Customer Reviews

Jane Goodall's Return to Gombe

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This DVD left me breathless. If you could combine Dr. Schweitzer, Dr. Doolittle, Tarzan, and Wonder Woman into one person...it would be Jane Goodall. Truly, the film makes it plainly evident why she is one of the most loving souls on the planet. For example, she learned that some of the Africans are killing mother chimpanzees for bush meat and then selling off the
distressed chimp babies. Rather than let these orphans suffer cruel lives, Dr. Goodall began a compound where these animals are given "round the clock" care, attention, and love.

The movie also explores the social world of chimpanzees as well as the range of passions of these primates. I learned that some
chimps are as brutal as Attila the Hun and others as gentle as
Florence Nightingale. This film embodies all of Dr. Goodall's work and is a delight for children as well as adults. I thought it was one of the most emotionally compelling documentaries that I have seen in years.

I am a third grade teacher in an urban setting. I showed this video as a part of a compare and contrast unit. The comparisons to be drawn were between Jane Goodall and her chimps vs. Dian Fossey and her mountain gorillas. Though my student's had limited knowledge of chimpanzees, they had no knowledge of Jane Goodall before viewing this video. They were asked to take notes about anything that they found interesting. For children who do not care for the process of writing (I'm being polite here), I was really shocked at what impressed them and the extent of their recall. What is usually a battle to get a few lines of quality writing out of them turned into pages of perceptive literature. As a learning tool, this video is wonderful. It's not bad for the grownups either!

This DVD is a great overview of the current situations in Gombe and the chimpanzee habitat in Congo. However, it helps to have a great deal of previous knowledge and background information on Dr. Goodall and the subject of chimpanzees in order to understand and appreciate the story better.