Directed by Mark Linfield, “Monkey Kingdom” is primarily the tale of a very special toque macaque monkey named Maya and her little son Kip. It also focuses on Maya’s community and a rival band of toque macaque monkeys eager to take over the territory known as Castle Rock. Other animal cast members include a mischievous mongoose, gentle langur monkeys who live nearby, scary looking monitor lizards and spotted leopards who also share the jungle habitat.
Directed by Mark Linfield, “Monkey Kingdom” is primarily the tale of a very special toque macaque monkey named Maya and her little son Kip. It also focuses on Maya’s community and a rival band of toque macaque monkeys eager to take over the territory known as Castle Rock. Other animal cast members include a mischievous mongoose, gentle langur monkeys who live nearby, scary looking monitor lizards and spotted leopards who also share the jungle habitat.
While lasting only 82 fast-paced minutes on screen, the filmmakers spent two and a half years photographing this particular community of toque macaque monkeys living in Sri Lanka. This was followed by eight months of intensive cutting and editing to put together a cohesive story about this very special simian group . Even though creating the film was labor intensive, the end result flows effortlessly onto the big screen as we watch one resilient monkey named Maya make her way to the top of the tree within her very status conscious community.
According to Linfield it was easy to get close to the monkeys and film them because they have been part of a scientific study that has lasted for the past fifty years. By now they are used to being watched round the clock by human beings, so these playful little beasts were unafraid of the film crew. In fact they were curious about the cameras and would hop down to see what the human being were up to. At the end of the movie, don’t leave during the rolling of the credits because they are accompanied by scenes of the filmmakers interacting with the monkeys.
Prior to shooting the film Linfield studied 30 monkey clans before settling on Maya and her group. “The monkeys do so much interesting stuff,” he said, “ you (finally) have to decide on which character (monkey) to focus on. Then you hope that choice turns out to be interesting.” Once he decided on Maya he followed her around and she and her son became the stars of the show along with her eventual mate, Kumar.
For the director, the hardest scene to film occurred when the monkeys go into town to steal food. Luckily after watching the group for a long period of time Linfield knew their route and he was able to set up cameras all along the way.
Maya, as the lead character, turned out to be the perfect choice since she had many obstacles to overcome. In her group, for example, there is a rigid social structure and the females known as the three sisters outrank Maya because they are the mates of the monkey king. They live in the upper branches of their tree, close to the sun and the ripest berries, while Maya and the other underlings are relegated to the bottom branches. Fortunately Maya is a very clever monkey. According to Linfield, Maya is “street smart“ and her innate cleverness enables her to eventually “get out of her social straitjacket.”
“Monkey Kingdom,” while educational, is also loads of fun as we get to know the members of Maya’s clan. Her story, narrated by Tina Fey, is an upbeat Cinderella tale about a low ranking toque macaque monkey who not only gets “a hunky hubby named Kumar” but a high perch in the treetops as well.
Disneynature’s “Monkey Kingdom, released in time to celebrate Earth Day, will donate a percentage of the first week’s box office earnings to wildlife and conservation causes worldwide.
Note: The El Capitan in Hollywood is a great place to see “Monkey Kingdom” because they present an animal show prior to the film which features a prairie dog, two tortoises–one big, one small, a monitor lizard, a chervil and more. The handlers also answer audience questions about the animals. One interesting tidbit–a tortoise, unlike a turtle, can get really, really big. It can also outlive it’s owner since a tortoise can live over one hundred years.
After the show you can visit the Disney Store where plush monkey toys are available along with other Disney fun stuff like pins, DVDs and figurines. And last, but by no means least, you can enjoy all kinds of soda fountain treats like banana splits, ice cream sundaes and sodas.
