Netflix is bringing the wildlife home through its new docuseries Chimp Empire. Directed by Academy Award-winning James Reed, who also directed My Octopus Teacher, this docuseries features the Academy Award-winning actor Mahershala Ali, who will be the narrator in this series. This deep, resounding voice and gravitas will give our closest relatives a depth we hadn’t expected from them before. In this episodic documentary, viewers are expected to get an inner look into the hierarchies of the chimpanzees in the wildlife parks of Uganda.
Chimp Empire Plot/Synopsis
The trailer starts with so much depth already, with the first shot being a direct look into the camera. The narrator starts off by explaining how the animals are essentially our distant cousins. We share 98% of our DNA with them. He further goes on to explain how our traits parallel those within the animal, whether it be the best or the worst. The music has added a layer of tenacity to this species, ones we have no qualms making fun of (at least until Nope came out).
For the Ngogo chimps in Uganda at the Kibale National Park, there is a community. A community of about 120 chimpanzees. When Reed came onto the project, the group had started to split. He found it absolutely fascinating that the community had ceremoniously split, and now it was in the air whether the group would fight or reconcile happily. James Reed explains how fascinated he was with this development and knew he had to start this conversation.
Like all civilisations, the chimps, too, have their own social structures. They function in a hierarchy, and this can be contested so easily. The filmmaking crew followed these chimps in the forest for a year tracking the two factions at odds with each other: The Central group, and the Western group. Scientists are surprised at such a dramatic altercation taking place in the forest. In fact, the chimps have their own border patrol guards and keep their rivalry extremely alive among each other.
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Mahershala Ali’s voice is the linchpin in this documentary that captures the dramatic intensity of what is happening in the Ngogo rainforest. As the four-part documentary series progresses, we get to see what happens throughout the year in this rainforest, tagging along with the chimpanzees on this ride for annexure or negotiation. This writer might not know about anyone else, but a show exploring the sociological structures of a non-human species is fantastic to watch. Not only that, the involvement of such talented individuals in telling this story is what makes this project even more interesting to look out for.
Chimp Empire Release Date and Trailer
Chimp Empire will be streaming on Netflix from April 19, 2023. What are you most excited to see in this documentary? Let us know in the comments below.
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