Go See Disneynature's Chimpanzee Movie

Last night we had an opportunity to go see Disneynature's newest film Chimpanzee. We received our screening passes from a very kind lady at our library who won them in a giveaway but wasn't going to be able to use them. She knew we homeschooled and that we were studying Primates this month so she gave them to us. It was on our list of things to do this month and being able to attend for FREE was a huge blessing.

Disneynature’s Chimpanzee is in theaters beginning April 20.  For the last few years right around Earth Day Disneynature releases a film. If you haven't seen a Disneynature film you are missing out on some great educational movies with amazing cinematography. Chimpanzee is the fourth Disneynature film the others are Earth, Oceans and African Cats. Gwyn loves African Cats.


Chimpanzee takes you deep into the forests of Africa to experience an event that has never been witnessed before in nature. The scenery and time lapsed photography is breathtaking. Gwyn was absolutely amazed by the waterfalls, mushrooms and spores in the movie and now wants to do more research on rainforests. The soundtrack was great as well. With the movie theater surround sound it made you feel like you were actually in the jungle surrounded by rainforest animals. I periodically found myself turning around because it sounded like there was a Chimpanzee in the theater.

The movie follows the life of a baby chimp named Oscar and his family. Oscars mother Isha is just like a human mother. She loves her baby dearly and takes great care in cuddling him,teaching him, feeding him and protecting him. And Oscar is just like a human infant/toddler. He is curious, hates naps and loves making new friends. Freddy the group leader watches over his family and leads them daily to food. It is also his job to protect the family from rival chimpanzees as well as other dangers in the rainforest.

In the beginning of the movie you get to witness Oscar learn and grow. He learns to climb, use tools and play with other baby Chimpanzees. We had just learned about Chimpanzees so the kids were super excited when they got to experience the Chimpanzees doing several of the things we had just learned about. I had a hard time keeping them quiet because they were either full of questions (about time lapse photography or spores). Or excited and wanting to tell me that they had just learned about tools and the foods Chimpanzees eat.

Life is good and Oscar is having the time of his life playing with friends and learning from his mother. But then Oscar's family is confronted by a rival band of Chimpanzees. Isha is separated from the group during a ambush and is injured. She is alone in the jungle and without the protection of the group she falls prey to a Leopard (this attack is not actually shown but you hear her cries). Oscar is now an orphan and left to fend for himself. This part made my very emotional 6 year old daughter cry. Oscar struggles to find food and he doesn't have his mothers milk which he still needs. He is sad, confused and lonely. He is rejected by the other mothers in the group and even his friends. He goes ungroomed causing him to get infested with ticks and other parasites. It looks that it may be the end for Oscar but then the extraordinary happens. Freddy the group leader steps in and adopts Oscar. This is a rare thing to take place in the Chimpanzee species. Generally the males and especially the group leaders have nothing to do with the baby Chimps.

Chimpanzee is directed by Alastair Fothergill ("African Cats" and "Earth") and Mark Linfield ("Earth"), and narrated by Tim Allen. Tim Allen was definitely the right choice to narrate the film. When I think of Chimpanzees I think of curious, playful, silly, happy animals. I loved that Tim Allen was able to show his comical side and throw in some jokes here and there to bring a voice to the Chimps that matches their personalities so well. He even threw in a power tool reference and an Argh, Argh, Argh (which had the majority of the of the adults laughing).

And for the homeschoolers you will love the homeschooling reference in Chimpanzee. Not too mention all the cool resources that are listed below.

This movie is perfect for the entire family. My 6 yr old and almost 5 yr old both enjoyed it and the movie had the movie kept their attention the entire time. Chimpanzee is Rated G and has a run time of 85 minutes. I give it 5 stars!!!!!

Resources:

Disneynature has created several great resources for educators and parents that go along great with the movie.

19 page activity book. There are dot-to-dots, a maze, a mask, and sheets about chimpanzees and other wild animals. There is also a fun activity you can do with your children that teaches about tools. My kids loved the tool lesson which we did today. Gwyn even looked like a real Chimpanzee at times.

For the tool lesson \we went outside and gathered various tools (rocks, sticks, leaves). Then the kids tried to drink their water and eat their ants (chocolate morsels) and nuts using the tools they collected.

Another educational resource that Disneynature has compiled is the Disneynature Chimpanzee Educator’s Guide. The Educator’s Guide contains over 100 pages of lessons and activities geared toward grades 2-6.  The lessons are aligned to the National Science Education Standards and include audio and video clips from the movie. We will be working our way through this over the next few weeks.

GO SEE THE MOVIE:

*****Take a pledge to go see  “Chimpanzee” the week it opens—April 20-26. For that one week only, Disneynature will contribute 20 cents per ticket to Jane Goodall Institute to protect wild chimpanzees. .*****

The funds will help:

• Protect their home—the tropical forest;
• Educate the next generation; and
• Care for orphaned chimpanzees.

Follow:

-Disneynature on Facebook

-Chimpanzee Movie on Facebook

-Disneynature on Twitter Hashtag #meetoscar

-Disneynature Website

One last thing on April 22nd you can visit your local Disney store and receive a FREE Chimpanzee reusable shopping bag when you take in 5 plastic shopping bags to be recycled. *While supplies last. Limited quantities. See store for details


*Disclaimer - I didn't receive anything for this review. I simply wanted to share my thoughts and the resources available. I was not compensated for my review and all opinions are our own! Many of the links found on my side bars and in my blog posts are affiliate links. As a result, I might get paid money and I will most likely spend the money on homeschool supplies.