, sonorous narration, telling us all about the adventures of a cute chimp called "Oscar". Now, unless Mr Allen speaks chimp, we have to assume "Oscar" is what this animal has been named by someone on the production team; "Isha" is the less European name given to his dramatically less important mum. Oscar's family are menaced by bad, nasty, evil chimps whose leader is actually named "Scar" – as in The Lion King. Worryingly, the final credits specify principal photography in Uganda and Ivory Coast, two countries on different sides of the continent. As ever, a storyline has been created in the edit, a treacly musical score added, with sound effects and animal noises evidently beefed up in post-production. And Oscar's sunlit forest features some very sweet butterflies suddenly flitting across the screen at lovely moments. The final five minutes give location interviews with the hardworking camera crew, and this is the only time when this plasticky film comes alive.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2013/may/02/chimpanzee-review
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