Chimpanzee
Disneynature | Release Date: April 20, 2012 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
57
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
14
Mixed:
8
Negative:
1
Watch Now
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierApr 19, 2012
Chimpanzee lets everyone feel like a mini-Jane Goodall. Read full review
88
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsApr 20, 2012
An eye-opening primer in cross-species similarity. We learn that apes are violent and territorial but also that they are capable of creativity and tenderness. Read full review
80
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottApr 20, 2012
Chimpanzee is so skillfully crafted, and the big-hearted outcome so endearing and entertaining, that any narrative liberties taken to aid in the telling of this prehensile tale are not only forgivable but welcome. Read full review
80
Boxoffice MagazinePete HammondApr 19, 2012
Kids should especially like this magnificent and heartwarming look at the life of young Oscar. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChroniclePeter HartlaubApr 20, 2012
The stunning and mostly uncompromising visuals more than compensate for the frequent corny turns of phrase. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy BurrApr 19, 2012
In general, the more young people who see the film, the more who will be made aware of a fascinating, complicated near-relative whose numbers are dwindling rapidly. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyAdam MarkovitzApr 14, 2012
No amount of gorgeous jungle footage can make up for the fact that this Disney-produced documentary feels about as natural as an episode of "The Hills," though with (slightly) more feral characters. Read full review
70
MovielineMichelle OrangeApr 19, 2012
Inter-chimp and territorial fighting are facts of nature, but the extreme anthropomorphism of Chimpanzee makes what is natural feel bizarre. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzApr 19, 2012
Fothergill and Linfield capture plenty of humor and drama. Read full review
70
TimeMary PolsApr 19, 2012
It has plenty of charm and is filled with astonishingly intimate footage worth seeing on the big screen but is sketchy on details and dumbed down by cutsy, anthropomorphizing narration. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia PuigApr 22, 2012
It's unfortunate that the filmmakers juxtapose those striking visuals with a warlike anthropomorphizing element. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyApr 19, 2012
Blend sound with sight, though, and the package becomes more difficult to take. Read full review
63
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanApr 19, 2012
But nature is messy, and Chimpanzee doesn't shrink from that, to its credit. Fothergill and Linfield at least exercise discretion when their cameras capture disturbing turns of event. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineAndrew SchenkerApr 16, 2012
The astonishing footage of apes in their natural environment is made perfectly accessible and then nearly undone by a narration track that plays to the audience's basest desires for gag-inducing cuteness. Read full review
60
Village VoiceBenjamin MercerApr 17, 2012
Throughout, narrator Tim Allen shuttles between a jokey primer on chimp society and a basic play-by-play during the more action-packed scenes - the constant stream of explanation often detracts from the heart-of-the-jungle sights and sounds on display. Read full review
60
VarietyAndrew BarkerApr 16, 2012
Visually stunning, almost impossibly intimate results. Unfortunately, this footage is welded to a creakily executed story and narrated by a schticky, frequently bellowing Tim Allen. Read full review
50
NPRMark JenkinsApr 19, 2012
"Humanize" might not seem the obvious verb for what happens in Chimpanzee, Disneynature's latest kiddie documentary. But it's dead on; this escape to the planet of the apes is anthropomorphic to a fault. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyApr 17, 2012
Some privileged nature footage from the African rain forest is dishonored by deeply silly narration in Chimpanzee. Read full review
42
The A.V. ClubScott TobiasApr 18, 2012
It isn't easy to insult the intelligence of preschoolers, but Chimpanzee's insistence on turning the two gangs into the Sharks and the Jets does the job long before Allen lapses into his Home Improvement grunting. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesApr 25, 2012
By film's end, you'll wish they tossed Allen in the rainforest and left him for the leopards to snack on. Read full review
40
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisApr 19, 2012
To experience Chimpanzee, the latest piece of gorgeously shot pablum from Disneynature, is to endure an orgy of cuteness pasted over some of the most asinine narration ever to ruin a wildlife movie. Read full review
40
Time OutDavid FearApr 17, 2012
No one's asking for a somber account of simian life, but perhaps Buzz Lightyear could keep quiet for a bit and let the monkey business speak for itself. Read full review
38
New York PostLou LumenickApr 20, 2012
There was no need to edit it in overly slick ways that often make the story line seem contrived, accompanied by gag-laden narration that frequently made me want to gag. Read full review
More From This Movie

57 Critic Reviews

6.6 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL