While I was off on a whirlwind trip to Florida for my cousin’s wedding this past weekend, my post on the movie “Chimpanzee,” and the need to protect these cute little guys, appeared at The Urban Times. The following is an excerpt, but you can read the post in its entirety here:
“Chimpanzee,” the latest film produced by Disneynature, tells the touching tale of Oscar, a young chimp who loses his mother and is taken in by the most unlikely of companions – Freddy, the curmudgeonly Alpha Male of the group. Filmed over the course of three years, the movie begins just after Oscar’s birth and concludes shortly after the death of his mother and the burgeoning new relationship.
More than just a tale of unlikely heroes and touching emotional bonds, the movie portrays jungle life in the Tai Forest off the Ivory Coast in Africa. Through Oscar, we are granted a glimpse into the hearts and minds of chimpanzees, which biologically are more closely related to humans than gorillas. In fact, chimpanzees and humans share 95 to 98 percent of their DNA.”
You can read the article in its entirety here.
4 Comments
Great piece, Christie. I commented on the Urban Times site, as well. Well written, and a great topic. Few things get to me more than animals suffering – ok, people too, of course. But, animals are often at our mercy and require our compassion. Thanks for getting the word out.
Thanks, Stephanie. It really is heartbreaking to think about, especially when you see the chimpanzees interact with each other. It is hard to be empathize with their plight. I found the information about primates in entertainment to be particularly eye opening.
I took my son to this movie over the weekend and we both really loved it! Your piece on this as well as all the information on how people can get involved and help over at Urban Times is great as well. I had no idea how close to extinction chimpanzees are! Thank you for shining a light on an important issue.
Thank you. I had no idea either. It was amazing to see how “human-like” their interactions are and its just devastating to think about what is being done to their homes and food sources.