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Chimp Crazy

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Chimp Crazy
GenreDocumentary
Written by
  • Eric Goode
  • Jeremy McBride
  • Evan Wise
  • Tim Moran
  • Charles Divak
  • Adrienne Gits
  • Doug Abel
Directed byEric Goode
Music byJonathan Sadoff
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes3
Production
Executive producers
  • Eric Goode
  • Jeremy McBride
  • Nancy Abraham
  • Lisa Heller
  • Tina Nguyen
Producers
  • Lissa Rivera
  • Evan Wise
  • Tim Moran
  • Adrienne Gits
  • Charles Divak
  • Doug Abel
  • James Liu
  • Carissa Ridgeway
  • Dwayne Cunningham
Cinematography
  • Ryan Nethery
  • Chris Messina
  • Benji Lanpher
  • Gabe Mayhan
Editors
  • Evan Wise
  • Charles Divak
  • Adrienne Gits
  • Doug Abel
Running time54-57 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkHBO
ReleaseAugust 18, 2024 (2024-08-18) –
present

Chimp Crazy is an American documentary series directed and produced by Eric Goode (Tiger King). It follows Tonia Haddix, whose love for a chimpanzee spins into a wild game with authorities and the animal rights group PETA.

It premiered on August 18, 2024, on HBO.

Premise

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Tonia Haddix, an animal broker, spends her days taking care of a chimpanzee, Tonka. Her love for Tonka spins into a game with authorities and an animal rights group, PETA.[1] The series additionally explores other owners of nonhuman primates and their experiences.[2][3]

Episodes

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No.TitleDirected byOriginal air date
1"Monkey Love"Eric GoodeAugust 18, 2024 (2024-08-18)
Tonya Haddix is a former nurse and a collector of primates who has recently taken over the Missouri Primate Foundation, a facility embroiled in a lawsuit with PETA for alleged animal welfare abuses. Haddix describes her unique love for Tonka, an adult chimpanzee she met in 2018 when she took over the facility from founder Connie Casey. Following a court order that the chimpanzees must be turned over to a sanctuary, federal marshals come to collect the chimps but are unable to find Tonka.
2"Gone Ape"Eric GoodeAugust 25, 2024 (2024-08-25)
PETA conducts a search for Tonka, whom Tonya Haddix claims has died. Tonya appears in online court and tells the judge that she had him cremated. A side story portrays incidents surrounding Travis, one of the pet chimpanzees previously sold by the Missouri Primate Foundation. The episode ends by revealing that Tonka is alive and living in a cage in Tonya Haddix's basement.
3"Head Shot"Eric GoodeSeptember 1, 2024 (2024-09-01)

Tonya Haddix describes how she transported Tonka to her home, keeping him overnight in a Holiday Inn bathroom. Proxy Director Dwayne Cunningham, who has developed a friendship with Tonya, seeks out legal advice on her behalf. Cunningham’s lawyer makes the unorthodox suggestion that she could kill the chimp and make the whole matter disappear.

A side story features the case of Buck, a chimpanzee whose owner, Tamara Brogoitti, had also been in a dispute with PETA. That case ended when Buck attacked Brogoitti’s daughter, prompting Brogoitti to call the police and have them come kill the chimp.

Cunningham later receives a call from Haddix telling him that Tonka is very sick and that she has made an appointment with a veterinarian to have Tonka euthanized. The filmmakers ultimately decide to intervene before Tonka can be put down; they inform PETA of Tonka’s location.
4"Fantasy Island"Eric GoodeSeptember 8, 2024 (2024-09-08)

Production

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Eric Goode was intrigued by those who had pet monkeys and chimpanzees and raised them as their own children.[4] Initially, Goode wanted to focus on Connie Casey of the Missouri Primate Foundation, however, Casey declined an interview.[5] Following the success of Tiger King, dealers in exotic animals became hesitant to speak with Goode. For this production, he hired Dwayne Cunningham, a former circus clown and animal trainer, to pose as a "pro-ownership" filmmaker to approach Haddix.[4] Haddix later told Rolling Stone that she would have never participated in the documentary if she knew Eric Goode was involved.[6][7] Yet even after finding out Goode's role, Haddix continued to participate and let Goode interview her for over a year.[8]

Background

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The Missouri Primate Foundation featured in Chimp Crazy has roots in a 1960s pet shop owned by Connie Braun Casey, Braun's Barn, in Festus, Missouri. Though Casey had been collecting exotic animals for years, she bought her first chimp in 1972.[9] In a 2018 interview, Casey talked about her decision to find a dealer to buy "wild caught" chimps before the law (Endangered Species Act) made it too difficult.[9] Casey bought two chimps and bred them, selling babies for $40,000 up to $65,000.[10][11] She started a business, Chimparty, renting out baby chimps for children's birthday parties, nursing homes, and TV and film productions.[12]

In 1992, one of the chimps owned by Casey bit off her husband's nose. Concerned about negative press coverage, Connie Casey started a nonprofit, Missouri Primate Foundation, while continuing to run Chimparty and selling primate pets.[10] The Missouri Primate Foundation took in adult chimps previously sold as pets or retired from show business. In 2001, a 28-year-old chimp named Suzy escaped and was shot and killed by a 17-year-old who lived next door.[11][13] Suzy had given birth to a total of six chimps, including Travis, who made national headlines in 2009 when he mauled a woman in Connecticut and was shot by police.[11]

In 2016, an employee at the primate facility, Angela Scott, contacted PETA to express concerns about abuse she had witnessed at work. Scott secretly shot video and sent it to the animal rights group before quitting her job there.[10][14]  PETA had already been investigating the facility, following a string of USDA violations.[15] PETA filed a lawsuit in December 2016, citing violations of the Endangered Species Act.[16] This lawsuit becomes the centerpiece of events covered in Chimp Crazy.

While Casey was embroiled in the battle with PETA, Tonia Haddix came to visit her seeking to buy a baby chimp. When she heard about Casey's legal problems, she offered to take over the facility in an effort to disrupt the lawsuit. So, in 2018, instead of adopting a baby chimp, Haddix adopted the Missouri Primate Foundation, including an adult chimp that Haddix had taken a liking to, Tonka.[6][10]

Tonka was born at Working Wildlife and rented out for movies such as Buddy and George of the Jungle. After retiring from show business, he was transferred to Casey/Haddix's facility and used to breed.[17] At that facility, Tonka had been isolated after fights with other males.[10][18] A vet for the Missouri facility said he performed surgery twice on Tonka to seal wounds from those fights.[18]

Connie Casey was the Chimp Crazy team's initial choice as the subject for the film, but she declined to appear on camera, so they focused on Tonia Haddix.[19]

Reception

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Chimp Crazy netted over 2 million viewers within its first week of release, putting it on pace to be the most viewed HBO docuseries since 2020's McMillions.[20]

Critical reception

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Chimp Crazy is Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with an approval rating of 95%, based on 20 reviews, with an average rating of 8.80/10.[21] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 67 out of 100 based on 11 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[22]

Activism

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Several animal welfare, animal rights, and primatologist groups have used the docuseries release as a news peg to promote the Captive Primate Safety Act[23][24][25][26] mentioned at the end of episode four. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) held a press conference to raise awareness of the bill, in hopes that the "renewed conversations around primate ownership" sparked by Chimp Crazy will finally prompt Congress to act.[27] This federal legislation, if passed, would prohibit the private ownership of primates as pets in the United States. (Tiger King prompted similar legislation for big cats.) A December 2023 review found that the "U.S. ranked third out of 171 countries in the ease of purchasing a pet primate online, behind Indonesia and Vietnam."[28]

References

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  1. ^ O'Connor, Jennifer (July 16, 2024). "No Spoilers: You Must See 'Chimp Crazy' for Yourself!". People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  2. ^ "HBO Original Four-Part Documentary Series CHIMP CRAZY Debuts August 18". Warner Bros. Discovery. July 16, 2024. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  3. ^ Bender, Kelli (July 16, 2024). "The Self-Proclaimed 'Dolly Parton of Chimps' Is the Subject of Tiger King Director's New Series". People. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Jensen, Erin (August 16, 2024). "'Tiger King' director uncages new 'Chimp Crazy' docuseries that is truly bananas". USA Today. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
  5. ^ "'Chimp Crazy' HBO docuseries explores the special relationship between chimps and their owners (radio interview)". WBUR-FM. August 13, 2024. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Roundtree, Cheyenne (March 30, 2022). "She Faked Her Chimp's Death. Then Things Went Apeshit". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  7. ^ Hoffman, Jordan (April 5, 2022). "The Strange Story of Tonka, the Undead Hollywood Chimpanzee". Vanity Fair. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  8. ^ Brown, Lane (August 26, 2024). "Eric Goode's Monkey Business". Vulture. Vox Media. Retrieved August 28, 2024.
  9. ^ a b "THE APE TESTIMONY PROJECT: CONNIE CASEY (interview)". YouTube. July 16, 2020. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  10. ^ a b c d e "Chimp Crazy," Episode 1
  11. ^ a b c Byers, Christine (February 22, 2009). "Chimp Attack Revives Area Man's Nightmares". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  12. ^ Hopgood, Mei-Ling (March 25, 1996). "Chimp visit helps care home swing with pet therapy". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 62. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  13. ^ Carroll, Chris (March 24, 2001). "Dead chimp's owners unsatisfied with charges against shooter". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 141. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  14. ^ "Hallmark Profits From Abused Chimpanzees". YouTube. November 29, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  15. ^ "Factsheet: Missouri Primate Foundation (Connie Braun Casey/Chimparty)" (PDF). PETA. August 24, 2024. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  16. ^ "Case: 4:16-cv-02163-CDP Doc. #: 1 Filed: 12/30/16" (PDF). Courthouse News Service. December 30, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  17. ^ "Tonka". Save the Chimps. September 2, 2024. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
  18. ^ a b "THE APE TESTIMONY PROJECT: DOUGLAS PERNIKOFF (PART TWO)". YouTube: Prem Proph. July 22, 2020. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
  19. ^ "Official Chimp Crazy podcast: Episode One". Tooth and Claw Podcast. August 18, 2024. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  20. ^ Porter, Rick (August 27, 2024). "'Chimp Crazy' on Pace for Multiyear Viewer Highs for HBO Doc Series". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
  21. ^ "Chimp Crazy". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  22. ^ "Chimp Crazy: Season 1". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  23. ^ Sweeney, Shawn (August 19, 2024). "A FUTURE OF HOPE: HOW CHIMP CRAZY CAN INSPIRE ACTION FOR PRIMATE WELFARE". Jane Goodall Institute. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  24. ^ Block, Kitty (August 21, 2024). "New HBO documentary shines light on chimps kept captive as pets". The Humane Society. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  25. ^ "Chimp Crazy Documentary Highlights Tragic Consequences of Exotic Pet Ownership". Association of Zoos and Aquariums. August 18, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  26. ^ "U.S. Residents: Urge your legislators to support the Captive Primate Safety Act". Animal Legal Defense Fund. September 3, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  27. ^ Sanchez, Sara (September 5, 2024). "Connecticut senator hoping 'Chimp Crazy' popularity will help pass primate legislation". Fox61. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  28. ^ Seaboch, Melissa (March 20, 2024). "The pet primate trade in the U.S." Open Access Government. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
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