From Monkeys, Gorillas to Apes: Ranking Cinema’s Top Primate Films

Let’s take a whimsical stroll through the jungle of primate cinema, shall we?
Gorillas in the Mist, the touching tale from 1988 where Sigourney Weaver, fresh off her gig battling aliens, decides that hanging out with gorillas is a walk in the park. Who needs xenomorphs when you’ve got silverbacks, right?
We’re throwing it way back to 1939 with The Wizard of Oz. Remember those flying monkeys? Yeah, those nightmare fuel dispensers that ensured every child watching would never look at a monkey the same way again. Who needs a bedtime story when you’ve got these winged horrors?
Congo from 1988, featuring Amy, the gorilla who’s mastered sign language. “Me Amy,” she signs, proving you don’t need a vast vocabulary to be the star of a Hollywood movie. Just a few hand gestures, and you’re golden. Or should we say, gorilla?
The one, the only, KONG. He’s the big ape on campus, the king of Skull Island, and the guy who makes you wonder how much bananas cost by the ton. He’s got more charisma in his little finger (well, if you could find it under all that fur) than most leading men in Hollywood.
Planet of the Apes, nothing says “evolutionary oops” like a world where apes have outsmarted humans. It’s a humbling reminder that maybe, just maybe, being able to do complex math or invent the internet doesn’t mean we’re the smartest species. Especially if you can’t even ride a horse without getting outsmarted by an ape with a vendetta.
And there you have it, the top primate movies that remind us that perhaps, in the grand scheme of things, we’re all just a banana peel slip away from starring in our own absurd primate drama.