Review of Space Chimps (2008) by Chads. — 20 Jul 2008

While "Space Chimps" is on the ball in recognizing the language barrier between chimpanzee and human, the same attention to detail isn't applied to the primates' relations with the alien life forms.

Left to our own devices, the audience can safely presume that the extra-terrestrials are yapping away in Bonobo-ese. Although the space creatures don't appear smart enough to build Zartog's Trump-like edifice of self-aggrandizement, let alone Stonehenge, they are superior beings who apparently possess the skills of a multi-linguist; a race of galactic Doctor Doolittles.

If "Space Chimps" had more ambition, however, the space probe could have landed on the planet of the apes, not planet Teletubby, and open up more possibilities for an interesting movie. War on earth, perhaps? Chimps libre? Faced with the dilemma of being wild in a galaxy far, far away, or being a lab animal after the space "rats" outlive their usefulness, would give this safe film a little of that 'ol "Babe" pathos.

The chimpanzees get melancholic, not angry, when they discover that the humans didn't trust them enough to navigate their fancy-schmancy flying contraption(it was on auto-pilot). Because "Space Chimps" is lock-stepped in its children's movie trappings, the expendable primates prove their mettle to the space program brass, like an African bobsled team showing the Olympic committee that they belong with the big boys, instead of throwing their poo(or is that just monkey behavior?) in indignant outrage.

Too bad, because a barrel of militant chimpanzees would be much more fun than these stalwart astronaut wanna-bes.