Robbie Williams fans finally have their first glimpse of the star as a CGI monkey in his upcoming big screen biopic, Better Man.
This central gimmick – everyone else in the movie musical is a normal human who doesn’t blink twice over cheeky monkey Robbie – has been fascinating folks since it was first whispered of back in 2021.
And while there’s a lot of excitement, there’s also a fair amount of confusion still.
Better Man is directed by Michael Gracey, the filmmaker behind musical phenomenon The Greatest Showman, who was inspired to make this bold creative decision by the former Take That star explaining to him that he had often felt like a performing monkey.
Here we see Monkey Robbie in his full, impressively computer-generated glory, as portrayed physically by Jonno Davies.
But it’s chart-topper Robbie himself who voices this version of himself and narrates the trailer.
‘I know what you’re thinking – what’s with the monkey?’ he begins, addressing the unusual storytelling method head on as a young version of Monkey Robbie is kicked into the mud by a group of young lads.
Cutting straight to famous shots of the (human) Angel hitmaker and clips of wild fans at massive concerts, he continues: ‘I’m Robbie Williams, I’m one of the biggest popstars in the world. But I’ve always seen myself… a little less evolved.’
Cue a perfectly timed stuck out tongue from Monkey Robbie for the cameras as cameras flash and one of his biggest tunes, Let Me Entertain You, plays over the trailer.
We’re then treated to shots of the star (as a monkey still) in surreal and futuristic dance numbers, involving feathers and floating on a raft at sea, and wearing everything from a red sequinned suit to black leather and a kilt.
‘For the next two hours, your ass is mine!’ he screams to a thrilled crowd at a show, before it cuts to a younger Robbie slamming open the back door of his terraced childhood home, shouting: ‘I’m going to be f**king famous!’
‘Shut up, you t*t,’ yells an unseen neighbour, suggesting the irreverent tone of the movie, to which Robbie retorts: ‘Oh, f**k off, Glen!’
However, many trailer viewers took issue with his self-described status as a popstar – prompting a ot of comments.
‘Biggest pop star in the world. I don’t even know his songs,’ @_spotjosh commented on X, while @Ayyeeedrian_ quipped: ‘Cool premise I guess but I’ve never heard of this man in my life.’
‘I thought that said Robin Williams at first and I was mortified lol,’ admitted Jeff Brainard.
‘Today I learned who Robbie Williams is,’ shared Jacoby Boyer, while there was even a poll put in place by one user asking if people knew who Robbie was (at the time of publication, he was edging ahead with 61% at least having heard the name).
‘I have no idea who this is. That being said this looks AWESOME,’ enthused @theJaiRoad.
Fans also couldn’t resist commenting on a similarity between Monkey Robbie and another very famous CGI movie ape.
‘I didn’t expect an origin movie of Caesar’s father but here we are,’ joked @brettthebest3978 on YouTube, while another fan posted: ‘Ceasar is doing side missions now.’
Both were in reference to the character who leads the apes in the Planet of the Apes franchise, rendered in CGI in the reboot series and portrayed by Andy Serkis.
‘Caesar’s ancestors were crazy dawg!!’ commented another fan, while @igsthala jokingly complained: ‘FFS I knew I shoulda watched Kingdom of the Dawn of the Rise of the Planet of the Apes… now I have no context of what I missed in this flipping universe that got us here.’
Better Man has seemingly impressed critics so far though, with The Guardian describing it as ‘a bananas gamble that pays off’ in a four-star review and The Hollywood Reporter calling it ‘a wild, energetic head-scratcher’ with the potential to become ‘a camp classic’.
‘It is beyond phenomenal,’ claimed @brianalkerton on YouTube, who said he’d seen the film at Toronto International Film Festival. ‘You might think this trailer is a bit insane, but the movie goes so much harder. I’m glad they’re keeping the best moments under wraps.’
Better Man hits UK cinemas on December 26. In the US, it has a limited release on December 25 before releasing widely on January 17, 2025.
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