Disney Gives Us Baby Monkeys, Makes Us Sigh

From the Disney press release:

Disneynature’s “Monkey Kingdom” spotlights the gripping reality of a newborn monkey and its mother, struggling to survive within the competitive social hierarchy of the Temple Troop, a dynamic group of monkeys who live in ancient ruins found deep in the storied jungles of South Asia, alongside a rich cast of forest characters. Life is grand, food is plentiful and safety is assured if you’re lucky enough to be born on the higher rungs of the Troop’s social ladder. But this young mother and her infant find themselves in a constant state of hunger, dodging threats from higher-ranking monkeys determined to keep them on their assigned rung. It’ll take a lot of ingenuity, hard work—and a little luck—if this little family hopes to change their place in the world. Directed by Mark Linfield (“Chimpanzee,” “Earth”) and co-directed by Alastair Fothergill (“Chimpanzee,” “Bears”), Disneynature’s eighth True Life Adventure—the follow-up to 2014’s “Bears”—swings into theaters in April 2015.

Notes:

·         “Monkey Kingdom” is the sixth theatrical release for Disneynature, the first new Disney-branded film label from The Walt Disney Studios in more than 60 years.  The label was launched in April 2008 to bring the world’s top nature filmmakers together to capture a variety of wildlife subjects and stories.

·         The first four big-screen releases under the Disneynature label—“Earth,” “Oceans,” “African Cats” and “Chimpanzee”—are among the top five highest grossing feature-length nature films of all time. The fifth, “Bears,” hits theaters April 18, 2014.

·         Walt Disney was a pioneer in wildlife documentary filmmaking, producing 13 True Life Adventure motion pictures between 1948 and 1960, including “Seal Island” (1948), “Beaver Valley” (1950), “The Living Desert” (1953) and “Jungle Cat” (1958). The films earned eight Academy Awards®.