`BUDDY' AND HIS PAL WILL TOUCH YOUR HEART : THE FACTS.

Byline: Amy Dawes Daily News Film Critic

Kids and parents alike will find enchantment in this lively story of a gorilla named Buddy who became the bosom companion of an eccentric 1920s socialite in this handsomely produced family film based on a true story.

Gertude Lintz, or Trudy, played by Rene Russo, is the well-cared-for wife of a doting, indulgent doctor (Robbie Coltrane) who lets her devote most of her energies to raising a menagerie on their lavish Brooklyn estate.

She has championship briard dogs, rex rabbits, guinea pigs, tropical fish, geese and rare pigeons, a stable of horses, horned owls, snakes and a kitten.

But the star attractions are four chimpanzees she treats as her children, dressing them in clothes tailor-made at Bergdorf Goodman and teaching them how to conduct themselves at the dinner table and be helpful around the house.

Then along comes Buddy, a sickly infant gorilla she rescues from a zoo and nurses back to health. Buddy attaches himself to her so strongly that a special friendship develops between them.

As he grows at alarming speed, gaining at least 100 pounds a year, Buddy becomes her rambunctious boy-child, but in no time, he's the size of a full-grown sumo wrestler. Trudy teaches him to walk upright, serve hors d'oeuvres and help in the kitchen. By all appearances, he's a perfect gentlemen, and she's convinced he always will be.

But during a trip to the Chicago World's Fair of 1933 (marvelously re-created), Buddy breaks loose and discovers the call of the wild, creating havoc in one of the movie's more entertaining and dramatic episodes. Back home, when Trudy accidentally splashes him with water during a household mishap, Buddy flies into a rage, which, given his size and strength, is serious business.

He's gone wild, apparently, reverting to his true nature. But since Buddy's been raised in a comfortable household (sleeping in a bed all his life!), Trudy doubts that he can survive in the jungle, and she is faced with the heartbreaking problem of what to do.

Adapted from Lintz's autobiography, ``Animals Are My Hobby,'' ``Buddy'' is a simple, sweet-natured story that will draw young viewers into an enchanted world full of clever, mischievous animal friends. The hijinks of the chimpanzees alone provide plenty of entertainment, but with his soulful, steady gaze (and his more dramatic character development) the gorilla eventually steals the show.

The chimps, all excellent performers, got six months of advance rehearsal with trainer Boone Narr, while the gorilla (at each age, from infant to full-grown) is an animatronic creation of Jim Henson's Creature Shop.

Leading the performances in grand style is Russo, who puts Lintz across very persuasively as a stylish, imaginative dame who got a charge out of raising people's eyebrows.

On the one hand an amateur zoologist who was dedicated to enlightening people about the gentle nature and native cleverness of the apes, she also had a playful streak and liked to jolt people by taking her chimps to the movies or having her gorilla appear as a butler at a dinner party.

As Trudy, Russo is a fountain of calm, strength and maternal tenderness who children will delight in, and she deserves as much credit as the creature animators for bringing her man-made gorilla co-star persuasively to life.

Though director Caroline Thompson (``Black Beauty'') keeps the tone firmly on the up and up, mining maximum cuteness and positivism from Trudy's approach to animals, one can't think about Trudy's behavior too long without finding it a little weird, and even presumptuous, to want animals to wear clothes and behave like humans. Once perceived as ahead of her time, Trudy now seems a tad more insensitive than sensitive. And inevitably, there's something creepy about the physical attachment that this huge, brooding gorilla has for Trudy, especially when he surprises her (as he often does) in her bedroom.

Still, even with her Tim Burton-linked background (she helped write the twisted fable ``Edward Scissorhands,'' among other projects), Thompson keeps things mostly in the realm of the light, bright and comfortable, aiming at a broad family audience with an admirably brief, simple movie that both stirs the imagination and offers a lesson, in the end, about respecting the true needs of our animal friends.

Splendidly produced, with eye-catching sets and costumes, the movie also features strong contributions from Coltrane (of British TV's ``Cracker'') as Trudy's gorilla-size husband, Dr. Lintz, and Alan Cumming (``Romy and Michele's High School Reunion,'' ``Emma'') as Trudy's loyal, likable assistant. Irma P. Hall (``A Family Thing'') does the stereotype thing as the requisite gruff but tolerant housekeeper.

The film: ``Buddy'' (PG; mild violence).

The stars: Rene Russo, Robbie Coltrane, Alan Cumming, Irma P. Hall.

Behind the scenes: Directed by Caroline Thompson. Screenplay by Caroline Thompson, based on the book ``Animals Are My Hobby,'' by Gertrude Davies Lintz. Produced by Steve Nicolaides and Fred Fuchs. Executive producers, Francis Ford Coppola, Stephanie Allain and Brian Henson.

Running time: One hour, 24 minutes.

Playing: Citywide.

Our rating: Two stars

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Photo

Photo: Lintz family friends the Bowmans (Mimi Kennedy and John Awlward) Buddy's tea service during teatime with the chimpanzees.