Movie Review: Orangutan is a Sweet Watch for Earth Day!

Disneynature’s Orangutan, now streaming on Disney+, follows a young orangutan named Indah as she starts to figure out life on her own. It’s narrated by Josh Gad and set high in the rainforest canopy of Southeast Asia, where Indah is learning how to survive after leaving her family group for the first time.

What stands out most is how independent Indah already is, even though she’s still young. Food starts becoming scarce in her community, so she makes the decision to cross the valley on her own to see what she can find. The film really shows the moments where she’s problem-solving in real time, instead of just following instinct.

The most interesting part of Orangutan for me was when Indah actually teaches another orangutan how to get the inner seeds out of a fruit without dealing with the stringy outer part. He just watches her so closely, completely focused, and after that moment, the two of them stick together. It’s one of those scenes that quietly shows how intelligent and social orangutans really are.

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Visually, the Orangutan is super clear and vibrant. You get a lot of day-to-day interactions between the orangutans. The film shows them playing, hanging out, and sometimes getting annoyed with each other in a very relatable way. It also shows the hierarchy in their group, especially with Queen Ruby, who always eats first before the other females and babies.

There’s also a quick look at their mating behavior, where males show interest by sharing termite bark, which is basically their version of a “hey, I like you” signal.

Overall, it’s a really easy watch but still pretty fascinating, especially for children to watch. This Disney+ film doesn’t over-explain things, it just lets you observe Indah’s world and figure it out alongside her, which makes it feel even more natural.

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