List of fictional primates in film

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This is a list of fictional primates in film, and is a subsidiary to the list of fictional primates. The list is restricted to notable non-human characters from in film including monkeys, lemurs, chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, gibbons, and other primates.

NameSpeciesOriginNotes
AbuMonkey Aladdin Aladdin's kleptomanic pet monkey.
Aldo Gorilla Planet of the Apes The leader of the gorilla factions (and the ape revolution, by extension) during the rise of the ape society prior to humanity's downfall, as the "lowest species" of the planet.
Amy Mountain gorilla Congo A gorilla which speaks using sign language and a translation device and accompanies an expedition into the Congo rainforest.
Blue Eyes Chimpanzee Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Son of Caesar and Cornelia, older brother of Cornelius, the husband of Lake and the crown prince of Caesar's ape colony. After being manipulated by Koba and betraying his father by joining Koba, he later changes sides and helps his father in his reign until he is killed by Colonel McCollough together with his mother.
BonzoChimpanzee Bedtime for Bonzo The subject of an attempt by a psychology professor (played by Ronald Reagan) to teach human morals to a chimpanzee in order to solve the "nature versus nurture" question.
Caesar Chimpanzee Planet of the Apes The leader (and chief instigator) of the ape revolution in the fourth entry, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes , and the ruler of Ape City in the fifth and final film, Battle for the Planet of the Apes. He was portrayed in both movies by actor Roddy McDowall, who had also played Cornelius. Along in Rise of the Planet of the Apes , played by actor Andy Serkis.
Chee-CheeGorilla Dolittle A nervous friend of Doctor Dolittle's. Voiced by Rami Malek
Cheeta Chimpanzee Tarzan A chimpanzee character appearing in numerous Hollywood Tarzan movies of the 1930s–1960s as well as the 1966–1968 television series, as the ape sidekick of the title character, Tarzan. Cheeta's role in these films is to provide comic relief, convey messages between Tarzan and his allies, and occasionally lead Tarzan's other animal friends to the ape-man's rescue.
Clyde Orangutan Every Which Way but Loose / Any Which Way You Can An Orangutan won in a bet by Clint Eastwood's character, Philo Beddoe, who helps him out in fist fights and looking for love.[ citation needed ]
CorneliusChimpanzee Planet of the Apes A chimpanzee archeologist, as well as Zira's fiance and Caesar's father. He later meets and befriends the astronauts George Taylor and Brent. When the Earth is destroyed, He and Zira escape into the past with Taylor's spaceship. There he is killed by Dr. Otto Hasslein.
CorneliusChimpanzee Dawn of the Planet of the Apes The youngest son of Caesar and Cornelia and the brother of Blue Eyes. After their deaths he becomes the sole heir to Caesar's throne.
Cornelius IIChimpanzee Battle for the Planet of the Apes The son of Caesar and his wife Lisa, named after his grandfather. After overhearing General Aldo and the gorillas planning to overthrow Caesar, he is killed by Aldo. His death later leads to Caesar killing Aldo out of revenge.
Dexter Capuchin monkey Night at the Museum An exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History which often plays tricks on the protagonist Larry Daley.
GeorgeGorilla Rampage George is an extraordinarily intelligent silverback gorilla who has been in the care of the movie's protagonist since he was young
GordyChimpanzee Nope A chimpanzee actor formerly starring in his own sitcom. One day he rampaged on the show's set, killing every actor except for the child actor Ricky "Jupe" Park before being killed by police forces. His story is likely losely based on the real-life story of the chimpanzee Travis. [1]
JackCapuchin monkey Pirates of the Caribbean Hector Barbossa's pet, mockingly named after Jack Sparrow and considered the meanest, most rotten-tempered simian in all of the Caribbean.
Jonny the Monkey Monkey Borat Most famous celebrity in Kazakhstan, according to Borat [2] [3] [4]
King Kong Gorilla King Kong A giant movie monster resembling a gorilla, that has appeared in several movies since 1933. These include the groundbreaking 1933 movie, the film remakes of 1976 and 2005, as well as various sequels of the first two films. The character has become one of the world's most famous movie icons and, as such, has transcended the medium.
King LouisOrangutan or Gigantopithecus The Jungle Book An ape who rules over monkeys, emulates humans and wishes to master firemaking.
Koba Bonobo Planet of the Apes A former test animal often abused by humans. Once a close ally of Caesar during the Ape Rebellion, he later becomes his greatest enemy after seeing his respect towards humans, and leads the apes to war with humanity. He is also in some degree responsible for the spread of the Simian Flu that leads to millions of deaths and the near-extinction of the human species.
ManisOrangutan Cannonball Run II An orangutan that can drive a car.
Mighty Joe YoungGorillaMighty Joe Young (1949) / (1998) An oversized gorilla in the care of Jill Young.
Mr. Nilsson Squirrel monkey Pippi Longstocking The pet of the titular character.
Orange JuiceOrangutan Life of Pi An orangutan which is transported by ship from India to Canada, and may represent Pi's mother in the story.
RafflesChimpanzee The Barefoot Executive A pet chimpanzee with the ability to pick hit TV shows.
Rafiki Mandrill The Lion King A wise mandrill involved in the traditions of the lion pride who leads Simba to return from exile. Unlike real mandrills, Rafiki has a tail.
SpikeCapuchin monkey Ace Ventura: Pet Detective Ace's pet and sidekick.
Dr. Zaius Orangutan Planet of the Apes An orangutan and although given a minor role devoid of dialogue in the novel, he becomes the main antagonist of the story in the subsequent film adaptation. Zaius was portrayed in the first and second films of the series by actor Maurice Evans.
ZiraChimpanzee Planet of the Apes A chimpanzee scientist experimenting with humans, as well as Cornelius' fiance and Caesar's mother. She later meets and befriends the astronauts George Taylor and Brent. When the Earth is destroyed, she and Cornelius escape into the past with Taylor's spaceship. There she is killed by Dr. Otto Hasslein.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Primate</span> Order of mammals

Primates are the members of a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians. Primates arose 85–55 million years ago first from small terrestrial mammals, which adapted to living in the trees of tropical forests: many primate characteristics represent adaptations to life in this challenging environment, including large brains, visual acuity, color vision, a shoulder girdle allowing a large degree of movement in the shoulder joint, and dexterous hands. Primates range in size from Madame Berthe's mouse lemur, which weighs 30 g (1 oz), to the eastern gorilla, weighing over 200 kg (440 lb). There are 376–524 species of living primates, depending on which classification is used. New primate species continue to be discovered: over 25 species were described in the 2000s, 36 in the 2010s, and six in the 2020s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ape</span> Branch of primates

Apes are a clade of Old World simians native to sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, which together with its sister group Cercopithecidae form the catarrhine clade, cladistically making them monkeys. Apes do not have tails due to a mutation of the TBXT gene. In traditional and non-scientific use, the term ape can include tailless primates taxonomically considered Cercopithecidae, and is thus not equivalent to the scientific taxon Hominoidea. There are two extant branches of the superfamily Hominoidea: the gibbons, or lesser apes; and the hominids, or great apes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New World monkey</span> Parvorder of mammals

New World monkeys are the five families of primates that are found in the tropical regions of Mexico, Central and South America: Callitrichidae, Cebidae, Aotidae, Pitheciidae, and Atelidae. The five families are ranked together as the Ceboidea, the only extant superfamily in the parvorder Platyrrhini.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catarrhini</span> Group of Old World monkeys and apes

The parvorder Catarrhini consists of the Cercopithecoidea and apes (Hominoidea). In 1812, Geoffroy grouped those two groups together and established the name Catarrhini, "Old World monkeys",. Its sister in the infraorder Simiiformes is the parvorder Platyrrhini. There has been some resistance to directly designate apes as monkeys despite the scientific evidence, so "Old World monkey" may be taken to mean the Cercopithecoidea or the Catarrhini. That apes are monkeys was already realized by Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in the 18th century. Linnaeus placed this group in 1758 together with what we now recognise as the tarsiers and the New World monkeys, in a single genus "Simia". The Catarrhini are all native to Africa and Asia. Members of this parvorder are called catarrhines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haplorhini</span> Suborder of primates

Haplorhini, the haplorhines or the "dry-nosed" primates is a suborder of primates containing the tarsiers and the simians, as sister of the Strepsirrhini ("moist-nosed"). The name is sometimes spelled Haplorrhini. The simians include catarrhines, and the platyrrhines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simian</span> Infraorder of primates

The simians, anthropoids, or higher primates are an infraorder of primates containing all animals traditionally called monkeys and apes. More precisely, they consist of the parvorders Platyrrhini and Catarrhini, the latter of which consists of the family Cercopithecidae and the superfamily Hominoidea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capuchin monkey</span> Subfamily of New World monkeys

The capuchin monkeys are New World monkeys of the subfamily Cebinae. They are readily identified as the "organ grinder" monkey, and have been used in many movies and television shows. The range of capuchin monkeys includes some tropical forests in Central America and South America as far south as northern Argentina. In Central America, where they are called white-faced monkeys ("carablanca"), they usually occupy the wet lowland forests on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica and Panama and deciduous dry forest on the Pacific coast.

The Emory National Primate Research Center located in Atlanta, Georgia, owned by Emory University, is a center of biomedical and behavioral research, is dedicated to improving human and animal health, and is the oldest of seven National Primate Research Centers partially funded by the National Institutes of Health. It is known for its nationally and internationally recognized biomedical and behavioral studies with nonhuman primates by Emory University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pet monkey</span> Monkey kept as a pet

A pet monkey is a monkey kept as a pet. The practice of keeping monkeys as pets is controversial.

Shamrock Farm was the United Kingdom's only non-human primate importation and quarantine centre, located in Small Dole, near Henfield in West Sussex. The centre, owned by Bausch and Lomb and run by Charles River Laboratories, Inc. for Shamrock (GB) Ltd, provided animals to various laboratories and universities for use in animal testing. It was Europe's largest supplier of primates to laboratories, and held up to 350 monkeys at a time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monkey</span> Animal of the "higher primates" (the simians), but excluding the apes

Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes. Thus monkeys, in that sense, constitute an incomplete paraphyletic grouping; however, in the broader sense based on cladistics, apes (Hominoidea) are also included, making the terms monkeys and simians synonyms in regard to their scope.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beppo (comics)</span> Comics character

Beppo is a monkey superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, primarily those featuring Superman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monkey Jungle</span> Zoological park in Miami, Florida

Monkey Jungle is a 30-acre (12 ha) primatarium and zoological park located in South Miami, Florida. Established in 1933 by Joseph DuMond for the exhibition and study of endangered monkeys in semi-natural habitats after releasing 6 Java Macaques into a subtropical forest, the park is now home to over 300 primates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Animal testing on non-human primates</span> Experimentation using other primate animals

Experiments involving non-human primates (NHPs) include toxicity testing for medical and non-medical substances; studies of infectious disease, such as HIV and hepatitis; neurological studies; behavior and cognition; reproduction; genetics; and xenotransplantation. Around 65,000 NHPs are used every year in the United States, and around 7,000 across the European Union. Most are purpose-bred, while some are caught in the wild.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-and-white snub-nosed monkey</span> Species of Old World monkey

The black-and-white snub-nosed monkey, also known as the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey, is a large black and white primate that lives only in the southern Chinese province of Yunnan, where it is known to the locals as the Yunnan golden hair monkey and the black-and-white snub-nosed monkey (黑白仰鼻猴). The common name, black snub-nosed monkey, is issued to Rhinopithecus strykeri, inhabiting the Northern Sino-Myanmar border. Coniferous and deciduous forests in the mountainous regions of Yunnan are the ideal terrain for these primates. It is threatened by habitat loss, and is considered an endangered species. With their unique adaptations to their environment, these monkeys thrive at extreme altitudes despite the below freezing temperatures and thin air. This primate's diet is mainly made up of the large amounts of lichens available in their region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Myanmar snub-nosed monkey</span> Species of Old World monkey

The Myanmar snub-nosed monkey or Burmese snub-nosed monkey or black snub-nosed monkey is a critically endangered species of colobine monkey discovered in 2010 in northern Burma (Myanmar). It was formally described as a novel species of primate in 2011 based on its fur, beard and tail. Two groups of the species were discovered in China in 2011 and 2015, respectively.

This is a list of lists of notable fictional animals.

References

  1. "Is Nope's Gordy Attack Based On A True Story?". ScreenRant. 2022-08-05. Retrieved 2023-07-05.
  2. Jonny the Monkey
  3. "Vanity Fair")
  4. Jonny Monkey opening skit of "Saturday Night Live"