Last Sunday, I had the opportunity to attend a premiere of Disneynature’s newest movie, Chimpanzee. I invited my BFF, Stacey, and her daughter, Stella to go along. Of course, I brought Angry Kid also. The movie was being shown at the historic El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. This was the first time that I have been to El Capitan. We have so many cool places to visit in California, and there are tons that I haven’t been too.
Stacey and I kept the movie premiere from Stella as a secret. She has been counting down until April 20th, when the movie opens everywhere. On the way there, we let Angry Kid tell Stella where we were going. I don’t think that Stella believed us when we told her at first.
The kids got to be celebrities for the day. Look at how cute they are in front of the movie posters. After taking these pictures, we grabbed our snacks and headed for our seats. When we got there, Stacey was really smart and asked one of the ushers where the best seats were. The usher told us that the best view was from the balcony area, so up the stairs we went. The view of the movie screen was awesome!
What is the movie “Chimpanzee” about?
Disneynature takes moviegoers deep into the forests of Africa with “Chimpanzee,” a new True Life Adventure introducing an adorable young chimpanzee named Oscar and his entertaining approach to life in a remarkable story of family bonds and individual triumph. Directed by Alastair Fothergill (“African Cats” and “Earth”) and Mark Linfield (“Earth”), and narrated by Tim Allen (“Toy Story 3,” ABC’s “Last Man Standing”), “Chimpanzee” is the fourth release for Disneynature—the first three releases under the label (“Earth,” “Oceans” and “African Cats”) are among the top four highest grossing feature-length nature films of all time.
“Chimpanzee” showcases Oscar’s playful curiosity, his zest for discovery and the intelligence and ingenuity of some of the most extraordinary personalities in the animal kingdom. Working together, Oscar’s chimpanzee family—including his mom, Isha, and the group’s savvy leader, Freddy—navigates the complex territory of the forest.
The world is a playground for little Oscar and his fellow young chimpanzees, who’d rather make mayhem than join their parents for an afternoon nap. But when Oscar’s family is confronted by a rival band of chimpanzees, he is left to fend for himself until a surprising ally steps in and changes his life forever.
The movie was amazing. Both of the kids loved it. Angry Kid was telling everyone about it at school on Monday. He told me that his favorite part was when “Oscar was learning to break about the nutshells, and he used a wood branch and it broke.” Angry Kid thought that particular scene was sooo hilarious. If you see the movie, you will totally know what he meant. Apparently one of the little girls at school did not believe Stella when she said that she saw the movie already. Stacey took her iPhone and showed the little girl today.
I loved the cinematography. The colors were so bright and vivid. I felt like I was right there in the middle of the jungle. The narration by Tim Allen was spot on. His seriousness along with humor made it understandable for the kids, and relatable for the adults also.
I was researching the making of the movie, and found some “fun facts” that as an adult, I was amazed.
- More than 700 days of filming was done for the movie
- Getting to the Tai Forest took more than two days for the crew
- The film team had 550 pounds of food, which had to last for 3 months in the forest
- On a typical day, each crew member carried over 40 pounds of weight around, including cameras, lenses, and bottled water
- The crew had stay 23 feet away from the Chimpanzees
After viewing the movie, we went downstairs and immediately ran into some of the cast members from The Disney Channel Shows. Angry Kid watches a ton of these shows, and I was amazed at how many of the actors that he knew about. He actually knew that real names, and their character names. They weren’t allowing large cameras, so I used my iPhone to take a picture of the kids with Cameron Boyce who plays “Luke” on Jessie. The picture is a bit grainy because it was so dark in there. Seriously, it was kinda cute to see the kids so starstruck. The celebrity kids were super nice and polite too.
Some Chimpanzee Downloads, that I received via Disneynature:
(Click on the links to download the pdf files)
Chimpanzee Activities for Kids
Chimpanzee, An Educator’s Guide
SEE “CHIMPANZEE,” SAVE CHIMPANZEES
For every moviegoer who sees “Chimpanzee” during the film’s opening week (April 20-26, 2012), Disneynature will make a donation to the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) through the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund to protect chimpanzees today and tomorrow. Founded in 1977, the Jane Goodall Institute continues Dr. Goodall’s pioneering research on chimpanzee behavior started more than 50 years ago—research that transformed scientific perceptions of the relationship between humans and animals. Today, the Institute is a global leader in the effort to protect chimpanzees and their habitats. It also is widely recognized for establishing innovative community-centered conservation and development programs in Africa, and Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots, the global environmental and humanitarian program for youth of all ages, which has groups in more than 120 countries. To learn more about JGI, please visit www.janegoodall.org.
Chimpanzee swings into theaters on April 20th, 2012, just in time for Earth Day!
Disclosure: I received free tickets for the viewing of the movie, Chimpanzee. I received a press release and downloadable files from Disneynature in reference to the movie, “Chimpanzee”. All thoughts and opinions are mine. Even the cheesy grainy pictures are mine. I had my DSLR with me, but I did not want to get mistaken for the evil paparazzi.
