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Season 1 – Chimp Crazy

Play trailer 2:19 Poster for Season 1 – Chimp Crazy 2024 Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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86% Tomatometer 29 Reviews 88% Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings
Former nurse-turned-exotic-animal-broker Tonia Haddix spends her days caring for animals in captivity, referring to herself as the "Dolly Parton of chimps." However, her limitless love for one chimpanzee spins into a wild cat-and-mouse game with authorities and an animal rights group. Through the experiences of Tonia and other "chimp moms," "Chimp Crazy" is a series that reveals the bonds between owners and their highly intelligent great ape pets, as well as the risks to the welfare of the animals themselves.
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Chimp Crazy — Season 1

Chimp Crazy — Season 1

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Critics Consensus

Another uncomfortable trip down the exotic pet rabbit hole from Tiger King documentarian Eric Goode, Chimp Crazy will have viewers going bananas even when they have to watch through their fingers.

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Critics Reviews

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Keith Watson Daily Telegraph (UK) The end result felt deeply depressing... Haddix and the rest of the chimpanzee fanciers featured need help, not exposure in a four-hour documentary series that shamelessly takes the moral high ground despite being built on shaky foundations. Rated: 2/5 Oct 7, 2024 Full Review Lucy Mangan Guardian The moral inadequacies, dearth of empathy, denialism of various people who appear, and the evident suffering of the chimps makes you long for a reckoning rather than just a rescue. Rated: 2/5 Oct 7, 2024 Full Review Kelly Lawler USA Today It's hard to classify "Chimp" as "good" or "bad" when it is mostly just deeply unsettling and upsetting. Rated: 1/4 Oct 3, 2024 Full Review James Croot The Post NZ Anyone who has ever wondered about the ethical dilemmas film-makers face while “following the story”? Exhibit A is right here. Oct 9, 2024 Full Review Steve Murray ArtsATL Everything you may have heard about Chimp Crazy is true -- it’s the OMFG watch of the season. Oct 4, 2024 Full Review Joseph Robinson Fish Jelly Films (YouTube) "Crazy" is a good way to describe this bloated, scattered four-part docuseries that would seemingly rather capitalize on the success of Tiger King than educate the masses on the dangers of domesticating exotic animals. Rated: 2.5/5 Sep 21, 2024 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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James E This was one of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen. I was skeptical going in because I didn’t really have any strong feelings towards chimps and didn’t think I would even be interested in it but boy was I wrong. This whole culture of chimp owners is so fascinating Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/26/24 Full Review Arya S The editing really annoyed me -- the constant chopping back and forth among the chimp stories, always coming back to Tonia and the incredible story of Tonka that miraculously unveiled and came to a climax as Eric Goode began his film. The film made me appreciate the efforts of PETA, and just how ignorant these supposed chimp lovers are of how to give the animals their best possible lives. I was hoping for a moment when any of the women would have had a sitdown with a real chimp expert, or for the moment Tonia could have seen Tonka happy in his natural habitat at the end, and perhaps had an enlightening moment of remorse for her selfish approach to chimp love. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 09/23/24 Full Review Rena R "Chimp Crazy" does not make for easy docuseries viewing. Many scenes are gut-wrenching and I wept to see the lives of magnificent chimpanzees being reduced to tiny metal and concrete dungeon-like enclosures when their "caretakers" [sic] were no longer able to handle the wild animals. It was devastating to see chimpanzees who were raised in human families from the time they were infants to ultimately be killed in a hail of bullets. But the most disturbing issue highlighted by "Chimp Crazy" is the hubris of some humans to decide that it's their right to purchase chimpanzees (or other primates) and to keep these wild animals as pets. A whistleblower who worked at the Missouri Primate Foundation (formerly, Chimp Party) was interviewed on The PETA Podcast--and I was stunned to learn that after female chimpanzees were forcibly bred, their babies were taken from them to be used in parties or sold. Some females had multiple babies taken from them. It's as though the notion that these animals have lives and interests of their own has just left the building. Shameful. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/22/24 Full Review Melissa S Chimp Crazy is insightful, infuriating, and insane. I am shocked that people believe keeping chimpanzees as "pets" is somehow okay. What's really happening is people are keeping these intelligent, sensitive animals as prisoners, not only of the cages from which there is no escape, but of human greed and delusion. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/19/24 Full Review Sean D Chimp Crazy takes viewers on a wild ride, exposing the immoral and illegal realities of private ownership of primates. The contrast between how primates are shown during the exploitative performances and the mistreatment they're subjected to when audiences aren't watching is remarkable and effectively conveyed. The ethical concerns regarding not only the treatment of primates but the methodologies of the documentary crew make for good conversation prompts, so this show is great to watch with a group to talk about afterward. Hearing about the conditions privately owned primates live in is one thing, but to see those conditions on the ground from the perspective of an insider is shocking. The series remains engaging by sparing viewers from extended scenes of abuse and neglect without shying away from depicting the reality to illustrate the point. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 09/18/24 Full Review Matt B It's hard to believe that this documentary started before all of the chaos that would eventually ensue. Goode has a knack for being in the right place at the right time. What's absolutely baffling though, is that after all of the events of Chimp Crazy the USDA still hasn't revoked Tonia Haddix's exotic animal exhibitor license. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/18/24 Full Review Read all reviews
Chimp Crazy — Season 1

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Episodes

Episode 1 Aired Aug 18, 2024 Monkey Love Former nurse-turned-exotic animal broker Tonia Haddix fights to retain custody of her "kids", seven chimpanzees at the Missouri Primate Foundation; other chimp moms are introduced, including one who raised a baby chimpanzee alongside her daughter. Details Episode 2 Aired Aug 25, 2024 Gone Ape PETA launches an investigation after a former Hollywood chimp named Tonka goes missing; it's a high-stakes legal battle, particularly in light of a brutal attack that happened years earlier when another chimp nearly killed a Connecticut woman. Details Episode 3 Aired Sep 1, 2024 Head Shot Actor Alan Cumming, who also has a special relationship with Tonka, adds $10,000 to a reward for Tonka's whereabouts, and the film crew faces an ethical dilemma as parallels are drawn to a previous PETA case that took a dangerous turn in Oregon. Details Episode 4 Aired Sep 8, 2024 Fantasy Island Tonka's fate becomes clearer while Tonia struggles to let go and dreams of one day opening her own island sanctuary where she can live among chimpanzees. Details
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Season Info

Director
Eric Goode
Executive Producer
Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, Tina Nguyen, Eric Goode, Jeremy McBride
Screenwriter
Jeremy McBride, Evan Wise, Adrienne Gits, Charles Divak, Timothy Moran, Eric Goode
Network
HBO
Rating
TV-MA
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date
Aug 18, 2024