9. ‘28 Days Later’ (2002)
Chimpanzees play a brief but pivotal role in this post-apocalyptic horror film directed by Oscar-winner Danny Boyle. A group of pesky animal-liberation activists break into a research laboratory, and, with their high ideals and total lack of foresight, free the caged chimps and unleash a deadly, highly contagious virus on the U.K. — one bite turns the infected into a flesh-eating monster. It was a pioneering film of the early digital age, making creative use of the poor video quality. The small, maneuverable cameras also helped the crew film in eerily empty London streets early in the morning, heightening the sense of desolation and despair.
8. ‘Gorillas in the Mist’ (1988)
Sigourney Weaver didn’t spend all of the ‘80s battling aliens and ghosts. She scored a Golden Globe (and an Oscar nomination) for her portrayal of Dian Fossey, an American zoologist who famously studied gorillas in Africa and fought to protect the endangered animals. Weaver’s portrayal of Fossey is a portrait of strength and resolve, bravely taking on brutal nature and an even more heartless foe — her fellow man.
7. ‘Aladdin’ (1992)
This is the most formulaic film of the Disney Renaissance, but its ace in the hole is Robin Williams. The often imitated but never duplicated Genie of the lamp gave the madcap actor an outlet to be his most Robin Williamsy and break out anachronistic celebrity impressions and pop cultural references at will. And Aladdin never would have found him if it weren’t for Abu, his fez- and vest-wearing kleptomaniac monkey partner-incrime. Nobody does sidekicks better than Disney, and this plucky monkey communicates in screeches and squeals and has more personality than most characters in other animated films.
The last animated film produced by Walt Disney before his death in 1966 was “The Jungle Book,” inspired (rather loosely) by Rudyard Kipling’s tales of a feral Indian boy named Mowgli who lives amongst the animals. One of those animals is King Louie (voiced by Louis Prima, the King of Swing), an orangutan who wants to be human and learn the secret of fire, as expressed in the swingin’ song “I Wan’na Be Like You (The Monkey Song)” that gets every animal jammin’.
Stanley Kubrick’s cinematic genius peaked with “2001,” and the technical wizardry on display in this top contender for all-time-best science-fiction film, released one year before the first moon landing, still astounds. And the imagery has left an indelible pop-culture impact: the black monolith, Hal 9000’s glowing red eye, the floating space fetus. But it’s the earthbound opening segment, “The Dawn of Man,” that’s left the most visceral, unsettling impact, as an apelike primate takes a bone in hand and, with a revelation, begins using it to crush animal skulls to the swells of “Also Sprach Zarathustra.”
It’s an icon for a reason. There’s the fact that it was a hugely ambitious special-effects spectacle when it was made, a treasure-trove of stop-motion animation complete with Kong fighting a T. rex. There’s nothing not cool about that, but the film is more than just the sum of its groundbreaking special effects (if that’s all it took, we’d hold Peter Jackson’s 2005 remake in much higher esteem). There’s real emotional heft to the plight of the film’s island-dwelling giant ape, who comes to New York City in chains to be gawked at and plummets in its pursuit of beauty.