How did they evolve so fast?

[deleted]

In Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Dr. Milo is killed by a "primitive" gorilla in a zoo in 1971; though that gorilla was not a real one it nonetheless looked like the typical version of a gorilla seen in movies for decades. Yet in Conquest all of the apes in 1991 aready have the evolved look of the apes in Planet of the Apes set thousands of years in the future.

I agree with you greensound, I also considered the look of the apes in the 1968 original to be because of their evolution over thousands of years, with exposure to radiation as well. It makes no sense that 8 years of being taken in as household pets would cause the apes to look nothing like the apes we know. Note that the orangutans in the cargo container looked the closest to traditional apes but the few orangs shown in uniforms were of the evolved variety. Note also that no female gorillas are ever shown in the entire series -- how do the gorillas reproduce?

-Mike

In "Escape from the Planet of the Apes" we get a time line for the history of Ape eveolution. It is stated that Apes where taken in as pets and evolved from there when humens learned that Apes could be trained to do more jobs. But it's also stated that it took about 500 years before the revolution happened. This of course doesn't corespond with the fact that the Apes in the 2000 years later futer talked about their scrolls being written 1700 years earlier, but still, evolution over 500 years of slavery makes more sense then the 8 years "Conquest" gives us. This bothers me.

Okay, here's my stab at this....

If you recall, there was a disease from space brought back to earth by one of the astronauts and it wiped out all of the dogs and cats. This is explained by Armando to Caesar in the first five minutes or so of the film. Cornelius and Zira also mention that this happens as well in Escape. (I have a problem with Zira and Cornelius being in 1973 in general, but I'll explain that later on.)

It's safe to presume and assume that this disease, which, seemingly, didn't effect simians, could very well have been responsible for their growth. I agree that such a rapid change in their evolutionary development should not have been possible, but it's the only thing that seems to fit the bill, aside from suspension of disbelief. As we all know, sometimes mutations take place very quickly in order for a species to adapt to certain stimuli effecting their environment. By environment, I mean anything that might contribute to the decline of their survival. That's pretty much it in a nutshell.

Okay, if no on else talked about this, let me be the first. Cornelius states in Escape that in the future, dogs and cats all died and then apes evolved over time. As I recall, there was something mentioned on the order of some five hundred years into the future that the apes finally rebelled and took over. And that had predated the writing of the Sacred Scrolls for some time - if memory serves. The mere presence of Zira and Cornelius in 1973 totally wiped out this future from ever happening. The timeline skewed into a new one. Within twenty years, all of the events foretold by Cornelius come to pass. The exact number of years in which all of the dogs and cats die remains ambiguous but you sort of get the feeling it happened not long after Cornelius and Zira arrived. It's also very possible that the apes were responsible for this happening when they travelled to Earth's past in Taylor's ship.

I still, to this day have a problem with the fact that there are so many continuity errors between the first three films that it almost drives you to scream. The most glaring one is the fact that the chronometer on Taylor's ship clearly says 3978, while the one on Brent's ship says 3955. Now short of a major malfunction on either ship, it's the only explanation for the difference in the two displays.... other than the continuity people simply weren't paying attention. I still think Taylor's chronometer was the correct one.

I think all of these films could easily be remade and done so much better than they were done, with the exception of the original. Why not a new Television series? Pick up right where the first movie ends. The technology is there, let's have an Apes series that makes the original proud!

Feel free to rant.... >:-)

My take on the evolution question is this -- if you take any stock in the 'Collective Consciousness' theory, that a field of awareness and intelligence exists between human beings and through it we are able to influence one another, and apply it to all creatures -- then by the arrival in Escape of Zira & Cornelius, followed by the birth of their son, the evolution of apes changes.

Whereas without the existence of Caesar in the time frame it would have taken hundreds to thousands of years in domesticated surroundings for apes to have evolved, WITH Caesar's existence the evolutionary rate diverges into a twenty-year period. His field of awareness and intelligence has influence upon his species and through it allows them to evolve faster.

If I remember correctly in Conquest there was a scene or two when Caesar didn't say a word but the other apes seemed to react to his thoughts.

Anyway, just my take on it.

I have a simpler idea then genetic mutation....vitamins and food. Apes were brought into human homes, given better food and diets than what they were given in the wild. So, they grew bigger as a result. Even in the last 50 years there has been a change in average height of people do to better nutrition.

I like that better than genetic manipulation, lol.

But I still have no idea how they all learned to talk by the next movie!

All I know is that cats and dogs must be very very stupid because people took apes as pets for only twenty years and they advanced that much, yet people have had cats and dogs as pets for about 2,000 years and I still can't get my dog to mop my floor.

There's no way to justify it, really......we naturally think of the appearance of the apes in the films as being advanced and evolved because they are portrayed by humans and have more human-like features.

However I think the intention was that the actors look like actual chimps and gorillas. But the technology of the time was limited - it's humans in make-up.

I suppose if you understand that, it makes it a LITTLE more believable.

The jump from 'Conquest' to 'Battle' - which by all accounts is something like 10 to 30 years - and now the apes all talk and you even have a genius ape like Virgil, that one is more inexplicable. I think it just fits the plot. I guess the implication might be that Caesar (and by extension, humans), helped teach apes. But obviously it takes quite a liberty.

I think that's why in the 2001 Tim Burton film and now the new "re-boot" series we have with 'Rise' and 'Dawn' - they all use the "genetically enhanced" background with the apes to make it more believable.