Image Credit: WETA
Hey, hey, it’s the monkeys!
With just a few more days until monkeys overrule us all with their strength and enviable memory skills Rise of the Planet of the Apes (primate pun alert!) swings into theaters, we got to thinking about our all-time favorite monkey movies. While it’s long been acknowledged that monkeys = comedy gold (see: Every Which Way But Loose, this video), chimps have an even better track record on the big screen in drama, sci-fi, and action films.
Since we don’t know where Rise of the Planet of The Apes will rank in the pantheon of all-time great monkey movies (we will, however, venture to guess it will be high above Ed and Dunston Checks In) we want to know which flick you’ve gone bananas over in the past.
It’s hard to top the end-all, be-all of chimps, King Kong, both in the classic 1933 original and especially in Peter Jackson’s masterful 2005 re-telling. Then again, there’s the original 1968 version of The Planet of the Apes (sorry, Tim Burton), which includes the single greatest angry-at-monkeys line in cinema history.
Of course, just like here on planet Earth, there’s a whole bunch of different species in the movie chimp world: There’s documentary monkeys (2011′s Project Nim), Bill Paxton-befriending monkeys (1998′s Mighty Joe Young), and human-raising monkeys (1984′s Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan).
Still, there may be no movie that pays better homage or gives love to monkeys quite like 1988′s inspiring Gorillas in the Mist does. The film, which tells the amazing — albeit, tear jerking — story of zoologist Dian Fossey (played by an Oscar-nominated Sigourney Weaver) a woman who dedicated her life to the study and protection of the gentle giants, is our pick. Get it, pick?
So take our primate movie poll, PopWatchers, and tell us your all-time favorite? Or let us know in the comments section below if your favorite monkey movie, like Curious George, Congo, or Project X, was left out.
Read more:
‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ trailer with James Franco
‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ debuts four-second clip: Dramatic Ape!
‘Planet of the Apes’ prequel? I’d rather see Troy McClure’s ‘Planet of the Apes’ musical!
Hey, why DID you leave out “Project X”?
Yeah, I mainly clcicked on this article to see if Project X was a surevey choice and select it. Since it is not on the list, I didn’t vote.
sorry
Ditto. First primate movie that came to my mind was Project X.
Same reason I’m here. No Project X…no vote.
I competely agree…poor Virgil
Steel Magnolias
Wow, what a terrible article. Even Wikipedia knows the difference between monkeys and apes.
Seriously. Not to be THAT person, but having an advanced degree in physical anthropology, I can’t let the opportunity to point out that gorillas are NOT monkeys pass me by…
2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
The History of the World: Part 1
Ha ha, I absolutely second ‘History of the World Part 1′!!
I still don’t get it. How are apes going to take over the world? I mean us humans have guns and tanks and nukes!! Makes no sense at all.
‘Outbreak’. One tiny monkey having the ability to cause all that death? And he manages to look so cute doing it.
Those clips from Rise of the Planet of the Apes look a lot like The Powerpuff Girls Movie (2002), where Mojo Jojo and his fellow monkeys take over Townsville. This has the feel of a should-have-been-direct-to-video movie. What worked in the 1960s and 1970s will probably not sell in 2011.
“Monkey Shines.” A George Romero horror flick with a Fatal Attraction-type premise and an ape in the Glen Close role. So bad it’s good.
Does 2001: A Space Odyssey count? If it does I’d have to say that. If not I’d say the original Planet of the Apes.
Monty Python and the Holy Gorilla.
Congo!
I got so mad during King Kong (2005) This dude is fighting dinos and god knows what to save this little blond girl who ends up giving more attention to the danged monkey.
@ caiti
that’s his fault for being Captain Save A Ho.i could see if it was his wife,otherwise let the giant ape have her.
any movie with kate hudson is a monkey movie
Actually, any film with John Travolta is an ape movie. When he’s standing by the jukebox in Grease he looks like Cornelius in POTA.
Actually, any movie with any human is an ape movie. If we’re being scientifically accurate.
Duncan Checks In
I was hoping for Jungle Book.
The ORIGINAL ‘King Kong’ (March, 1933), The ORIGINAL ‘Mighty Joe Young’ (July, 1949).
What happened to them?!?!
The 1998 remake of Mighty Joe Young was better than the original.
The 2005 remake of King Kong was better than the original.
Sorry, while a great remake, will it stand the test of time?
The original 1933 is listed in the American Film Institute Top 100, and Top 100 thrills, *NOT* the remake.