Disneynature’s Monkey Kingdom is the perfect mix of tales and tails. Set in the ancient ruins (see, The Jungle Book was FACT!) of South Asia the film follows a toque macaque named Maya and her son Kip. Hilarity ensues.
The boys wanted to watch Monkey Kingdom the minute they saw the first ad, but the truth of the matter is that we’ve had some issues with previous Disneynature films. Chimpanzee in particular is, for our boys, far too real and therefore hard to watch for a couple of empathetic, animal-loving vegetarian kids—which is exactly why we watched it—sometimes we need to leave our comfort zone. There are a few scenes in Monkey Kingdom, namely fighting and circle of life stuff, that may have similar effects on your child, but overall the tone remains warm and playful.
Here’s the best part: Monkey Kingdom will be released on September 15, 2015 and during the first week Disneynature will donate a portion of sales to Conservation International to help protect endangered species in their natural habitats.
There is also a helpful online pamphlet to assist in furthering the conservation conversation with kids in grades 2-6: Monkey Kingdom Educator’s Guide.
Monkey Kingdom is full of family fun and tenderness. It is narrated wonderfully by Tina Fey (human).
Take it for a swing.
Disneynature provided us with a copy of Monkey Kingdom for review purposes. All opinions are our own.
