“SEE ‘CHIMPANZEE,’ SAVING CHIMPANZEES”

Disneynature and the Jane Goodall Institute Announce Conservation Program Impact

Program Will Protect 129,236 Acres of Habitat, Educate 60,000 Schoolchildren about Chimpanzee Conservation, and Care for Orphaned Chimpanzees

Disneynature and the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) today announced the impact of the latest Disneynature conservation program “See ‘Chimpanzee’ Save Chimpanzees.”  For every moviegoer who saw Oscar the chimpanzee on the big screen during the film’s record-setting run, (April 20-May 3, 2012), Disneynature made a donation to JGI through the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund, which will profoundly impact JGI’s efforts to conserve chimpanzee habitat, grow educational programs for schools and provide care for orphaned chimpanzees.

The conservation program will help to protect 129,236 acres (202 square miles) of wild chimpanzee habitat through infrastructure investments in the expanded Tchimpounga Nature Reserve in the Republic of Congo (Congo). Additionally, the program will enable JGI to exponentially grow its education program on the importance of protecting chimpanzees, reaching an estimated 60,000 children in 100 schools in Congo. The education initiative will extend to the students’ parents and neighbors, ultimately reaching nearly half of the country’s population. The program will also provide food and medicine for nearly all of the orphaned chimpanzees at JGI’s Tchimpounga chimpanzee sanctuary for at least the next year.

“A huge ‘thank you’ to Disneynature and the millions of people who saw ‘Chimpanzee’ in its first two weeks,” said Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace.  “The conservation program ‘See “Chimpanzee,” Save Chimpanzees’ substantially raised public awareness about the threats facing chimpanzees and their habitat, and everyone who saw the film helped the Jane Goodall Institute continue its efforts to protect these amazing beings and their forest home now and in the future.”

“Disney is proud to work with the Jane Goodall Institute to help advance its work to protect chimpanzees and their habitat for generations to come,” said Alan Bergman, president, The Walt Disney Studios. “The Walt Disney Company has a longstanding commitment to conservation and a renewed focus to connect kids with nature. Through Disneynature, we are devoted to making films that move, educate and inspire audiences.”

In addition to marking the first-ever extension to a Disneynature ticket-sales initiative, the “See ‘Chimpanzee,’ Save Chimpanzees” program was supported across The Walt Disney Company. Disney Interactive Media Group’s Animal Kingdom Explorer game, Disney Store, Disney Cruise Line and Disney’s internal Earth Day engagement efforts all contributed to the program, increasing the overall impact on chimpanzee conservation. Additionally, proceeds from external collaborations, including Alex Woo’s exclusive chimpanzee pendants and reservations made at Starwood Hotels & Resorts through the month of May, continue to broaden the impact.

In celebration of the new Friends for Change anthem and the “Chimpanzee” end-credit song, “Rise,” written and performed by McClain Sisters, Disney Music Group also made a contribution to the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund “rapid response” program which supports emergency aid to animals during disasters.

For more information about “Chimpanzee,” visit Disney.com/Chimpanzee, like us on Facebook: Facebook.com/Disneynature or follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/Disneynature.

Today it is going to be 99 degrees in sunny Las Vegas!  Can you say “HOT HOT HOT!”

To beat the heat I am taking my little monkey to a very special movie!

DisneyNature’s CHIMPANZEE!
(We had originally planned to go on opening day, but our schedule changed.)

I thought this would be a perfect way to spend our day for 3 reasons:

1. We get out of the heat!
2. We get to go see a great movie that is fun and educational
3. We get to help save chimpanzee’s!

Did you know that for all tickets purchased for opening week, April 20-26, 2012, and Disneynature will make a donation to Jane Goodall Institute to protect wild chimpanzees.

Sounds like a win/win/win way to spend our day!

Check out this video on the making of CHIMPANZEE!

Hope to see at the movies!!

 UPDATE: “See ‘Chimpanzee,’ Save Chimpanzees”—initially slated for the film’s opening week through April 26—will continue through the film’s second week till May 3—a first-ever extension to a Disneynature conservation program.

“Like” CHIMPANZEE on Facebook: Facebook.com/Disneynature

CHIMPANZEE opened everywhere on April 20^th!

Naptime or Playtime?

<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/omY2nkbGqMA” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>

Well, that seems very familiar as I am sure any parent would agree!!

DisneyNature’s CHIMPANZEE is swinging into a theater near you on Earth Day 2012!  While the film is sure to enchant and delight audiences of all ages, Disneynature also realizes the educational value of a film like this can have on it’s younger viewers!

Before you head into the theater, why not download the CHIMPANZEE Family Activity Book which has really fun games, mazes and coloring sheets that also help teach kids about these amazing animals!

Or if you are looking for something a little more structured you can download the complete CHIMPANZEE Educator’s Guide which is perfect for teacher and parents who home school their children!

“Like” CHIMPANZEE on Facebook: Facebook.com/Disneynature

CHIMPANZEE hits theaters everywhere on April 20^th!

Please note:  The link for the downloads will take you to a disclosure and agreement.  Once you agree you will be re-directed to the page where you can click on the Family Activity Book or Educator’s Guide to download them.