• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to header navigation
  • Skip to footer navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Display Search Bar
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on Facebook Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on Twitter Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on Pinterest Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on Instagram Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on YouTube Follow 5 Minutes For Mom via RSS

5 Minutes for Mom

Main navigation

  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Course
      • Breakfast and Brunch
      • Snack
      • Lunch
      • Appetizer
      • Dinner
      • Dessert
    • Ingredient
      • Apple
      • Beef
      • Blueberry
      • Chicken
      • Chocolate
      • Cranberry
      • Peach
      • Pumpkin
      • Squash
      • Strawberry
      • Tomato
      • Vegetables
      • Zucchini
    • Method
      • Air Fryer
      • Baking
      • Grilling
      • Instant Pot
      • No Bake
      • One Dish
      • Slow Cooker
    • Type
      • Breads and Rolls
      • Cakes and Muffins
      • Condiments
      • Cookies and Bars
      • Drinks
      • Food for Kids
      • Gluten-Free
      • Main Dish
      • Pies and Crisps
      • Salads
      • Sandwiches and Wraps
      • Side Dishes
      • Smoothies
      • Soup
  • Crafts & DIY
    • Crafts
    • DIY
    • Kids Crafts
    • Printables
    • Scrapbooking
    • Sewing
  • Family Life
    • Giveaways
    • Lifestyle
    • Marriage
    • Motherhood
    • Parenting
    • Pet Care
    • Special Needs
    • Time Management
    • Travel
  • Holidays
    • New Year’s
    • Valentine’s Day
    • St. Patrick’s Day
    • Easter
    • Mother’s Day
    • Fourth of July
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas

Disneynature’s CHIMPANZEE – Behind the Making of the Movie

April 20, 2012 by Lolli

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

ShareTweetPinPocketMail

I love a good story, and I am generally very easy to entertain when it comes to movies. However, this past week, as I had the opportunity to attend the red carpet premiere of Disneynature’s newest movie, Chimpanzee, I was struck by how amazing REAL LIFE can be. And how, so often, reality is a better story than any story-teller could every come up with.

Better than anyone could have hoped for…

“We wrote a classic 60-page script,” said Director Alastair Fothergill, “and actually, we were constantly changing it the whole time. Obviously, the chimpanzees never read the script. But…”

Director Mark Linfield cut in, “We were lucky. If they had, the film wouldn’t have been as good. Literally, this is a better film than our script. ”

They were very lucky. The adoption of an orphaned chimpanzee by an alpha male is very, very rare. In fact, Dr. Jane Goodall mentioned to us,

“At Gumby, we’ve had brothers adopt their little infant sister or brother. We had one 12-year old that’s like a human 15 or 16 adopt an unrelated infant. But over all these 52 years, I’ve heard of one other story of an alpha male adopting an infant, so it’s very rare. Very rare.”

Interviewing the directors who worked on the film along with meeting and speaking with the legendary Dr. Jane Goodall was a humbling experience for me, increasing my appreciation for the incredible story that this really is.

Choosing the CAST

Chimpanzee was not thrown together in typical Hollywood style, but instead was carefully planned and executed over a period of several years. One of the bloggers in our group asked the directors how they chose the particular chimpanzees to feature in the movie, and I was surprised to learn that researchers have been following this “family” of chimps for many, any years. In fact, one of the reasons that they were able to get so many good, natural shots was that the chimpanzees are “habituated.”

“Most chimpanzees in the wild are completely frightened of human beings, explained Director Alastair Fothergill. “So the only chimps that you can work with are what are called habituated chimps. These are chimps where scientists have spent literally five to ten years getting the chimps used to a human presence.

Jane Goodall was one of the very first people to do it. And Christophe Boesch, where we worked in the Tai Forest in Africa, was one of the second. They’ve known these chimps for years. And just as we can recognize each other, you can recognize them (the chimps). We always knew we wanted to start it with a baby chimp. Because 50 percent of the chimpanzees die in their first five years of their lives. And we chose Oscar partly because of Isha actually, because we knew that Isha was a really good mum.”

You can check out more of the interview with the Chimpanzee directors and our interview with Dr. Jane Goodall on my blog.

New “making of Chimpanzee” clip:

Don’t forget – CHIMPANZEE opens in theaters today, and a portion of all ticket sales during the opening week (April 20-26) will be donated to the Jane Goodall Institute. Take my advice – GO SEE CHIMPANZEE. Not only will you be entertained and inspired, but you’ll be helping to save chimpanzees, too.

Disclosure: I attended the red carpet premiere and other Disneynature-inspired activities during an expense-paid trip to Orlando for my blog, Better in Bulk. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Written by 5 Minutes for Mom writer, Lolli. You can find Lolli blogging at Better in Bulk and tweeting at @1momof5.

ShareTweetPinPocketMail
Brylane Home Window Treatments Transform Your Home
Shame On Jane – Mother’s Day Giveaway

Reader Interactions


Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

1 Comment

  1. Bev Claudio says

    May 4, 2012 at 11:21 pm

    What actually happened to Isha?

    Reply

Primary Sidebar

Bringing Moms Together

We are Janice and Susan, twin bloggers and work-at-home moms. We're here to inspire, encourage & empower you.

Meet Us…

Work With Us…

Subscribe via Email

to be first to read new posts

Trending Now

“You Color My World” Free Printable Valentines

“You Color My World” Free Printable Valentines

Oven Roasted Potatoes and Peppers Recipe

Oven Roasted Potatoes and Peppers Recipe

How To Use A Moka Pot – Discover The Secret To Making Amazing Coffee At Home

How To Use A Moka Pot – Discover The Secret To Making Amazing Coffee At Home

Get Outside and Play with Spray Chalk

Get Outside and Play with Spray Chalk

browse around

  • Posts by Susan
  • Posts by Janice
  • Favorite Recipes
  • Favorite Crafts
  • Giveaways
  • All Posts

Footer

Recipes

St. Patrick’s Day Sugar Cookies with a Clever Decorating Trick

St. Patrick’s Day Sugar Cookies with a Clever Decorating Trick

Traditional Irish Soda Bread Recipe and History

Traditional Irish Soda Bread Recipe and History

Easy Valentine Sugar Cookies

Easy Valentine Sugar Cookies

Crafts/DIY

“You Color My World” Free Printable Valentines

“You Color My World” Free Printable Valentines

Buddy the Elf Hat Pattern – How to Make an Elf Hat out of Felt

Buddy the Elf Hat Pattern – How to Make an Elf Hat out of Felt

20 Free Summer Printables For Kids

20 Free Summer Printables For Kids

Giveaways

Holiday Gift Guides and Christmas Giveaway 2024

Holiday Gift Guides and Christmas Giveaway 2024

Valentine’s Day Gifts For Women

Valentine’s Day Gifts For Women

REDEEMING LOVE Set to Strike Gold on the Big Screen #RedeemingLoveMovie

REDEEMING LOVE Set to Strike Gold on the Big Screen #RedeemingLoveMovie

Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on Facebook Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on Twitter Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on Pinterest Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on Instagram Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on YouTube Follow 5 Minutes For Mom via RSS
  • About
  • Contact
  • Work with Us
  • Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2025 5 Minutes for MomTheme by Melissa Rose Design and Once Coupled