Film

A Monkey's Tale (1999)

Director: Jean-François Laguionie

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

Centuries ago, a once happy tribe of monkeys was split asunder by a cataclysmic flood. Today, one half - the Woonkos - live in the jungle canopy, and other half - the Laankos - on terra firma. They despise each other. Then a gregarious young whippersnapper called Kom falls from the Woonkos' tree-top world into the hands of their arch enemy, charms the pants off them, and begins to sow a few seeds of peace, love and understanding. A happy reunion is inevitable. You can't knock the message - communication, racial harmony, interaction, oneness - but it's all so glaringly obvious, so contrived, so PC. Brits Hurt and Mayall do their darndest to inject some character into their parts, but truth is, the makers of this Euro production could have hired anyone. As for the naff animation, characters look like they're sketched in crayon, backgrounds like bleached-out watercolours. Even Westlife get a look in with an unappealing song called 'We Are One'.

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