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MXP: Most Xtreme Primate
(Buena Vista Home Entertainment)
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| DVD Release Date:
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January 20, 2004
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| Length:
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88 mins.
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| Rated:
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G
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| Format:
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Full Screen (1.33:1)
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| Audio:
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Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, French, Spanish
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| Subtitles:
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French, Spanish, English Captions
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| Extras:
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"Monkey Business" Behind-the-Scenes Featurette, Snowboarding Challenge Game, Outtakes, Music Video, PACT Promo
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If the idea of a chimpanzee snowboarding disturbs you, stay away from MXP. On the other hand, if the idea intrigues you, by all means, check it out - it's somewhat amusing. Or, if you're under age 10 and this kind of movie appeals to you, pick it up for a laugh or two. Basically, what I'm trying to say here is that this movie may not be for everyone. It's a children's movie. We were all kids once, and movies like this were fun back in the day - and we may be grown up now, but movies like this can still be fun - even if it's not for you.
In MXP: Most Xtreme Primate, there's a chimpanzee named Jack. Apparently he's starred in two other movies - MVP: Most Valuable Primate where he's a hockey player and MVP 2: Most Vertical Primate where he's a skateboarder. In other words, he's a versatile athlete. Even Bo Jackson only played two sports professionally! Anyways, I guess Jack's depressed because he can't play hockey or skateboard anymore, so his owner decides to take him to Mexico for a vacation. However, in the airport, Jack blends in with a group of kids on a school trip and flies to Colorado instead. There, he hooks up with Pete, a new boy in town who's trying to fit in. Together, they form a snowboarding team and compete in a "Boarder Cross" competition. Added to the mix are Pete's older brother Jay, some criminals who want to kidnap and a few family values here and there.
Sure, the whole premise is ridiculous, but it's a kid's movie. What do you expect? There's no violence, no foul language and no sexual content. It's wholesome family entertainment. The only thing I see wrong (besides the premise) would be that I wonder if this is considered cruelty to animals? Should somebody be calling the SPCA? Do the animals get paid? I'm just curious how that works.
For special features on the disc, there's a feature called "Monkey Business" which is a behind-the-scenes look at the movie. You know in regular featurettes like this on other DVDs where the actors gush about how great is was to work with each other? Same thing here - they all just gush about Jack and how great it is to work with such a talented chimp. We also hear from the filmmakers about how there were no special effects used in the making of the movie - that Jack did all of his own stunts! Interesting...
More features include an "MXP Snowboarding Challenge" set top game (I tried several times and couldn't figure it out. I blame this on the fact that I've never been snowboarding!), some outtakes and a music video.
One amusing feature is a PACT Promo. PACT stands for "People and Chimps Together". As I understand, the people at PACT have put together a retirement home for working chimpanzees. To me, that's pretty funny - the image of a retirement home filled with chimps instead of people. It's not really a home, but a wildlife conservation area I'm guessing, but the imagery is still amusing.
One little side note about the movie. Throughout, they refer to Jack as a monkey. It bugged me. Chimps are apes - not monkeys. Monkeys have tails - apes do not. If you're gonna make a movie for kids about a chimp, at least have to common courtesy to give it a little educational value!
So, If your kids are a fan of this series, I'm sure this one will be a nice addition. I've never seen the others, so I can't really make a judgment here. Like I said, this is a kid's movie, and taken for that there's some entertainment value to be had. If it's too cold to send your kids out snowboarding this winter season, and they want to watch a movie about it instead, this is a good place to start.
| The Movie: |
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5/10 |
| The Extras: |
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3/10 |
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