Sunday, April 22, 2012

Talk About Primal!

Do you need a cuteness overload? Go see "Chimpanzee".
Yes, it's a Disney movie, and therefore dripping with hyper-processed sugary sweetness. Doesn't take away from how freakin' cool chimpanzees are! There were so many shots of the little one, Oscar, who's only about 3 years old over the course of the movie, sitting on the jungle floor, examining his surroundings with enormous eyes, and looking smarter (frankly) than most people I know. The movie shows how Oscar and his large extended family go through life; hunting for food, grooming, playing, fending off attacks from rival families, and most hysterically, cracking nuts. Who knew that chimps were capable of shtick comedy? Oscar hasn't quite mastered the technique, so when he has yet to crack one on his own, he grabs a long tree branch, thinking that will be easier to use than his former smaller branch, and proceeds to break the long branch in half... then breaks it again... then figures out that a rock would be a smarter idea... and then proceeds to bash the living snot out of the stump holding the nut in place... and the nutshell is still completely intact. Oscars toes, however...

It's beyond cool to watch them move. I'm jealous of how tough and sure-footed they are. They climb straight up trees and vines like it's nothing, as opposed to me, who thought that the rope in gym class was some kind of torture device. The strength they have in their rotator cuffs is ridiculous. Even Oscar is holding onto a vine with one hand, slowing spinning around, ass over head, staring at the ground.

What really impressed me was how effortlessly they used their surroundings as tools. They made treetop nests/beds in about two minutes, used twigs to eat as many ants as they pleased, and the older chimps made cracking nuts look simple (as opposed to the inexperienced youngsters), often getting them to split with only one attempt.

Chimps are cool, plain and simple.

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