Monkeys and Apes

VHS cover

Monkeys and Apes is the thirteenth and final episode of the second season of Amazing Animals. The plot revolves around Henry planning to film a documentary about primates. It first aired on the Disney Channel on 8th July 1997.

## Episode

### Episode outline

Click here for the full transcript for Monkeys and Apes.

The narrator meets Henry while he is swinging through the trees from vines, only to fall when the jungle disappears. While Henry says he wants to be an ape-lizard, the narrator tells him he doesn’t have what it takes to be a primate. When Henry asks why all primates can’t simply be called monkeys, the narrator says there are several different groups – these include lemurs, monkeys, prosimians and apes, the latter group including humans. While monkeys generally have tails and apes don’t there are exceptions, with Henry confused by the tailless Barbary macaque monkey.

#### First cartoon

* The Lizards are sitting and trying to film the Gibbons for a documentary. When the Gibbons do nothing, the Lizard director instructs his crew to leave. The Gibbons immediately start doing gymnastics in the branches, with Tiger, Frog, Vulture and Rattlesnake all watching and giving them four 10 scores for their routine.

Henry tries his hand at swinging, but the narrator says that he couldn’t match the primates for climbing. Henry tries to hang from his tail and immediately falls. The narrator says that the spider monkey has an advantage because of its prehensile tail. The orangutan lacks a tail but is able to climb with great agility – however, as they age, their great weight means they can injure themselves by falling out of trees. While sifaka lemurs are adapted to move in trees, they have to come down to the ground occasionally and move with a hopping dance. Henry is now reminded about his Special Report, which is supposed to be about gibbons. Henry talks about gibbons singing to their girlfriends, but getting signed up to a record company and forming a band. Eventually, they miss their girlfriends so much that they go back to the forest again. The narrator gives Henry an A for effort, saying he was nearly right – gibbon pairs do sing to one another both to reaffirm their bond and remain in touch in dense forest. Henry says the story is so beautiful that it should be in the movies, and then gets the idea to make a film about monkeys and apes. The narrator wishes Henry luck.

#### Second cartoon

* The four Gibbons are sitting around and singing when the Lizards’ truck pulls up and the Lizard film crew gets out. The Gibbons immediately stop singing and laze about, so the Lizard director calls the cut again. Once the Lizards have got into their truck and driven away, the Gibbons start singing a barbershop quartet.

Henry has placed a hidden camera under a pizza to try and attract primates to film. The narrator tells him that primates don’t eat pizza, which Henry finds difficult to believe. The diets of several different primates are shown, including the nocturnal bushbaby that feeds on insects, the ring-tailed lemur which feeds mainly on fruits and leaves and the colobus monkey that feeds on leaves. The leaves give the colobus flatulence, which makes Henry reconsider working with them as he considers himself a professional.

#### Third cartoon

* The Lizards try to get the Gibbons to partake in a tea party, but when they trash the table the Lizard director gets frustrated and the crew leaves. Once they have gone, the Gibbons change into suits and share wine while one of them plays a violin.

Henry tries to interview a mandrill, but is frustrated by the lack of response. The narrator explains that primates do not communicate the way that humans do. The gelada lives in huge groups that require communication, but do all their talking without making a sound and instead communicate through body posture and facial expressions. Grooming also allows the geladas to know their place in society and make friends. Japanese macaques in the high snowy mountains keep warm by bathing in volcanic hot springs.

#### Fourth cartoon

* The Gibbons are sitting around when the Lizards turn up to try and film them. When the director Lizard shouts action, the Gibbons start dancing. The director is happy, but one of the Gibbons swings in and steals the camera. The Lizards chase the four Gibbons, until they end up crashing into each other.

Henry now does the Golden Gecko Awards. The bronze medal goes to the ring-tailed lemur and the silver medal to the gibbon. But the Golden Gecko Award is given to the chimpanzee, which is the smartest of the non-human primates, the closest relative of humans and one of the few animals able to use tools.

#### Fifth cartoon

* The Gibbons go out to try and film the Gorilla. It seems shy at first, but the Gibbons try to encourage it to perform for the camera. When the Gibbons are all doing monkey impressions, the Gorilla unzips itself to reveal that it is a costume worn by the three Lizards to get their camera back. The Gibbons briefly pause to watch the Lizards run off with the camera and continue to dance.

Henry has a large map covered with flags, which he explains to the narrator is helping him choose where to shoot his film. He decides against filming the howler monkeys of Central America because they are too loud, and the Barbary macaques on Gibraltar because there are too many tourists. He finally settles on filming mountain gorillas in Africa. Henry starts filming the gorillas while doing a David Attenborough impression, but accidentally insults the silverback by staring it in the eye. Unless they are threatened, they are actually very gentle creatures. After this experience, Henry decides that being a wildlife cameraman is too dangerous for him. As Henry is packing up, he slips on a banana peel. While the narrator finds it funny Henry doesn’t and calls cut, ending the episode.

## Animal species filmed for the programme

### Studio footage

* Ring-tailed lemur, *Lemur catta*
* Siamang, *Symphalangus syndactylus*
* Mandrill, *Mandrillus sphinx*
* Green-winged macaw, *Ara chloropterus*
* Western lowland gorilla, *Gorilla gorilla gorilla*
* Chimpanzee, *Pan troglodytes*
* Central American spider monkey, *Ateles geoffroyi*
* Black-and-white ruffed lemur, *Varecia variegata*
* Common marmoset, *Callithrix jacchus*

### Stock footage

* Verreaux’s sifaka, *Propithecus verreauxi*
* Barbary macaque, *Macaca sylvanus*
* Proboscis monkey, *Nasalis larvatus*
* Sulawesi tarsier, *Tarsius spectrum*
* Brown greater bushbaby, *Otolemur crassicaudatus*
* Japanese macaque, *Macaca fuscata*
* Central American spider monkey, *Ateles geoffroyi*
* Bornean orangutan, *Pongo pygmaeus*
* Chimpanzee, *Pan troglodytes*
* Gelada, *Theropithecus gelada*
* Lar gibbon, *Hylobates lar*
* Ring-tailed lemur, *Lemur catta*
* White-fronted capuchin monkey, *Cebus albifrons*
* Southern lesser bushbaby, *Galago moholi*
* Migratory locust, *Locusta migratoria*
* Mantled geureza, *Colobus guereza*
* Guatemalan black howler monkey, *Alouatta pigra*
* Mountain gorilla, *Gorilla beringei beringei*

## Credits

* Henry - Eric Meyers
* Narrator - Tom Clarke-Hill
* Writer - Alastair Swinnerton
* Script Editor - Jennifer Lupinacci
* Music - David Poore
* Director - Anne Neale
* Graphic Designer - Kate Beldon
* Graphic Design Assistant - Emma Rigney
* Researcher - Michael Hutchinson
* Production Co-ordinator - Esta Porter
* Post-Production Co-ordinator - Liz Lewin
* Production Secretary - Vivienne Mackay
* Production Team - Steve Cronick, Pauline Davis, Sam Evans, Susan Hubble and Dominic Weston
* Camera - Andy Shillabeer
* Additional Camera - Graham MacFarlane
* Computer Animation - Ricochet 4 and Daniel Pearson
* Computer Animation Director - Henry Lutman
* Cell Animation - A for Animation
* Cell Animation Director - Mark Taylor
* Sound Editor - James Pursey
* Dubbing Mixer - Andrew Wilson
* Editors
	+ Offline - David Hindmarsh and Vincent Pipe
	+ Graphics - Sue Land
	+ Online - Sharon Stiles

## Home media releases

The VHS for Amazing Monkeys and Apes was released on 3rd November 1997. The cover shows Henry hanging upside-down from a vine by his tail, and he is accompanied by an orangutan, a silverback Western lowland gorilla and a mother and baby Lowe’s monkey. An alternative version of the cover removes the Dorling Kindersley Vision logo and replaces it with a pair of baby chimpanzees.

The spine of the VHS has a photograph of a tufted capuchin, while the back cover has a photograph of a black-and-white ruffed lemur.

The blurb on the back cover of the VHS reads:

**Who’s the real king of the jungle swingers? Why should you never look a gorilla in the eye?**

“HEY – WHERE DID THE JUNGLE GO?!”

Henry goes bananas and swings into action with his very own movie on MONKEYS AND APES, to find out what makes a gibbon sing and a howler monkey howl.

Alternative Monkeys and Apes VHS cover

**Cartoon Characters**: \* Eagles • Tyrannosaurus • Rattlesnake • Tiger • Squirrel • Lizards • Elephant • Bat • Fish • Camel • Gorilla • Caveman • Mole • Bear • Stickman • Chicks • Hen • Rooster • Owl • Chameleon • Tortoise • Crocodile • Frog and Toad •
• Parrot • Porcupine • Mouse • Whale • Rhinoceros • Beavers • Snail • Rabbit • Dog • Skunk • Spider • Octopus • Vulture • Woodpecker • Flea • Dung Beetle • Butterfly • Gibbon • Fly • Mosquito • Bee • Beetles • Crab • Pigeon • Carnivorous Plant • Lamb

**Voice Actors**: Eric Meyers • Tom Clarke-Hill
**Season One**: Tropical Birds • Animal Disguises • Nighttime Animals • Animal Appetites • Animal Survivors • Animal Senses • Animal Weapons • Animal Builders • Armoured Animals • Mini-Beasts • Animal Babies • Poisonous Animals • Animal Journeys
**Season Two**: Birds of Prey • Desert Animals (Amazing Animals) • Scary Animals • Animal Records • Animal Colors • Animal Mothers • Animal Pets • Seashore Animals • Animal Families • Endangered Animals • An Animal Year • Prehistoric Animals • **Monkeys and Apes**
**Season Three**: Animal Hunters • Animal Talk • Slimy Animals • Rainforest Animals • Animal Acrobats • Underwater Animals • Animal Neighbors • Giant Animals - Creepy Crawly Animals • Farm Animals (Amazing Animals) • Animal Changes • Extinct Animals • Animal Eggs
**Season Four**: Around the World • Polar Animals • Clever Animals • Underground Animals • Animal Helpers • Woodland Animals (Amazing Animals) • Mountain Animals • Backyard Animals • Tiny Animals • Animal Partners • Scaly Animals • River Animals • Animal Flight