From the team behind lockdown era hit Tiger King comes another documentary series about a really weird person with a really weird animal fixation. Will lightning strike twice, or does the ability to leave the house mean we’ll give it a miss?
How to watch Chimp Crazy in Australia
Chimp Crazy is streaming in New Zealand exclusively on Neon right now.
Chimp Crazy: Miniseries
What is Chimp Crazy about?
Over the course of four episodes, we follow the saga of Tonia Haddix, the “Dolly Parton of chimps”, a monkey-obsessed former nurse who got into a legal stoush with animal rights organisation PETA over the fate of a chimpanzee named Tonka, who featured in the movies George of the Jungle and Buddy. Ordered to surrender the ape to a sanctuary after he was found to mistreated, Haddix claimed he had died and been cremated, but that was far from the truth. What unfolds is another tale of eccentricity and obsession, along with a look at the weird world of chimp mums—women who raise baby chimps as if they were human children. It’s a whole thing.
Interestingly, it’s come to light that Haddix was misled as to the nature of the documentary series, and has said she never would have participated if she’d known it was going to take a dim view of exotic animal ownership. Whether lying to her or faking a chimp’s death is the greater crime is for the viewer to decide.
The cast of Chimp Crazy
Tonia Haddix, obviously, plus Alan Cumming, actor and animal rights activist, offers his two cents. He co-starred with Tonka in Buddy back in 1997.
Chimp Crazy trailer
Why we’re excited about Chimp Crazy
The correct response to anyone owning an adult chimpanzee is “have you lost your Goddamn mind?” Even if you’re not across the many horrifying chimp attacks that have occurred over the years, anyone who has seen Jordan Peele’s Nope should know that the horrifying opening sequence is remarkably accurate. So, expect some pretty horrifying stories of monkey violence mixed on with yet another account of a strange and very American subculture.
