Fake Apes Take the Cake

Mark your calendars for August 5 in order to be first in line to buy tickets for the highly anticipated Rise of the Planet of the Apes—because no primates were used, harmed, or exploited in the making of the film. Producers 20th Century Fox and director Rupert Wyatt used exclusively computer-generated imagery (CGI), and not a single chimpanzee, orangutan, or monkey had to suffer the stress of behind-the-scenes beatings, confinement to cramped cages, and performing confusing tricks “on cue.”

Says Wyatt, “Personally, I had moral problems with the idea of using chimps.” An article in The Independent calls the “impressive” CGI apes a “highlight” of the film.

Do Wyatt and 20th Century Fox pull it off? Watch the trailer and judge for yourself:

Written by Jennifer O’Connor