Monkey Kingdom

Narrated by Tina Fey, the eighth Disneynature live-action eco-documentary—combining education with entertainment—follows a toque macaque monkey in Sri Lanka on her journey up the social ladder. Since Disney movie-makers routinely anthropomorphize animals, the heroine is “Maya,” who lives with her simian troop in an abandoned Buddhist temple overrun by jungle. Poor Maya is at the bottom of the social order: while Raja, the alpha male macaque, and a trio of his favored females can climb to the top of a fig tree and eat the ripest fruit, Maya and the other low-born must remain on the ground, foraging for scraps. One fine day, a male macaque named Kumar comes visiting (Fey dubs him “hunky monkey”). Kumar is banished by Raja but not before impregnating Maya, who gives birth to baby Kip. Soon afterwards, rival macaques invade, forcing Maya's tribe to explore neighboring terrain, including a nearby town. Using her ingenuity, feisty Maya finds favor, particularly when Kumar returns. Co-directed by Mark Linfield and Alastair Fothergill, Monkey Kingdom is an engaging nature film that also benefits from a fine score by Harry Gregson-Williams that includes The Monkees TV theme song. Recommended. [Note: Blu-ray/DVD Combo extras include the behind-the-scenes featurettes “Tales from the Kingdom” (12 min.), “The Conservation Story” (8 min.), and “On the Set” with conservationist Jane Goodall and scientific consultant Dr. Wolfgang Dittus” (6 min.), as well as “A Special Thank You from Disneynature” (2 min.), the “It's Our World” music video by Jacquie Lee, trailers, and a bonus digital copy of the film. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a winning nature documentary.] (S. Granger)