Monkey Kingdom
Disneynature | Release Date: April 17, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
72
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 21 Critic Reviews
Positive:
17
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriApr 20, 2015
Fun, touching, and expertly assembled. Read full review
100
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierApr 16, 2015
If you don’t love monkeys already — and really, we all should — then Monkey Kingdom will swing you in the right direction. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBarbara VanDenburghApr 17, 2015
Monkey Kingdom is a delightful gambol, visually stunning and educational without feeling like it, with a propulsive drama about escaping one's lowly social class at its core that inspires reflection on some uncomfortable truths about ourselves. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesMichael RechtshaffenApr 16, 2015
The film offers a valuable life lesson in the powers of determination and timing, but most of all it's darned entertaining. Read full review
80
VarietyAndrew BarkerApr 9, 2015
The eighth entry in Disney’s eco-minded Disneynature series, Monkey Kingdom may well be its cheekiest, funniest and most purely entertaining. Read full review
80
TheWrapInkoo KangApr 9, 2015
The film boasts all the cinematic strengths we’ve come to expect from the animal-focused nonfic label... But director Mark Linfield’s film is also distinguished by its fascinating focus on the rigid but not immutable social hierarchy of the macaque world, as well as a smartly structured story of repression, rebellion, and triumph. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovApr 22, 2015
Hey, hey, it’s the monkeys that rule this particular spot on the Earth, and watching them monkey around is a G-rated trip and a half. And with Tina Fey’s enthusiastic narration, you might even learn something, too. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesBruce IngramApr 17, 2015
There’s enough genuinely affecting footage of its troop of primate performers doing what comes naturally to make it memorable and moving. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comChristy LemireApr 17, 2015
You’re likely to laugh and learn in equal measure–and so will your little ones. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeJanice PageApr 16, 2015
New rule: All Disneynature films must be narrated by Tina Fey. Read full review
75
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsApr 16, 2015
Monkey Kingdom tugs our heartstrings to the top of the trees. With a lot of patience, and perhaps a little trickery, directors Mark Linfield and Alastair Fothergill have produced a simian “Cinderella.” Read full review
75
New York PostSara StewartApr 15, 2015
On the whole, though, you couldn’t do much better than Monkey Kingdom to get kids invested in learning about, and protecting, the natural world. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreApr 15, 2015
The gorgeous flora and fauna of Sri Lanka are well-represented, even as the monkey business ranges from cute to cutesy. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineElise NakhnikianApr 13, 2015
The cumulative effect is cheerily life-affirming, a bracing infusion of macaque-style joie de vivre. Read full review
70
The DissolveGenevieve KoskiApr 16, 2015
Everything Monkey Kingdom lacks in scientific rigor, it makes up for in pure entertainment value—and then some. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyApr 16, 2015
The story of the colony’s exile and return feels like a dull sermon, but the animals themselves, with their expressive faces and Moe Howard hairdos, can switch from slapstick to pathos faster than Charlie Chaplin. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsApr 16, 2015
Even though the film shows very little of the rough stuff, it's still fairly traumatizing. By the end you may feel like seeing a documentary about a more fair-minded and evenhanded treatment of a society's citizens. Read full review
60
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottApr 17, 2015
Yes, it's a nature documentary, so it includes predatory behavior, but it's mercifully brief and generally tastefully photographed. Plus, it doesn't involve any of the film's main monkeys, so little hearts won't be broken. Read full review
60
Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlApr 14, 2015
The moment-to-moment inventions are great fun, but the larger narrative inventions are less inspired. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterStephen FarberApr 9, 2015
The narration is overused, but at least Fey makes an engaging hostess. Read full review
40
The New York TimesNeil GenzlingerApr 16, 2015
It’s hard to imagine what message children will take away from this film other than that monkeys are just like characters in a fictional Disney movie, which they are not. Read full review
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