I received the following information as a blogger via Walt Disney Publications. While I’m attending an expense paid trip by Disney to the press events for Avengers: Age of Ultron (#AvengersEvent) and Monkey Kingdom (#MonkeyKingdom, #LAZoo), all opinions as always are 100% my own.
Last Friday morning I arrived at the ABC Building to screen the newest Disneynature film, Monkey Kingdom. The movie comes out today, April 17th. This is an adorable film about Macaque monkeys in an abandoned palace in South Asia. There is a story here and it is about Maya one of the low-born monkeys at Castle Rock. She is the lowest of the low in her family. And by low, we are literally talking about height. The high-born monkeys are those who can live higher in the tree, eat the fruits higher in the tree and they enjoy the privileges of royalty.
Maya must scavenge for her meals. She must also cater to the needs of the high-born monkeys. To them, she is nothing but she needs them for her protection. The family hierarchy is so complex that it rivals intricacy of a Game of Thrones family tree.
The story really is one of a heroes journey. Maya struggles on a daily basis. Struggles to get enough food, struggles for warmth and shelter and when she becomes pregnant and has her son, Kip, she struggles to make a better life for him. The thing about a heroes’ journey and having to work hard and struggle for things is that it makes you more self sufficient and stronger when things get tough. Well, when things get tough for this monkey family it is up to Maya to step up and help her family with their struggles.
I think that Monkey Kingdom is a wonderful movie filled with humor and heart. Tina Fey makes an excellent narrator for this story. While there is some danger and peril for the monkeys the movie is mild enough for young kids and they will laugh at the antics of these lovable monkeys. Take a look at the trailer below and full movie information below that.
