Chimp Crazy is a four-part docuseries, directed by Eric Goode ( Tiger King ) about people who keep chimpanzees as their pets, despite the dangers posed by these wild primates, especially as they become large and powerful adults. Goode profiles a number of chimp owners, and goes back to past cases where chimps attacked and seriously hurt the people caring for them. But he concentrates the story around Tonia Haddix, who is the self-proclaimed “Dolly Parton of chimps.
” CHIMP CRAZY : STREAM IT OR SKIP IT? Opening Shot: We pan across to see a bevy of chimp dolls and stuffies, then we see a baby chimpanzee, wearing a onesie and a diaper, hugging one of the stuffies. The Gist: We see Tonia Haddix, hair teased up to the heavens, playing with the baby chimp in a very pink bedroom. The former nurse took over the care of seven chimps from Connie Casey, the owner of a former chimpanzee breeding facility in Festus, MO that is now redubbed the Missouri Primate Foundation; one of Casey’s businesses was called Chimparty, where she rented out chimps to go to kids’ parties.
Casey also provided chimps for movie and television productions and photo shoots, and housed retired acting chimps. One older chimp, Tonka, made his way to MPT after an acting career that included starring in a film with Alan Cumming, whom Goode interviews for the series. Haddix, a nurse from St.
Louis, started as a volunteer at MPT, but fell in love with the chimps she was caring for and ended up working there full.