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IMDbPro

Project Nim

  • 2011
  • PG-13
  • 1h 33m
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
8.5K
YOUR RATING
Nim Chimpsky in Project Nim (2011)
A documentary on a 1970s experiment that aimed to show that a chimpanzee, if raised and nurtured like a human child, could learn to communicate with language.
Play trailer2:30
4 Videos
21 Photos
Documentary

Tells the story of a chimpanzee taken from its mother at birth and raised like a human child by a family in a brownstone on the upper West Side in the 1970s.Tells the story of a chimpanzee taken from its mother at birth and raised like a human child by a family in a brownstone on the upper West Side in the 1970s.Tells the story of a chimpanzee taken from its mother at birth and raised like a human child by a family in a brownstone on the upper West Side in the 1970s.

  • Director
    • James Marsh
  • Writer
    • Elizabeth Hess
  • Stars
    • Nim Chimpsky
    • Stephanie LaFarge
    • Herbert Terrace
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.4/10
    8.5K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • James Marsh
    • Writer
      • Elizabeth Hess
    • Stars
      • Nim Chimpsky
      • Stephanie LaFarge
      • Herbert Terrace
    • 37User reviews
    • 139Critic reviews
    • 83Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
      • 16 wins & 30 nominations total

    Videos4

    Project Nim
    Trailer 2:30
    Watch Project Nim
    Project Nim: Clip 1
    Clip 0:33
    Watch Project Nim: Clip 1
    Project Nim: Clip 2
    Clip 0:40
    Watch Project Nim: Clip 2
    Project Nim: Clip 3
    Clip 0:34
    Watch Project Nim: Clip 3

    Photos21

    Nim Chimpsky in Project Nim (2011)
    Nim Chimpsky in Project Nim (2011)
    James Marsh in Project Nim (2011)
    Nim Chimpsky and Herbert Terrace in Project Nim (2011)
    Nim Chimpsky, Stephanie LaFarge, and Herbert Terrace in Project Nim (2011)
    Nim Chimpsky in Project Nim (2011)
    Nim Chimpsky in Project Nim (2011)
    James Marsh in Project Nim (2011)
    James Marsh at an event for Project Nim (2011)
    James Marsh and Simon Chinn at an event for Project Nim (2011)
    James Marsh at an event for Project Nim (2011)
    Nim Chimpsky in Project Nim (2011)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Nim Chimpsky
    Nim Chimpsky
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    Stephanie LaFarge
    • Self
    Herbert Terrace
    • Self
    Wer LaFarge
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    Jenny Lee
    • Self
    Laura-Ann Petitto
    • Self
    Bill Tynan
    • Self
    Joyce Butler
    • Self
    Renne Falitz
    • Self
    Bob Ingersoll
    • Self
    Alyce Moore
    • Self
    James Mahoney
    • Self
    • (as Dr. James Mahoney)
    Henry Herrmann
    • Self
    Cleveland Amory
    Cleveland Amory
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    Marion Probst
    • Self
    Chris Byrne
    • Self
    Bern Cohen
    Bern Cohen
    • Dr. William Lemmon: re-enactment unit)
    Reagan Leonard
    • Stephanie LaFarge: re-enactment unit
    • Director
      • James Marsh
    • Writer
      • Elizabeth Hess
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Veteran primate choreographer and actor Peter Elliott actually met and worked with Nim Chimpsky when he was researching chimpanzees for Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984). He also met and worked with another famous signing chimp by the name of Washoe.
    • Connections
      Featured in Maltin on Movies: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)

    User reviews37

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    9/10
    A story of a remarkable ape and human folly
    This story is about a project in the 1970's that was intended to discover if it was possible to bring up a chimpanzee like a human being. The chimp, Nim, lived in a house, wore clothes and developed a sign language that could identify many things. It's a story that is simultaneously fascinating and terribly sad. Snatched from his mother just after birth he was taken under the wing of a family of rich hippies who had no actual knowledge of primate behaviour. From this early stage it is evident that the chimp displays very specific primate behaviour where he acts aggressively and belligerently to the father figure, in a way that reflects chimp behaviour in the wild where the males need to assert domination over other males from an early stage. Nim proves too much for these misguided people to deal with and from here he is passed via a number of primate specialists until he horrifically winds up in an animal testing centre, and finally in a ranch for mistreated animals, although even here Nim lived for a period in complete isolation but thankfully ended up with mates in his final years.

    The very idea of a chimp being brought up in human society is a fascinating one. But it quickly becomes apparent that this experiment is doomed to failure. There is a very good reason that you do not see people keep chimpanzees as pets – they can be extremely aggressive and powerful animals. On numerous occasions carers were bitten and maimed. One woman had a hole ripped in the side of her face while another had her head repeatedly beaten off the pavement by the ape. But the over-riding feeling engendered by the documentary is one of sadness. This poor creature is let down by those who took him from his mother and decided to rear him as a human. It seems to me quite outrageous that an animal taught to communicate with people and live in a house should ever have been sent to an animal experiment centre. The blame must surely be primarily put on Professor Herbert Terrace whose project it was. Once Nim was sent to a chimp reserve he seemingly lost interest and made absolutely no attempt to save him from what could have quite easily have been an awful fate. So thank heavens for Bob Ingersoll the man who looked after Nim in the reserve and never gave up on him. Bob ultimately saved him through perseverance and considerable effort. He emerges as the human hero of the film, although the other carers from New York such as Laura and the young couple who followed her also cared deeply for the animal too, the latter two still seemed genuinely pained by how Nim was ultimately treated.

    The essential message of the film is that you should not try to transport a wild animal into human society and not expect repercussions. Some of the people in the film are just guilty of naivety, dangerous as it was. As much as a story about a remarkable primate, it's a story about human stupidity, human callousness and – thanks to Bob Ingersoll – human kindness. It's overall a remarkable documentary.
    helpful•46
    2
    • Red-Barracuda
    • Aug 13, 2011

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 12, 2011 (United Kingdom)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Official site
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Proyecto Nim
    • Filming locations
      • New York, USA
    • Production companies
      • Red Box Films
      • Passion Pictures
      • BBC Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $411,184
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $25,820
      • Jul 10, 2011
    • Gross worldwide
      • $612,839
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 33 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital

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