DisneyNature Monkey Kingdom

Hey, hey we’re the Monkees! People say we monkey around…

This catchy 70s song is making a comeback, thanks to Disney Nature’s new film Monkey Kingdom, opening today, April 17,  just in time for Earth Day 2015. Monkey Kingdom focuses on the adventures of Maya, female toque macaque monkey living on Castle Rock, in the Polannaruwa jungle on the Southeast Asian island nation of Sri Lanka.

You may recognize the elaborately carved ancient temple ruins shown in the film, as they are a United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site.

Like other Disney Nature films (my family has only seen Bears, which Little Brother especially enjoyed), Monkey Kingdom takes us inside the world of monkeys by telling a story of the ups and downs, struggles and triumphs of the animal kingdom. The story focuses on Maya, whose descended from macaques who have been at the bottom of the monkey totem pole for eight generations. How did they know that? The films producers say that a team of scientists have been studying this particular monkey population for 40 years, and the animals have a particularly rigid social structure, so Maya the monkey has her work cut out for her if she is to break out of the bottom rung. And if the narrator of Maya’s story sounds familiar, it’s because she’s Tina Fey.

Those big baby monkey eyes!

Watch the DisneyNature Monkey Kingdom Trailer

I was especially interested in the way this film, unlike the other Disney Nature movies, shows the way the animal population interacts with the local human population. At an exclusive Q&A session after the screening, consulting producer Kristina Reed told us that the producers had worked with the local Sri Lankan officials to allow the monkeys to explore a local city without interference from people. It took 1000 days (nearly three years) of filming

Disneynature will make a donation to Conservation International from MONKEY KINGDOM opening week (April 17-23) ticket sales, to help protect monkeys and other endangered species in their natural habitats.

 

Download the Disney Monkey Kingdom Educators Guide for grades 2-6.

 

 

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Disney invited me to a free press screening of Monkey Kingdom, but all opinions expressed are my own.

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