Review of Monkey Kingdom (2015) by Drauchdoes2015 — 18 Apr 2015

I look forward to Earth Day every year solely on the promise that we'll receive a new film from Disneynature. These movies never make the trek outside their simple nature-doc structure and are often marred by cringe-inducing narration, yet always justify their existence with stunning photography of their subject fauna. This year, we have Monkey Kingdom, another solid addition to what I hope continues to be an annual treat for years to come.

The spotlight family of macaques range from adorable, fierce, loving, and above all, hierarchal - the thematic focus of Monkey Kingdom is Disneynature's most surprisingly politically minded (in a broad and sarcastic sense). The sheer pleasure of voyeuristically observing animal behavior as they instinctively search for food and fight amongst each other is a primal draw, an appeal that encompasses the entire sub-genre of wildlife films. No matter how many of these movies they make, the desire to observe animals we couldn't encounter anywhere other than Animal Planet is universal and inexhaustible. That being said, the end result, forged from the compiled footage of the macaques, is pretty heavy-handed and familiar and is composed with little flair or stylistic deviation.

We don't expect this annual churn to innovate, and we shouldn't; part of the charm of a Disneynature film is it's traditionalism. Sure, these monkeys have been filmed with the sheen of HD vibrancy only Disney could afford to lose their investment on, but Monkey Kingdom, like its predecessors, is unwaveringly straightforward in execution. From varying veteran actor narrators, to bombastic and personality-stripped orchestration, to regrettable forays into forced humor, these films remain loyal to every characteristic of wildlife-to-celluloid flicks.

As a viewer constantly subjected to all assortment of cinematic approach, I personally find traditionalism a bit regressive and dull, to be honest. It has it's perks, safety, being one, but I'd prefer to watch something crash and burn than fizzle and grow stale over the span of 82 minutes. Often, Monkey Kingdom is watchable in spite of it's lack of distinction. That is what is so conflicting: It's a movie as generic as they come, yet what is offered for the visual feast is so magnetic that it, at times, it distracts from the stagnant direction. I think, as cruel as it may seem to ruthlessly disparage these adorable simians and the film they are headlining for reasons out of their control, to look at the film honestly, when the gloss fades and the true picture beneath the HD veneer comes to light, Monkey Kingdom is nothing more than commonplace.

The two primary issues I draw with Monkey Kingdom that restrict it's intrinsic quality from surfacing are (1) the overly-explanatory, poorly scripted narration and (2) the cliched Disney-refusal to display content they may deem too unsettling for the tykes they market to.

I place esteem in a narrator capable of conveying necessary information not explicitly discernible in the visual medium, whilst also not making their addition in a picture whose focus should be on the animals seem superfluous. The quality of Tina Fey’s voice doesn’t have the authoritative or postured delivery for this somber, informative role, though it is not her fault, just a miscasting (the only casting they needed to get right). More embarrassingly, the dialogue she is provided fluctuates between intelligent and informative, but also banal, unnecessary, and puerilely juvenile when attempting at humor. There is a scene illustrating a monkey break-in where Fey is forced to over-dub eating and grunting noises, to cringe-inducing effect. When the narration is served in spare, educational necessity, it’s golden, but the constant, needless addition of sensationalism stretches our patience thin.

When you sit down to bask in the glory known as shark week, the program is expected to be informative, yet also ripe with an expected, grisly display of primal violence associated with nature’s deadliest predator. While monkeys are hardly great whites, they both exist in the animal kingdom, a place where death looms over every facet of existence. I appreciate that Monkey Kingdom allows for SOME depictions of this age-old struggle. The inclusion of the battle-torn rival family of macaques donning their bloody scars prominently, as well as a single instance of actual death are nice reminders that there are legitimate stakes at hand, that these aren’t mere characters, but actual living creatures in constant peril. I can’t help but feel like there are some aspects of life in the family of macaques that Disney decided to avoid for the sake of palatability, but the trade-off is something I should have foreseen.

On the whole, Monkey Kingdom is a worthy family outing to the cineplex (MUCH more worthy than half of what is marketed to kids these days), but it likely won’t linger after viewing, in spite of being a pleasant enough screensaver-esque watch.