Monkey Movies & TV!

PBS's NOVA: Ape Genius begins with a remarkable sight never before glimpsed by the general public and seldom noted by scientific researchers; at a cordoned-off, controlled research locale in Fongoli, Senegal, a female chimp breaks a branch off of a tree; hones it and sharpens it with her teeth, thereby creating a deadly weapon; and promptly uses it to murder a bushbaby cowering in the interior of a hollowed tree. As the program notes, primate-focused zoologists considered this a massive breakthrough for both zoology and science in general. Yet in truth, this represents only the tip of the proverbial iceberg - one of many new insights about apes attained during a period with the world on the cusp of intimate behavioral knowledge of primates. Time and again, related discoveries continually lead researchers to profound conclusions about apes' capacities for 'creative intelligence.' This, in turn, prompts yet another question: if apes possess creative intelligence, what constitutes the key cerebral difference separating primates from homo sapiens? Ape Genius explores this question with a great attention to scientific detail, with visits to the grassy plains of Africa and research laboratories on several continents including Europe, Asia and North America; in the process, it unveils aspects of primate behavior long thought untenable, contrasts differences between the minds of different ape species, and ultimately hones in on the key cerebral differences that separate apes from human beings. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

A clumsy panda bear becomes an unlikely kung fu hero when a treacherous enemy spreads chaos throughout the countryside in this animated martial arts adventure featuring the voices of Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, and Jackie Chan. On the surface, Po (voice of Black) may look like just another portly panda bear, but beneath his fur he bears the mark of the chosen one. By day, Po works faithfully in his family's noodle shop, but by night he dreams of becoming a true master of the martial arts. Now an ancient prophecy has come to pass, and Po realizes that he is the only one who can save his people from certain destruction. With time running short and malevolent snow leopard Tai Lung (Ian McShane ) closing in, Furious Five legends Tigress (Jolie), Crane (David Cross ), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Viper (Lucy Liu), Monkey (Chan), and their wise sensei, Master Shifu (Hoffman), all draw on their vast knowledge of fighting skills in order to transform a lumbering panda bear into a lethal fighting machine. Now, if the noble Po can master the martial arts and somehow transform his greatest weaknesses into his greatest strengths, he will fulfill his destiny as the hero who saved his people during their darkest hour. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

When a kindly elephant hears a faint cry of help from a floating speck of dust, his attempts to protect the tiny particle cause his neighbors to question his sanity in this animated adaptation of Dr. Seuss' classic 1954 children's book of the same name. Produced by Ice Age makers Blue Sky, scripted by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio, and directed by Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino, Horton Hears a Who reunites Bruce Almighty co-stars Jim Carrey and Steve Carell as the eponymous elephant and the mayor of Whoville respectively. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Six American graduate students studying apes in the African jungle discover a new species of killer chimpanzees that could prove to be the most formidable threat ever known to humankind. Upon first spotting this bizarre new breed, Greg, Dani, Amy, Josh, Sydney, and Seth were all assured by their highly-esteemed professor (F. Murray Abraham) that they have all been part of a discovery that could change the very face of science. Survival instinct soon takes over, however, when a typical study in animal behavior becomes a brutal struggle to escape a relentless predator with unparalleled strength and speed. As the serenity of the wilderness is suddenly shattered by the blood-curdling screams of man, Mother Nature proves just how little we truly understand about the savagery of the jungle. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The direct-to-video sequel Tarzan II continues the story started by Disney in the 1999 animated feature Tarzan. This story involves Tarzan deciding to get away from his family out of concern that harm may come to them simply because of all the interest in him. Thanks to a series of adventures with his animal friends, Tarzan learns the true value of family. The film contains new songs by Phil Collins, who was awarded an Oscar for his work on the original 1999 film. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

One of the greatest adventure stories in Hollywood history gets a new interpretation in this action drama from Academy Award-winning director Peter Jackson. In the early 1930s, Carl Denham (Jack Black) is a daring filmmaker and adventurer who has gained a reputation for his pictures documenting wildlife in remote and dangerous jungle lands; despite the objections of his backers, Denham plans to film his next project aboard an ocean vessel en route to Skull Island, an uncharted island he discovered on a rare map. Correctly assuming his cast and crew would be wary of such a journey, Denham has told them they're traveling to Singapore, but before they set sail, his leading lady drops out of the project. Needing a beautiful actress willing to take a risk, Denham finds Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts), a beautiful but down-on-her-luck vaudeville performer, and offers her the role; cautious but eager to work, Darrow takes the role, and onboard the ship she strikes up a romance with Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody), a respected playwright hired by Denham to write the script for his latest epic.

When Denham and company arrive on Skull Island, the natives react with savage violence, but they happen to be the least of their worries. Skull Island is a sanctuary for prehistoric life, and lording it over the dinosaurs and other giant beasts is Kong, a 25-foot-tall gorilla who can outfight any creature on Earth. The natives kidnap Darrow, giving her to Kong as an offering to appease the giant beast; Denham and his men set out to find her, with Driscoll bravely determined to save the woman he loves. Eventually, Driscoll finds Darrow and Denham outwits Kong, intending to take the giant ape back to New York for display. But Kong has bonded with Darrow, and his attraction to her proves to be his undoing. Andy Serkis, who provided the body movements for Gollum in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings pictures, performed similar duties on King Kong, studying gorillas so he could mimic their actions, which were then used as the basis for the special-effects crew's digital animation of the great ape. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Following his surprise-hit American remake of The Ring in 2002, director Gore Verbinski took on Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, the second of recent films to be based upon Disney theme-park rides (the first being The Country Bears). When Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley), the daughter of Governor Swann (Jonathan Pryce) is kidnapped by a group of pirates led by Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) and taken aboard their ship, The Black Pearl, Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), the young man who loves Elizabeth despite the fact that she is promised to another, sets out to rescue her. But he can't do it alone, so he enlists the help of swashbuckling ship captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp). Together the two chase after The Black Pearl, but they soon discover that the captain and crew aren't your average pirates. Cursed to remain between the living and the dead, Barbossa and his men look like skeletons when basked in the moonlight. When it is revealed that the only thing that can break the curse is Elizabeth's blood, Jack and Will are faced with a race against time and a battle against the undead to save the Governor's daughter. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

The third installment in the series of films that began with 2000's MVP: Most Valuable Primate finds the athletically inclined chimp Jack taking to the slopes. After hooking up with some kids in Colorado, the charming chimp is soon tearing up the mountainside on a snowboard. Starring Robby Benson, MXP: Most Xtreme Primate features an appearance pro-snowboarder Bjorn Leines. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

Even when you're the King of the Jungle, you don't want to forget your anniversary with your significant other, as taught in this direct-to-video sequel to the 1999 Disney animated adventure Tarzan. Tarzan (voice of Michael T. Weiss) and Jane (voice of Olivia d'Abo) are soon to celebrate their first anniversary together, and as the two find themselves looking back on the ups and downs of the past year, Jane decides she wants to get something special for Tarzan to mark the occasion. But Jane has a hard time deciding just what the special gift should be, and even their animal friends Terk the Gorilla (voice of April Winchell) and Tantor the Elephant (voice of Jim Cummings) are short on gift ideas. As it turns out, it's Tarzan who has the big surprise for Jane, as he plans something special to show how he's come to understand the life she left behind to be with him. Tarzan and Jane also features a new recording of the song "Two Worlds," written for the 1999 film Tarzan, and here performed by the song's composer, Phil Collins, with teen pop star Mandy Moore. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This big budget "re-imagining" of the 1968 original departs somewhat from both that classic science fiction film and the source novel by author Pierre Boulle. Mark Wahlberg stars as Leo Davidson, an astronaut of the early 21st century whose unauthorized mission to rescue a chimp companion from a mysterious space storm goes awry when he and his ship are lost through a rip in the fabric of time. Leo crash-lands on a planet where intelligent, talking apes are the dominant species and humans a conquered slave class. Befriending both a chimpanzee activist named Ari (Helena Bonham Carter), who's sympathetic to humans, and a beautiful human rebel, Daena (Estella Warren), Leo quickly becomes a prominent figure of resistance to his fellow humans. This makes him an instant source of irritation for the militant and ambitious General Thade (Tim Roth) and his trusted adjutant, Attar (Michael Clarke Duncan), who intend to hunt Leo down and crush the burgeoning human uprising. War looms between ape and human as Leo and his band head for a sacred site deep in an off-limits desert, where secrets about the planet's ape and human ancestry wait to be revealed. Planet of the Apes is directed by Tim Burton and features the original film's star, Charlton Heston, in a cameo role as the dying father of Thade. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

This feverishly energetic comedy combines stop-motion animation and live action from director Henry Selick, creator of The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) and James and the Giant Peach (1996). Brendan Fraser stars as Stu Miley, a cartoonist who created a randy monkey character called Monkeybone that has taken off in popularity, making him a celebrity. Stu's set to launch a TV series based on Monkeybone and marry his beautiful fiancée Julie (Bridget Fonda) when he's injured in a freak accident that puts him in a coma. He travels to Dark Town, a holding area for the comatose who wait to either regain consciousness or move on to the afterlife with the help of Death (Whoopi Goldberg). Dark Town is also a realm where fictional characters reside and before long Stu has met the vulgar Monkeybone, who travels back to the land of the living to inhabit Stu's body. Aided by Kitty (Rose McGowan), Stu must find a way to reclaim his body and put Monkeybone back in his place before the raunchy primate ruins his charmed life. Monkeybone is based on the cartoon graphic novel Dark Town by Kaja Blackley. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Would you pay money to journey into the mind of the star of Con Air, The Killing Fields, and In The Line of Fire? Puppeteer Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) is having money problems, so he takes a temporary job as a file clerk on the seventh-and-a-half floor of a large office building. One day, while rummaging behind a cabinet, he finds a small door that leads to the center of the mind of actor John Malkovich (played by, you guessed it, John Malkovich). Craig discovers that entering the portal allows him to become John Malkovich for a brief spell, and in time he and his beautiful but aloof co-worker Maxine (Catherine Keener) get the bright idea to charge admission for the privilege of spending 15 minutes inside the head of a well-known actor. Malkovich realizes that something strange is happening to him, but can do little to stop it, as strangers take over his mind for a quarter-hour at a time. Craig's wife, Lotte (Cameron Diaz), eventually takes a trip into Malkovich's psyche, and she soon finds herself in love with Maxine, with whom Malkovich has an affair; meanwhile, Maxine in time becomes infatuated with both Craig and Lotte, but only when they're inside Malkovich. Being John Malkovich marked the feature-length debut of director Spike Jonze, who previously made acclaimed music videos for Weezer, the Beastie Boys, and the Breeders, among others. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi