Most Fridays, University of Michigan anthropologist John Mitani is in Ann Arbor lecturing to the 200 or so undergraduates signed up for his Introduction to Biological Anthropology course.

But on a recent Friday, Mitani and his wife, Sally, were in Orlando, Fla., walking down the red carpet at the world premiere of the new Disneynature movie Chimpanzee.

Anthropologist John Mitani has been studying the behavior of wild chimpanzees in Uganda’s Kibale National Park for nearly 20 years. (Image courtesy of John Mitani.)

Mitani has been studying the behavior of wild chimpanzees in Uganda’s Kibale National Park for nearly 20 years. His expertise with a large troop of about 180 chimpanzees made him an ideal scientific consultant to the film, which features footage of the group he’s been studying for two decades. The movie, shot entirely in the wild, opened April 20 nationwide.

Filmed over a three-year period by the team behind Disneynature’s film Earth, the movie Chimpanzee introduces Oscar, a young chimpanzee who is left to fend for himself with a little help from an unexpected ally. Freddy, the alpha male of Oscar’s group, adopts the helpless infant, which is a rare occurrence never before been caught on film.

“Orphaned infants are often adopted by older siblings, or by other members in their groups,” Mitani says. “But Freddy has no relationship that we know of to Oscar. That’s the mystery.”

Watching the movie, and watching the chimps in the wild, it’s nearly impossible not to attribute human emotions and motives to the animals, Mitani says.”Investigating their behavior may help us to understand what makes humans unique,” he notes.In addition, Mitani hopes the film will help sensitize the public to the importance of preserving habitats for all wild chimpanzees.