Planet of the Apes is one of the most long-lasting and recognizable science fiction franchises in film history. The original 1968 film is a classic with one of the most famous movie twists of all time. 20th Century Fox quickly tried to capitalize on it, made numerous sequels and prequels in the 1970s, and brought on Tim Burton for a big-budget reimagining in 2001. Yet in 2011, the release of Rise of the Planet of the Apes marked a new turning point for the franchise. It was a surprise hit with critics and audiences that launched a trilogy with 2014’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes. The films showed how apes became the dominant form of life on Earth and humanity’s downfall, all through the eyes of Caesar, played by Andy Serkis.

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The new Planet of the Apes films, sometimes referred to as the Caesar trilogy, are great science fiction films that also act as reflections for humanities. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes showed humanity was weakened by a viral pandemic spread between humans that certainly hits much closer to home following the COVID-19 pandemic. Through these films, audiences see how humanity could (and actually might) just bring about its own destruction, as well as the relationship between humans and animals.

Apes From the Audience’s Point of View

     20th Century Fox

In contrast to the first Planet of the Apes movie, which is seen through the eyes of human astronaut George Taylor as he discovers the horror of a planet ruled by apes, the rebooted trilogy shifts the perspective to the apes, specifically Caesar. Caesar is the protagonist and the character the audience is meant to connect with. This means the audience is asked to root against their own species and future in this franchise.

Notably, with each subsequent film, the balance between humans and apes shifts in terms of narrative space. Humans are the dominant species in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, with the apes being silent characters with the few exceptions of Caesar’s dialogue. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes splits the human and apes screen time almost evenly, putting a greater emphasis on showing both sides of the conflict. By the final film in the trilogy, War for the Planet of the Apes, the apes are the primary characters with Caesar not only having more dialog than ever before but the human threat being kept in the shadows for a good portion of the first act. This trilogy shows the rise of the ape civilization, but audiences aren’t meant to be horrified by it like they were in 1968, but instead marvel at it.

Relationship Between Humans and Nature Have Changed

Part of the reason the perspective of the franchise has shifted between humans to apes is how audiences’ perception of nature and animals has changed since the original film opened in 1968. Modern audiences now are more conscious of the environment and animals’ safety. Nature is now no longer something to be conquered but instead preserved.

The audience is now rooting for the apes, because they themselves see countless stories every day about man-made climate change, oceans being polluted, and various geopolitical conflicts leaving millions of innocent lives in the process. Now the perspective isn’t how humanity needs to be saved, but if it even should. The hope is that the ape civilization will be able to avoid the trappings that humans found themselves in and possibly give the planet a second chance.

War Is Universal to the Human Condition

While the apes in the Planet of the Apes trilogy try to create a society of their own that is different from humans, they also cannot help but be influenced by the humans that had impacts on them both positively and negatively. This is particularly highlighted in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes in the conflict between Caesar and Koba.

Caesar was raised by humans, and had a good association with them until his time in the ape sanctuary. While he has now put his ape family first, he still sees that not all humans are bad and is willing to work with them. Koba, on the other hand, has only seen humanity’s cruelty. He was experimented on and essentially tortured, and now he takes such pride in his ape family that any human is seen as a threat. Koba cannot look past his own bitter bias.

While Koba’s fear is certainly justified in a matter, he is willing to sacrifice any ape who stands in his way breaking Ceasar’s cardinal rule of apes not killing apes. Despite wanting to form an ape society, both Caesar and Koba carry human influence that cannot be shaken. The want for peace but also the desire for war have rubbed off from the humans onto the ape society. Apes may have become the dominant form of life on Earth, but humans have left a mark on their psyche that cannot be vanquished.

Mankind Creates its Own Downfall in Planet of the Apes

     20th Century Studios

The overall tragedy of the Planet of the Apes franchise is that in the end, humanity creates its own downfall. The origins of the apes’ intelligence in Rise of the Planet of the Apes begin with the noble intentions of one individual to cure Alzheimer’s. Yet that simple wish not only requires animal test subjects but also is corrupted by corporate greed to push the testing forward further without taking the proper precautions. Combine that with the general mistreatment of animals, and it creates a powder keg that not only leads to an ape uprising but also a flu that destroys much of the human population which was a side effect of the genetic testing.

The sequel, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, further hammers this point home, as the war between humans and apes is so closely averted. But decisions by humans and apes on both sides push the conflict to a point of no return. This entire conflict stems from short-sighted decisions in the beginning. The iconic shot of the original Planet of the Apes is the discovery that it is in fact Earth, with a destroyed Statue of Liberty residing on the beach. It is a symbol of how man leads to its own downfall, and across the Caesar trilogy, audiences see how it reached such a point. The apes do not exist in a vacuum, they are the final tragic result of multiple decisions by humans that leads to the end.