Has anthropomorphism gone too far?

The simian star of new Disney film Chimpanzee is the latest animal to be portrayed as having human emotions. But does such anthropomorphism give a distorted view of nature?
 The current solution to this dilemma can be seen this week in Chimpanzee, a new film by Disney, shot on location in the west African jungle. It's the story of Oscar, a young chimp whose mother, Isha, is killed as the result of an attack by a rival gang. Oscar struggles to cope on his own, but is then surprisingly adopted by Freddy, the dominant male of his group. The film's footage is unimpeachably authentic, painstakingly captured over three years, and often stunning to behold. But anthropomorphism is no longer a dirty word, argues Jean-François Camilleri, head of Disneynature: "Today, a lot of scientists are saying it's actually a mistake to be against anthropomorphism. There's a new philosophical current saying: 'Let's stop considering animals as just machines with no feelings, no emotion and no potential thinking process.' And chimps are a very good example." Chimpanzee was made with the advice of leading primatologists, he points out, including Christoph Boesch and Jane Goodall, both of whom have long argued for apes' emotional and cultural intelligence. "We can see clearly on the screen they have moments of emotion – laughter, anger," says Camilleri.
 "It would be a mistake to not take that into account."
By Steve Rose / The Guardian / more