Monkey Kingdom is 'funny, beautiful and touching'

Monkey Kingdomswings into theatres this weekend, tempting audiences with a simian struggle for survivaljust in time for Earth Day.

The filmis the latest family-friendly nature film from Disneynature, the samestudio behind the dramatized documentariesChimpanzee andBears.

This time, the story centres on a family ofmacaque monkeys in Sri Lanka but thestars of the show are young motherMaya and her curious newborn, Kip.

Comedic actress Tina Fey narrates thejourney that sees the creatures forced toflee their jungle home.

The result is a story that is "funny, beautiful and touching," says CBC's film critic Eli Glasner, though he warns thatadults may struggle with the obviousanthropomorphizing of the animals.

In certain scenes, "the documentary illusionis stretched to the breaking point," says Glasner, "especially a sequence where the monkeysdiscover a birthday cake and have a party all their own."

Watch Eli's full review in the video above.

Monkey Kingdom starts in theatres on Friday. Earth Day is observed in Canada on April 22.