With Dawn of the Planet of the Apes in our cinemas from tomorrow, we thought we would take a look back at some of our favourite movie monkeys over the years. From Caesar to Abu, they have entertained us, made us cry but most importantly, made us laugh. Here are just seven of our favourites.
1. Caesar, Rise of the Planet of the Apes/Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
No one was really expecting how well Rise of the Planet of the Apes would do at the box office but that in a large part was down to the connection the audience felt to the wonderful Caesar. Deprived of his mother at an early age, Caesar grew up under the watchful eye of Will who loved him like he would any family member. However, when Caesar was discovered, life became a little more difficult.
2. Abu, Aladdin.
Well, we could have just picked any character out from Aladdin as our favourite character but Abu, his faithful sidekick who stood by his side no matter what is certainly one of our favourite characters. We really wish we had a friend like Abu...
3. Dunston, Dunston Checks In.
A secret agent and all round hero, Dunston was one of the very few monkeys we could depend on. Conducting covert operations and protecting the world is just not as easy as Dunston made it look.
4. King Kong
Arguably the most iconic of all the monkeys, King Kong was just a big softie at heart. He didn't want to hurt anyone, everyone got the wrong idea! And that moment at the top of the Empire State Building? Breathtaking.
5. Crystal, The Hangover Part 2.
As if the Hangover films couldn't have got more out of hand, they had to introduce one of the best monkeys in the business; Crystal. And boy, was Crystal a business woman. Don't worry, she didn't actually become addicted to cigarettes, Crystal is too good for that. (By the way, Crystal has starred in American Pie, Garfield, Big Bang Theory, Hangover Part 2 and Night at the Museum among others)
6. King Louie, The Jungle Book.
He is the King of the Swingers, the jungle VIP. Louie had one simple and focused mission, he wanted to be a man but we definitely preferred him just the way he was, particularly for these musical numbers.
7. The Flying Monkeys, The Wizard Of Oz.
Anyone who watched the Wizard of Oz at an early age will probably remember how absolutely petrifying these monkeys actually were. They haunted our nightmares for years and rightly so, almost as much as the Wicked Witch did.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is in cinemas from July 17th.
