Did you know that Disneynature has an ambassador? They do! Actually they have two!
Earlier this week I had a fantastic opportunity to have lunch at Sanaa at Kidani Village with the newest Disneynature Ambassador, Dr. M Sanjayan.
Dr. M. Sanjayan is executive vice president and senior scientist for Conservation International. The global conservation scientist, writer and Emmy®-nominated news contributor focuses on the connection between nature and human well-being. He serves on Conservation International’s senior leadership team as executive vice president and senior scientist.
During our lunch (which was AH-MAZING!), we talked about all things Monkey Kingdom. Dr. M. Sanjayan was on-location during filming and had quite a few interesting facts to share about the film-making process and the Macaque monkeys featured in the movie. Here are few of my favorites tidbits.
Fun & Interesting Facts From Dr. M. Sanjayan about Monkey Kingdom
- Dr. M. Sanjayan is from Sri Lanka, also home to the monkeys filmed in Disneynature’s Monkey Kingdom.
- His favorite scene in the True Life Adventure was the termite hatch, followed by the monkey raid at the birthday party. Believe it or not, the exact same scenario happened to him on his sixth birthday!
- Monkey Kingdom took over 1000 days to shoot and was reduced to just 88 minutes. Many of the shots used in the film weren’t captured until the last minute.
- Dr. Sanjayan traveled to Sri Lanka during filming with Jane Goodall (also a Disneynature Ambassador).
- He has been involved with Disneynature conservation from the beginning, working on both Planet Earth and Oceans.
- Monkey Kingdom was originally pitched as a “Jungle Book” type documentary, but the monkeys were so compelling that they received their own storyline. Maya was a natural fit as the lead.
- Wants children (and families) to be entertained by Monkey Kingdom and also be amazed that the magic kingdom exists in nature.
- Dr. Sanjayan describes Monkey Kingdom as Downton Abbey meets Game of Thrones.
- His favorite character is Grandpa.
MONKEY KINGDOM is Disneynature’s sixth theatrical release, set in the storied jungles of South Asia. Narrated by Tina Fey, this True Life Adventure follows the exciting world of new mom Maya, a clever and resourceful blonde-bobbed Macaque monkey, who’s determined to give her son a leg up in the world.
**See Monkey Kingdom opening week (April 17 – 23) and Disneynature will make a donation in your honor to protect monkeys and other endangered species in their natural habitats**
MONKEY KINGDOM opens in theaters April 17!
Special thanks to Disneynature for fully hosting me at the #MonkeyKingdomEvent. All opinions are my own.
