Review of Monkey Kingdom (2015) by Simon R — 26 Apr 2015

Monkey Kingdom.

Initial Reaction: Just who rules this kingdom?

Main Character.

Tina Fey: She's the narrator.

Plot Summary.

This story centers around a large group of monkeys who are going about the business of surviving. They have to contend with food issues, a rival gang that's out to take their most prized possession, and the humans who live in a nearby city.

And things take a turn for the worse when the rival gang takes control of the monkey's territory, forcing the monkeys into the human city - where they have to contend with the people in order to survive.

And maybe they have a chance to take back their land from the rival monkey gang.

SCORING.

Main Characters.

Tina Fey does a good job of putting some personality and humor into the monkeys - making us feel like they're family. SCORE: 8.

Supporting Characters.

The rest of the animals don't have much going for them - and I was really hoping the rival monkeys would have some more personality in them (they came across and bland villains of a bland story).

As for the humans, all I got from them was a bunch of screaming and waving. SCORE: 4.

Plot.

The beginning of the story felt like your average nature documentary where the animals have to survive in a tough environment. But things got a bit more interesting when the monkeys have to encroach into a human city. Too bad that segment wore thin fast. SCORE: 5.

Originality.

There's not much differentiating this film from several other nature documentaries that you can see on Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, PBS, and online. SCORE: 2.

Violence Factor.

When these monkeys get into a fight, they do more than just beat on a tree (like they did in the film Chimpanzee). But there's nothing really disturbing on screen. SCORE: 7.

Other Moral Issues.

This film showcases just how hard it is to be a monkey parent in the world they live in. However, every monkey has to live up with these circumstances - which takes away the main monkeys' individuality. SCORE: 7.

Final Score (out of 60): 33 % Score: 55%.

This tries to be the great documentary film, but the bar is set so high that this film comes up short.