Monkey Kingdom is 'funny, beautiful and touching'
Family-friendly documentary centres on a family of macaque monkeys in Sri Lanka
Monkey Kingdom swings into theatres this weekend, tempting audiences with a simian struggle for survival just in time for Earth Day.
The film is the latest family-friendly nature film from Disneynature, the same studio behind the dramatized documentaries Chimpanzee and Bears.
This time, the story centres on a family of macaque monkeys in Sri Lanka — but the stars of the show are young mother Maya and her curious newborn, Kip.
The result is a story that is "funny, beautiful and touching," says CBC's film critic Eli Glasner, though he warns that adults may struggle with the obvious anthropomorphizing of the animals.
In certain scenes, "the documentary illusion is stretched to the breaking point," says Glasner, "especially a sequence where the monkeys discover a birthday cake and have a party all their own."
Watch Eli's full review in the video above.
Monkey Kingdom starts in theatres on Friday. Earth Day is observed in Canada on April 22.