Following Earth, Oceans and African Cats, Disneynature’s fourth feature film is both sweet and sumptuously shot.
Chimpanzee captures three years of documentary footage of chimps who live within the Tai Forest in West Africa. There are three real stars here: an adorably big-eared young chimp called Oscar; the incredible jungle cinematography of Martyn Colbeck and Bill Wallauer; and narrator Tim Allen.
Oscar’s playful nature is telegraphed by the jazzy tones of Caro Emerald. He’s an irresistible ball of cuteness, whose young life is changed when his mother dies. Under constant threat from an aggressive neighbouring chimp gang (led by ‘Scar’), Oscar must forge a connection with a new adult in order to survive.
Any potentially distressing scenes happen off-camera, including Oscar’s mother’s death and a descent into semi-cannibalism. The only downer is Allen’s narration, which sees him making up improvised dialogue for the chimps. But overall,this is a fine piece of work.