Have you seen War for the Planet of the Apes? It's not bad! The third installment of the latest Planet Ape series features many memorable apes, a whole planets-worth even, but some of them are better than others if you ask me. For example, I wasn't really feeling the Bad Ape character. Why do you need comedy relief in a movie with talking apes riding horses? It's already hilarious! Before I get going on this Top 5 list, I must disclose that there are currently no movie stills or images that are labeled for reuse in a published article of my caliber, as copyright law prohibits me from including them in a published work without permission from people who will probably not respond to my email any time soon. I can't provide a visual representation of these characters, but I'm pretty good at describing them, so here they are!
SPOILER ALERT: I will be discussing some plot points that you might want to experience in theaters before reading about them here. However, I will not spoil what each ape looks like due to my failure in receiving copyright permission of images owned by 20th Century Fox.
5. Winter
Winter is an albino, cowardly white gorilla who eventually becomes an informant/donkey for Colonel McCullough. Winter makes our list because it is easy to sympathize with his rationale. Due to his albinism, he probably felt like he would be an easier target for human mercenaries, motivating him to work for McCullough in hopes of being saved. We all know this is some monkey business though. McCullough would never let any apes live, no matter what he promises. I really wish I could show you what Winter looks like. His white fur is really something to marvel. If you've seen the movie you know what I'm talking about.
4. Caesar
The protagonape for the the last three films, you can't go wrong with Caesar. He's everything we could want in an ape. He's a family ape, he's incredibly intelligent and perceptive, and he's not afraid to get his palms dirty. In Rise of the Planet of the Apes, we saw Caesar as just a chimp hanging out with James Franco and John Lithgow, but now he's become a leader who knows what it takes to get things done. There is actually a lot of humanity in Caesar, but this is neither the time nor the place to go that deep. Someone else is already writing that I'm sure, and they probably have permission to throw up a pic of my fourth favorite ape.
3. Rocket
If not for the next two apes on this list, Rocket would be my favorite ape. He's such a loyal friend to Caesar, although let's not forget they were once rivals at the San Bruno Primate Shelter! Rocket even refused the villainous Koba's request for his allegiance, resolutely signing "I follow Caesar." Rocket sacrifices his freedom to help save Caesar in this movie, further proving that he is a strong and capable ape. If I had to pick a handful of movie characters to be my friends, you can bet Rocket would be with me pounding brew after every mission. In terms of appearance, Rocket looks like a chimpanzee who could use a little more hair on his body, but hair doesn't make the chimp.
2. Maurice
This is probably most people's favorite ape, and for good reason! Maurice is a very wise orangutan who befriended Caesar when he was still a chimp. They bonded through their sign language, and now they've bonded through political adventure, Maurice being a sound advisor to Caesar since his reign as Ape King. Maurice also tends to quell any powerful negative feelings ignited within Caesar. Never will there be a more diplomatic ape, except maybe for Ape Lincoln. As you can see, I've tried to depict Maurice in an amateur sketch by a friend. It is not the absolute best representation of Maurice, but it's better than I could do. Props to him for not actually labeling this ape as "Maurice" because that might initiate a legal firestorm with 20th Century Fox. Because I'm so popular and everyone sees these articles. It certainly captures Maurice's personality.
1. Side eye Ape
Who would've thought that our favorite ape could be nameless?! Side eye Ape is named so for it's one scene in the film, but trust me, this ape really, really sells it. There is a scene where Bad Ape, Nova and Maurice are tunneling underground and discover a direct route into McCullough's "enclosure" (it's a slave camp). Bad Ape is looking up through a hole in the ground right underneath a human guard's boot, and this ape, who we call Side eye Ape, notices and makes eye contact with Bad Ape, but doesn't make a scene because that would jeopardize everything and alert the guards. So Side eye Ape merely shows the lightest smirk on his/her face and looks the other way, but the way it all plays out is so like, gosh that's exactly what I would do, that's how it's done, just play it cool! An image of Side eye Ape would not do the scene justice, so just go see the movie if you haven't already. Just for this ape.
Those are my Top 5 favorite apes from this franchise. You can search the internet if you want to see what they look like, or better yet see the films, but I can't depict their likeness here for fear of violation of copyright permissions I don't have.
