The storyline the filmmakers stitched together from incidents that took place during the shoot follows the survival and education of Oscar, definitely a cute little bugger, as he learns to fit in with an extended family of about 36 chimps led by grand old man Freddy.

Points, too, for the exceptionally observant and graceful camerawork of Martyn Colbeck and Bill Wallauer (Warwick Sloss did additional shooting), which brings the viewer in close and looks beautiful in the bargain. So high marks to Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield, who also directed Earth together (Fothergill also codirected African Cats) for finding a way to comprehensively cover a particular group of chimps in the Ivory Coast’s isolated Tai Forest for a period of time long enough for young chimp Oscar to grow and learn a few survival tricks. Catching them on home turf in Africa is not easy, as they generally live in dense jungle, are not keen to be surrounded by camera crew and can easily scamper off faster than they can be followed through the bush. The close-together forward-looking eyes, warm child rearing, manipulation of tools, omnivore habits, communal spirit and general intelligence are undeniably relatable, even if humans generally see the animals only in the relative isolation of captivity. Everyone loves chimps for the simple reason that to regard them is, but for a slight biological rearrangement, to look at ourselves.

Disney plus chimpanzee