Monkey Kingdom

In a forest in Sri Lanka stand the ruins of an old temple. A troop of monkeys lives there. The troop has a strict order: those of high rank sit on the upper branches and reach the food first; those below stay on the ground and make do with what is left. Maya is a female of low rank. She has an infant and has to find enough food for it. In the same period another troop attacks, and the group leaves the temple and comes down into the city. Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield direct. Tina Fey narrates. The documentary dates from 2015. It belongs to a studio's series of nature documentaries, which releases a film every year. Its method rests on observational filming while the narration is constructed; the animals are given names and events are told as a story. That method is contested; naturalists say such narration humanises animal behaviour. The filming ran long; the crew stayed months with the same troop and the amount of footage gathered was large. The section where the monkeys come into the city is its most cited part and shows the strength of the real footage. The hierarchy of toque macaques is real and known from research; the narrative uses that knowledge correctly. Who it is for: viewers who like nature documentary and productions suitable for family viewing. Who it is not for: the narration humanises, there is too much of it, and the scientific content is shallow.