My 5-year old son, Blake, had been telling my husband and I for a week that he wanted to go see the monkey movie when it came out on Friday, so this past Friday night, we went to the R/C Reading Movies 11 & IMAX to see the new Disney Nature movie, "Monkey Kingdom". Before going, I was not really looking forward to it. Documentaries are not usually my choice of movie to watch, but my son, who absolutely loves wild animals of all kinds, was so excited, so I just could not say no.
"Monkey Kingdom" follows the life of Maya, a female macaque monkey from Sri Lanka. I learned early on in the movie that just like humans, these monkeys fall into different social structures. While the alpha of the tribe and the three sisters (the queens), who are all the highest ranking in the tribe, get to enjoy the warmth of the sun and the juiciest fruit at the top of the trees, Maya and the other low-class macaque monkeys must work much harder to find food and serve those higher up.
Throughout the movie, we learned to love Maya's determination and hard-work. Early on in the movie, Maya has a baby, and for awhile, raises her son, Kip, as a single mother, because the father was driven away by the rest of the tribe. Eventually he returns to win back his place, and he and Maya care for Kip together. The movie shows how Maya's tenacity and intuitiveness help her to raise among the ranks of the macaque tribe that she is a part of.
I was very glad that my son wanted to see this movie, because I never would have voluntarily gone to see it on my own. However, it was a remarkable film, and I wish all documentaries were this entertaining! Of course, since it was narrated by Tina Fey, it had a hint of her wit, and monkeys are adorable, so you really can't go wrong with this documentary, in my opinion.
As a mother, I do feel that I should give other parents a head's up about a few things, though:
1. It is obviously a nature film, so just keep in mind that your children may see monkey body parts that are normally covered up on humans. Your children may even mention some of the similarities between features on the macaque monkeys and people - hands and even some of the hair (Maya's "hairstyle" reminds me of Jim Carrey's hair in "Dumb & Dumber"). Let's just hope those are the body parts they stick to!
2. There are some scenes with fighting between monkeys, higher class monkeys slapping the lower class monkeys, and members being lost to predators (although none of the "main characters"), but this, by far, was not the main focus of the movie, and there were so many more laughable parts that I don't really even think that my son picked up on much. He did ask about the one monkey who was eaten by a giant lizard, but he was only worried because he thought it was Kip, Maya's baby. He felt much better when he realized it was not.
3. There is a part when Kip is separated from Maya, and ultimately gets lost in the jungle for a time. I think this may have been harder for me than for my son, and while it seemed like a long time to me, it really only was a matter of minutes before Kip and Maya were reunited and safe.
The movie had a happy ending, and the majority of the movie shows the monkeys having a good time - playing hide-and-seek with a mongoose, swinging from the trees, and having fun with each other. My 5-year old loved it, and has been pretending he is a monkey the past two days. I highly recommend taking your children to see this movie!
If you go to see Disney Nature's "Monkey Kingdom" during opening week (April 17-April 23), they will contribute $0.20 from each ticket sold to Conservation International through the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund, with a minimum donation of $100,000. Please click here to find out more information about Conservation International.
**I was not compensated for this review in any way, and all opinions are my own.
