Chimpanzee The Movie
In Disney Natures Film “Chimpanzee”We Learn Whether Human or Non-Human
Primate Family is King
For me the movie “Chimpanzee” was as
much about the apes in the audience as it was the apes on screen. The movie
follows Oscar, a newly born chimp and his groups day to day activities in their
constant search for food. Oscar is a rambunctious little chimp who is learning every
day from his mother how to tale care of himself. Oscar has an occasional moment
of independence but it will be years before Oscar will be able to fend for
himself. In his group (which is his extended family) there are other children and
their mothers as well as a chimp referred to by the narrator (Tim Allen) as
Grandpa, who is on the cusp of his fiftieth birthday. There is also another
chimp in the group that is singled out, an alpha male named Freddy. As soon as
the movie begins we learn that Freddy is in no way interested in the youth of
the group, as alpha it is his responsibility to patrol the borders of his
territory and groom the other males to keep them in line.
Freddy is busy ensuring the safety of
the nut groves that exist on his territory becosue when in season they provide
a feast for his group. But Scar and his rival group attack and in the process kill
Oscar’s mother; this is where the story really begins. Now alone Oscar is forced to try to
fend for himself but he is too young and without his mother to teach him he is
helpless.
After being thrown aside by everyone
else in the group, Oscar follows Freddy around to try to learn from him. At first Freddy ignores young Oscar but
then something truly amazing happens, Freddy begins to teach Oscar how to make
tools and how to crack nuts. Freddy begins to share his
food with Oscar, grooms him and then to make the adoption complete, he lets him
ride on his back which is typical of a mother and child but never of an alpha
male. According to Jane Goodall in a recent interview at People.com this almost
never happens that an alpha male will adopt a young chimp and in turn save his
life.
As I sat there in the audience with my
four-year-old daughter on my lap I could not help but think about the parent
child relationship. Being the alpha male of my own small group with my own nut
grove to protect I understood the difficulty of Freddy having to divide his
time teaching and looking out for Oscar while also patrolling his borders and
keeping the rest of the males in line. There is much for a hunter/gatherer to
do in this modern world and parenting is more than just a mother’s job. My daughter sat on my lap and I
comforted her as she cried into my chest with compassion for Oscar. And at the
same time that young Oscar fell asleep in Freddy’s arms, my daughter fell
asleep in mine. I looked up and recognized us in them as the movie screen
completed its transformation from screen to mirror.
