We live in a big, beautiful world full of wonder. Even if you have great determination and wealth, it’s impossible to see it all. Disneynature’s films help bring the parts of the world we may never visit into focus. It started with Earth in 2007 and continued with Oceans in 2010 (which, incidentally, isn’t a movie you should watch if you’re as terrified of the ocean as I am) and now their next big release is Monkey Kingdom. Narrated by Tina Fey, the documentary follows a blonde-bobbed monkey named Maya.
Maya lives in the jungles of South Asia, and she’s just become a mother. The film explores family dynamics and also the politics of Maya’s home at Castle Rock. Yes, I read that as Casterly Rock too, but it is not a Game of Thrones mash-up. As with other Disneynature films, there’s probably a fair amount of projecting human emotions onto animals and making very educated guesses about the motivations behind their actions. The assessments may not be one hundred percent accurate, but that doesn’t necessarily matter. Monkey Kingdom is likely to give greater insight into a corner of our planet, and I think that’s always valuable.
If you see Monkey Kingdom in its opening week, April 17-23, your purchase will help Conservation International (CI). Disneynature will make a donation for every ticket sold. The organization helps protect monkeys and other endangered species, and the funds raised from Monkey Kingdom will specifically help CI programs in Indonesia, Cambodia and Sri Lanka.
Will you be celebrating Earth Day by going to see Monkey Kingdom? Let us know in the comments.
