Apr 22

Apr 22 'Orangutan' film review: Disneynature's latest takes to life in the jungle with playful primates

Disney's annual celebration of Earth Day follows a small community of great apes surviving remote jungles in the family-friendly documentary 'Orangutan' (streaming exclusively on Disney+ starting April 22).

In short: Josh Gad narrates the lives of a community of orangutans living in the high in the treetops of Southeast Asia, as one young adolescent orangutan navigates lives on her own for the first time.

Every Disneynature film should be compared to the the incredible 2005 documentary 'March of the Penguins' - which was the best nature documentary that Disneynature never made. That film's incredible blending of intimate, compelling storytelling and bold documentarian effort makes 'March of the Penguins' the benchmark by which all Disneynature features, released each year on Earth Day, should be judged.

With this baseline established, 'Orangutan' is a perfectly nice documentary for the family and pleasant entry in the Disneynature library. And given that it's the ultra-rare, nearly extinct species of film that is rated G, 'Orangutan' is well-designed for the streaming ecosystem wherein parents can present this sweet little film to their kids for Earth Day (as an alternative to watching some 'Paw Patrol' for the millionth time or whatever brainrot children are finding on YouTube).

'Orangutan' is set in a small corner of the jungles of Southeast Asia - a wonderous world filled with flying snakes, tigers and a small community of orangutans. The documentary captures the vibrant biodiversity of animals fighting for survival in the harsh and dangerous jungle.

The film follows young adolescent primate Indah, a young 'teen' who leaves the safety of life with her mother and infant brother to start her own life in the jungle. Meanwhile, the mother and infant must navigate the community's social moorings of orangutan life, as their lower status in the hierarchy only makes survival in the jungle more difficult.

With this framework, 'Orangutan' attempts to document three related elements of the Southeast Asia: Indah's journey, general orangutan life and the neighboring diverse variety of animals. The documentary is at its best when focusing on the Indah's first steps as a great ape spending her first year living away from her mother. The film goes out of its way to name Indah and various members of her orangutan community, which belies the film's intent of connecting the audience with these great apes.

But 'Orangutan' merely gives passing mention to most of the other animals of this jungle. Aside from a honey-hungry little jungle bear, these other animals are just briefly alluded to and remain unnamed. Simply put: they are not characters in this story. This is fine, except, 'Orangutan' aims to tell a story - and its efforts as a documentary meander when it deviates from its compelling story of oragutans fighting for suvival, only to mention that frogs and lizards also live in the jungle. This would be like making a documentary about a family living in any major city - then also mentioning that taxi cabs, rats and subways also exist in the city ... to tell a story that largely ignores said taxis, rodents or subways. It's world building ... without adding any actual complexity.

'Orangutan' is no 'March of the Penguins.' The stakes are not presented with any urgency - even though the film documents primates competing for basic food and water to survive. The score is OK but the licensed songs are distracting and will not date well.

Final verdict: 'Orangutan' an easy and light documentary for the family to enjoy - although this lightness means it will not resonate in the long-term like the very best nature documentaries.