Disneynature's Chimpanzee takes viewers on a journey deep into the Taï Forest of Africa and follows the remarkable story of an adorable young chimpanzee named Oscar. Oscar’s playful nature, curiosity and determination serve him well as he learns, grows and adapts. Oscar's happy childhood is interrupted by tragedy, but an incredibly unexpected show of compassion saves Oscar's life and proves just how worthwhile and inspiring theses kinds of films can be.
As you can imagine, the making of a movie about chimpanzees in the wilds of the rainforest is quite an undertaking. Filmmakers spent some 700 days over the course of about three and a half years filming the animals, and the project was not without some seemingly insurmountable challenges. But through ingenuity, perseverance and sheer determination, along with a little luck, directors Alastair Fothergill, Mark Linfield and their team were able to bring an amazing and remote true life story to the big screen.
Now the whole process started with a recon trip called a "recce." Filmmakers went to the Ivory Coast to shoot some footage and figure out if there was a story they could tell. Director Mark Linfield tells a little bit about the process:
When we first went to Disney, we had a script for the movie, because you sort of have to have one in order to get a commission. And, we had a storyline which was centered on a young female who had just had a daughter. And the young female was called Sumatra, and the young female had just been born, and these are the chimpanzees we met on our reconissance trip to the Ivory Coast back in 2008.
And we went out there with a camera crew and started to try and film Sumatra, and she turned out to be camera shy. It sounds like a trivial thing, but literally, every time we took the camera out of the bag, she would just turn her back on us and disappear into the underbrush. And we thought hey, she’ll get better in time, don’t worry about it. And she never did.
That’s just one of the things about chimpanzees. They are so like us, that they have all of these quirks and foibles that humans have, and some of them don’t like cameras. Some of them do. She didn’t.
That challenge turned out to be one of those times when luck played a heavy part. The original story didn't work out, but along came a new little star...
The Making of Chimpanzee - About Oscar
When the original star of Chimpanzee refused to take the role, filmmakers were stuck in the rainforest without a story. But, as Mark Linfield relates, a newcomer auditioned for the part:
So, whilst we were figuring out what to do, little Oscar came into the forest, being a chimpanzee that was just always at the center of things, always fun, always exciting. So, we started to film Oscar. And of course, at that stage we had no idea that Oscar was going to have such an amazingly eventful life. And that’s the thing with all of our films, you know, sometimes you just get lucky. We were unlucky that Sumatra was camera shy, and then we were lucky that Oscar turned out to have the more eventful life than Sumatra. Interestingly, had Sumatra not be camera shy, we would have followed her story, and actually nothing interesting happened to her in the course of the three years that we were making the movie. [laughs]
So, little Oscar and his devoted mother became the new focus of the film. While it was still very difficult to get good shots of active chimpanzees in the dark rainforest, Oscar (whose name was borrowed from another Chimp in the group) was a little more cooperative.
One challenge, down, but of course, that was only the beginning, again. Now hot on the trail of a new story, filmmakers had to overcome all of the challenges of filming in the rainforest. They used cameras on zip lines to follow the action. They tried to keep up with the fast and powerful chimps, who didn't see any reason to make things easy. The filmmakers followed rules, like staying at least 23 feet away and wearing face masks so the chimps wouldn't be exposed to human illnesses. But, who protected the filmmakers?
The Making of Chimpanzee - Enemy Raids
While Chimpanzee filmmakers certainly got plenty of shots of the chimpanzees playing, learning, teaching, sleeping, and more, there is also incredible footage of the chimps hunting and fighting. How did the team stay safe amidst all of those warring animals? Mark told us about witnessing the fighting first-hand:
It’s very scary, even though you know they won’t hurt you -- and they don’t, because these chimpanzees are very used to scientists. They just ignore people. They’re so into each other when they’re doing these raids. They’re so focused on each other, that they’re just not interested in you.
But just being there, with the adrenaline and the testosterone in the air, and them tearing around within inches of you...it’s scary. You just think, oh my God, what if they mistake me for a tree and plow through me.
You often hear that chimpanzees are 4 or 5 times stronger than humans, and really, I suspect that it’s true. When you see the way they handle themselves, and smash through the undergrowth, and just climb up trees using a single hand. You think, my God, that is true. They are so powerful. The truth is, they could do you terrible damage. They never do, but it’s scary.
Thankfully, the enormously powerful chimpanzees were good with the filmmakers being there, but what about the other inhabitants of the rainforest?
The Making of Chimpanzee - Dangers in the Rainforest
Pictured here, Director Mark Linfield, Principal Photographer Bill Wallauer, and camera assistant Ed Anderson focus on the chimps as they try to capture the lives of these amazing animals for Chimpanzee. But, chimps aren't the only animals in the rainforest. From leopards and snakes, to all kinds of bugs and bees, many of the rainforests fascinating creatures can be unfriendly to humans, can't they?
I was curious about what was the most dangerous part of filming in the rainforest. Here's what director Mark Linfield told me:
You know, we’ve all been filming in rainforests so long, perhaps snakes and scorpions and army ants are sort of normal for us now. But in reality, almost everywhere in the world, the most dangerous things out there are people.
We had to abandon the film at least once becasuse of political uprisings in the Ivory Coast. You know, you have teenagers wandering around with AK-47s –- that’s dangerous, not the snake.
It’s dangerous. West Africa is not the safest place. And, chimpanzees have obviously got – it sounds like a cliché, but chimpanzees have got far more to worry about from us than we have from them. Actually, from a filmmakers perspective, the most worrying thing would be other people’s political uprisings. There’s guns everywhere, and poachers.
Though, probably one of the most dangerous things in the rainforest is falling trees, falling wood. You know, if you’re asleep in your camp at night and a tree falls on it, that is quite serious. There is also a small chance of snake bite, and that’s dangerous, because you’re so remote. The chance of getting medical assistance in a useful amount of time is very slight, so you just have to keep your eyes peeled. Most of the insects and things that seem to suck your blood or bite your round the clock -- to be honest, they’re an annoyance more than being life threatening.
The filmmakers hung out and slept in an open camp -- no fences or anything to keep the wildlife out. In the closing credits you can see them walking along with bees swarming around their heads. In the coffee table book Chimpanzee: The Making of the Film, you can see photos of snakes, leopards and more. But I have to agree, teenagers with AK-47s would be worse.
Through all of the challenges, dangers and more, the filmmakers survived over three years trekking back and forth from home to Africa and all around the rainforest. What was it like to say goodbye to their family of chimp friends filming for Chimpanzee was complete?
It was really difficult, actually, leaving all of the chimpanzees. It’s funny, it’s just like filming a human drama. So much like us. They just have so many sort of human-type traits and characters. And so when you’re filming them, it really does feel like you’re making a human drama, and that means you get attached to them. You get attached to their stories, and just, how things are unfolding for them. So when you go, you do wonder how they’re all doing.
We have reunions every now and again, the chimpanzee filming crew, and we often sit and reminisce and wonder what they’re up to or how they’re doing.After watching the film, we will all be wondering how they are doing as well. And, after being allowed, through the work of these amazing people, to experience the most remote areas of the world and see what life is like for some of the most exotic creatures, we might wonder how they're all doing...
With such a wealth of experience in filming animals around the world, is director Mark Linfield hopeful for the future of our planet and it's many varied and beautiful inhabitants both human and non-human? He says:
I know the answer that I’d like to give. I’d like to say that I’m very hopeful. One of the reasons I’m kind of a little bit hopeful, is that lots of children and young people I speak to sound incredibly fired up to save the planet and to change things -- much more than my parents were. And that probably is the main hope that I have.
Practically, if you were to be ruthlessly objective and just look at statistics, you would be a bit pessimistic. But I think when you talk to young people, and you see how quickly they respond to chimpanzees, having watched a chimp move, you think, well, maybe there is a hope. But one thing I know for sure, is that we’ve absolutely gotta try as hard as we can, and I definitely see more of the will amongst young people to do that than I saw in my generation and definitely in my parent’s generation, so that is good.
It’s interesting as well, people like Jane Goodall with the whole Roots and Shoots campaign, is doing amazing work just concentrating on the next generation and getting people outside connecting to nature and stuff. People need to actually realize what’s at stake. I think one of the difficlut things is, if you’re in front of a computer all day long or you have a very urban life, without people like Jane or without movies like this [Chimpanzee], it’s actually hard for people to know what they stand to lose.More Chimpanzee Related Articles from Around About.com:
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- Jane Goodall Quotes
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- Jane's Journey: Documentary Review