Expect things to be hilarious and hair-rising when there is a monkey in a movie, and when the monkey is the hero, that too one who aspires to be an award-winning movie star, then the fun and action get multiplied many times more!

In Monkey Up, Monty (voiced by Skylar Astin), is a speaking monkey who is the face of an energy drink ‘Monkey Up’. But being a model is not the kind of stardom Monty wants, he wants to be recognised for his acting skills. When it seems that a role he has sight on is not going to come his way because the director is more interested in using a computer-generated monkey, Monty decides to go there himself and convince him.

Things don’t go according to Monty’s plans he lands up in a toy store and from there into the house of the toy company’s president Mrs Andrews (Erin Allin O’Reilly). Monty’s own troubles take a backseat as he befriends the Andrew kids, Sophie (Kady Magnuson) and her older brother, Ethan (Caleb Burgess) and help sort the family’s domestic mess.

Each person gets helped in one way or the other by Monty to achieve their goals and they all learn the lesson that “fame and fortune come and go, but family is forever!” And this is why Monkey Up is a heart-warming entertainment for the whole family.

Published in Dawn, Young World, February 27th, 2015