Film & Television

Africa. The city of monkeys in the heart of the wild jungle - Hontoza, where "Keeping Promises Day" is being celebrated. Kofiko, as usual, is late for the holiday meal with Kofinanda. He leaps among the trees, hangs on branches and swings among the vines. Like Spiderman, only Kofiko. Suddenly an arrow strikes a tree beside him. He realizes that he's a target. Lightning-quick Kofiko dodges the barrage of arrows coming his way. But at the end of an upbeat, breathtaking pursuit, Kofiko is caught by Parsley and his accomplices. Parsley, a wicked animal trader, is planning to sell him to the highest bidder. After all, Kofiko is a rare find. A talking monkey. Kofiko wakes up in an enclosure in Israel with other animals about to be sold as well. The animals know that Kofiko is their only hope of returning to Africa, since this unique monkey speaks all the animals' languages, and humans' as well.

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Back in Africa, Kofinanda wonders where her good friend has gone. She seeks out a shaman with unproven skills who tries to communicate with spirits and energies to find the monkey who vanished without a trace.

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Meanwhile, on 3 Ein Ganim Street in Petach Tikva, Shoshana, the neighbor from hell, abducts Chiquita, the beloved dog of Noga Lazar, a sweet and somewhat lonely girl. Shoshana orders her miserable husband Avrum to get rid of the dog. Noga and her brother Yoram look for the beloved pet all over the city.

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Just before the auction, Kofiko breaks free of his captors. With his typical delight, the anarchist monkey hangs from the chandelier in the sparkly and corrupt auction house until the place is in a shambles. He shouts to his friends who are locked up in the basement that he'll come back to rescue them, then leaves for the big city with Parsley and his men in pursuit. Kofiko zigzags among passing cars, swings from utility poles and gets away. He then spends time in a clothing shop, at food stalls, discovers the magic of escalators; in short, a thrilling encounter between monkey from the jungle and modern city with its technological digital pace.

 

In Africa, Kofinanda is sitting across from the shaman who closes his eyes and "sees" Kofiko in a jungle of a different kind, with buildings and lights, but doesn't know exactly where he is.

Nighttime. Petach Tikva. The city sleeps while Kofiko wanders its unfamiliar streets. Suddenly he hears "Help! Help!" He saves Chiquita from a dog catcher and takes her home.

 

Noga is so thrilled to see the lost dog and is astonished when she meets the talking monkey that saved her. Yoram is let in on the secret and the children and the monkey concoct a plan to save the animals from Parsley and return them to Africa. All this, behind their parents' back. Shoshana discovers that the Lazar's have a monkey and she alerts Parsley and his men. The next day, Kofiko and the Lazar kids discover that the building is surrounded by Parsley's men. Kofiko slips through their fingers and reaches the enclosure. There, in a complex and daring feat, he tricks Parsley's men and with Noga, Yoram and Kofinanda, who arrives at the nick of time, they free all the animals and go on a fun journey in the city, leaving stunned city folk in their wake.

At the end of the film, Kofiko waves to his animal friends on the deck of a ship back to Africa. He chooses to stay in Israel, with the Lazars. He wants to experience more adventures before returning to his home in Hontoza.