What threats did the Apes face that required a large standing army of Gorillas? The humans had no weapons and were not much more dangerous than a herd of deer. The Mutants in the FZ were unknown to them. Ape does not kill Ape, so they were not fighting each other.
So why a big army? They even had cannon! Certainly not something you would use in hunting. With a general, captains, and sargeants, and soldiers, they are organized for war; not hunting.
If I may chime in on this... in my adult life, I've NEVER been able to look at the world created in the Planet of the Apes as a whole "circle is complete" type of saga. It represents a series of creative starts and stops punctuated by studio economy. Put simply, Planet of the Apes was never planned to be a saga. It was a great one-off piece of popular Sci-Fi. It was the studio's desire to create a cash flow for itself, to get more milk from an ape (to quote an old TV guide article), that, unfortunately, created this particular saga. Arthur P. Jacobs was a skilled and tenacious producer. But he was no Roddenberry. No Lucas. He lacked an overall vision for the saga. The result is that with each succeeding sequel, the saga had less and less firm ground to trod upon.
The army question you raise Bunkermeister is completely vaild, in my opinion. I've never thought of it before. But this army you speak of is the product of the second film, is it not? So why a whole army of gorillas, you ask? Simple. More apes mean more possible money at the box offfce in the eyes of the studio... logic be damned.
Hell, the producers didn't even get the right date in the second film. I know it's too late but the year is 3978, guys.
Interesting enough, it has been a popular sport among Apes fans to try to fill in those plot holes created by these tone deaf producers... to weave their own theories, stretching them to include four clunky sequels and two TV series. I've never particpated in this. I have no need fill in these holes... but rather I choose to
expose and
enlarge them. I prefer to enjoy the films singularly and with full knowledge of the narrative inconsistencies and creative shortcuts taken just to present yet another POTA installment to the box office. Because of this, I've often been accused as being too negative toward the series. But my love of the series is complicated and is wholly a concoction of my own delusioned brain... as far as I can tell it's nostalgia mixed with an unnautral love for the first film mixed with my undying love for Roddy McDowall. I know I left out a few key ingredients here but you get the point.
And yes Jess, that cartoon is unwatchable. Not even my 10 year old son could slog through them. Yet I own them. Interesting.
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