Movies Similar to Red Ape: Saving the Orangutan

Madonna of the Mills(2011)

Uplifting tale of Staten Island woman who creates modern underground railroad and rescues 2,000 dogs condemned to death in Amish Country puppy mills. The film chronicles Laura F on her weekend rescue missions to Amish Country. With her Brooklyn mom and Staten Island girl friends by her side, Laura embarks on a four-year odyssey to rescue dogs from the hellish conditions of Amish puppy mills. The film follows four of the dogs from the time their lives are spared until they are nursed back to health and placed with their forever families. We see the dogs leave the cages where they have spent their entire lives and watch these dogs, who were given up for dead, transform the lives of the people who adopt them.

Aapje Aram(2019)

It's a Monkey Life: Jim's Dream(2017)

Documentary on the founder of Monkey World in Dorset, Jim Cronin, and his legacy.

Planet Without Apes(2021)

Humans hunt for baby apes. But things are not always done properly when chimpanzees and orangutans are acquired for zoos or shows. And even the endangered bonobos are no exception.

Cries from the Deep(1981)

This documentary records the journey undertaken by Jacques Cousteau, his 24-member team, and an NFB film crew to explore the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, one of the world's richest fishing areas. They discover shipwrecks, film icebergs and observe beluga whales, humpback whales and harp seals. The film also includes a fascinating sequence showing Calypso divers freeing a calf whale entrapped in a fishing net.

Tawai: A Voice from the Forest(2017)

Explorer Bruce Parry visits nomadic tribes in Borneo and the Amazon in hope to better understand humanity's changing relationship with the world around us.

Lucy the Human Chimp(2021)

The profound story of Lucy Temerlin, a female chimpanzee raised as human from birth in a domestic environment, and Janis Carter, the woman who took on the seemingly impossible task of giving her a new life in the wild.

Born to Be Wild(2011)

Born to Be Wild observes various orphaned jungle animals and their day-to-day behavioural interactions with the individuals who rescue them and raise them to adulthood. The film unfurls in two separate geographic spheres. Half of it takes place in the rain forests of Borneo, where celebrated primatologist Dr. Birute Galdikas assists baby orangutans; the other half takes place on the arid savannahs of Kenya, where zoologist Dame Daphne Sheldrick works with baby elephant calves.

The Burning Season(2008)

Dorjee Sun, a young Australian Entrepreneur, believes there's money to be made from protecting rainforests in Indonesia, saving the orangutan from extinction and making a real impact on climate change. Armed with a laptop and a backpack, he sets out across the globe to find investors in his carbon trading scheme. It is a battle against time. Achmadi, the palm oil farmer is ready to set fire to his land to plant more palm oil, and Lone's orangutan centre has reached crisis point with over 600 orangutans rescued from the fires. The Burning Season is an eco-thriller about a young man not afraid to confront the biggest challenge of our time.

Secret Lives of Orangutans(2024)

Follow a multi-generational orangutan family through their treetop triumphs and travails in this immersive documentary narrated by David Attenborough.

Miss Goodall and the Wild Chimpanzees(1965)

Jane Goodall has spent five years observing the chimps in Tanzania (formerly Tanganyika), Africa. One of her discoveries is that they use primitive tools. The film shows the life of the chimps. Retrospective note: This documentary features remarkable historical footage of Goodall, her original camp, and the Gombe chimpanzees. It shows the early years of Goodall establishing the site before it went on to become a world-renowned research center.

Bruno Manser - Laki Penan(2007)

The documentary retraces the steps of Bruno Manser, a man from Switzerland who went to live with the indigenous tribe of the Penan in the Jungle of Borneo and endef up helping their struggle to defend their rainforest against greedy logging companies. The movie features original film, photo and voice recordings by Bruno Manser made in the 1980s, as well as new recordings showing how the life of the Penan has changed in just a few decades.

Disenchanted Forest(2002)

We call them o-rang-u-tans, which literally means "forest persons" in the Malay and Indonesian languages. They are the only great apes native to Asia. Of all the apes, they are the closest to man in genetic makeup. And they face extinction. Two years in the making, the film is an intimate portrayal of the world of orangutans, the threats to their survival and the people committed to help them thrive. The film focuses on a recent discovery that orangutans do not rely on animal instinct for survival, but instead have a culture that they have preserved from generation to generation.

Green(2009)

Her name is Green, she is alone in a world that doesn't belong to her. She is a female orangutan, victim of deforestation and resource exploitation. This film is an emotional journey with Green's final days. It is a visual ride presenting the treasures of rain forest biodiversity and the devastating impacts of logging and land clearing for palm oil plantations.

Your Inner Fish(2014)

How did your body become the complicated, quirky, amazing machine it is today? Anatomist Neil Shubin uncovers the answers in this 3-part science series that looks at human evolution. Using fossils, embryos and genes, he reveals how our bodies are the legacy of ancient fish, reptiles and primates — the ancestors you never knew were in your family tree.

Person of the Forest(2017)

In the vanishing lowland rainforests of Borneo, research is underway to uncover and understand the unique cultural behaviors in wild orangutans. There, photographer Tim Laman, researcher Cheryl Knott, and young explorer Robert Suro shed new light on the similarities between ourselves and our ancient ancestors, before it’s too late.

Rescue Me: A Home 4 Spot(2019)

This sweet and inspiring documentary explores the highs, lows and daily realities of running a dog rescue. It tells the story of Diana England, a retired nail-stylist, who started her own animal rescue in Las Vegas, A Home 4 Spot.

Rescue Me: International(2020)

In this moving and informative documentary, the rescue me team goes to the United Kingdom to exam a local home-grown cat rescue and a larger national organization.

Curiosity and Control(2018)

Curiosity and Control examines our complex relationship to nature itself. A multi layered look at the world of Museums of Natural History and Zoological gardens, with voices from historians, authors, architects and zoo managers. It raises questions about how we perceive nature and our contradictory behavior of caging what we fear may be lost.

The Orangutan King(2005)

For fifteen million years orangutans roamed tropical forests from China to South East Asia. In Borneo, one of their last island outposts, lives one today who is a legend. He's won more than just a kingdom, he's won human hearts. They gave him the name Kusasi. The Orangutan King is the story of Kusasi's life told to us by a remarkable witness. Dr Birute M. Galdikas has been researching orangutans in Borneo for over 40 years. Now, for the first time, Dr Galdikas will draw audiences deep into the orangutan universe. With enthusiasm and insight she tells us this special story - taking us back 30 years and unfolding Kusasi's story with detail, energy, and the wonder that she still feels for the orangutan species. As a three year old orphan, Kusasi fell under the care of Galdikas in her forest research camp. But driven by a cunning and tenacious spirit Kusasi did not behave as the other ex-captive infants.