The chimpanzees that performed in Planet of the Apes were later discarded to a roadside zoo. But as the world turns, compassion for animals multiples. The recent Rise of the Planet of the Apes used no chimpanzees. Andy Serkis plays the main one, and he and director Rupert Wyatt encourage kindness to animals. The movie is pro-animal rights, and gives perfect sense to Roger Fouts’ commitment:
By the time I turned fifty, I knew I wanted to be judged not by what I wrote in scientific journals about chimpanzees but by what I did for them.
(Quoted on page 51 of The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary, by Andrew Westoll. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011.)
For a brief biography of Andrew Westoll, click here. For a shameful example of what too often happens to chimpanzees that act in movies, click here.
For a brief biography of Roger Fouts, click here. For images of or relating to Roger Fouts, click here.
For a brief biography of Andy Serkis, click here. For images of or relating to Andy Serkis, click here.
For a brief biography of Rupert Wyatt, click here. For the transcript of an interview of Rupert Wyatt about Rise of the Planet of the Apes, click here.
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