One of the first movies to use motion-capture in an on-location setting. Previously, motion-capture was limited to special studio set-up with special motion-capture cameras in very clearly defined surroundings.
Bright Eyes is given her "fizzy drink" in a Gatorade bottle because, during the research for the film, Director Rupert Wyatt learned that captive chimpanzees love sugar, and Gatorade is one of their favorite drinks.
Caesar's speaking voice was produced by sound designer Chuck Michael, who mixed the sounds of fully grown male chimps' vocalizations recorded at Chimp Haven with Andy Serkis's voice.
This movie is the first installment to feature another great ape species besides chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans; Koba, the scarred lab ape and some apes at the Gen-Sys and sanctuary, are bonobos. This species was assumed until very recently to be a subspecies of chimp, explaining its absence in previous films.
The doors to the cages of the ape facility were removed for all performance capture shots because it was difficult to animate through them. The apes were then animated into the scene, and digital doors and mesh were inserted over them.
Karin Konoval: The stubborn court clerk that gave Will a hard time about filing for his appeal was played by Karin Konoval, who also played Maurice the orangutan. Director Rupert Wyatt brought her back after her ape performance capture to play a human because he liked her so much.
Terry Notary: The actor who plays Caesar's mother Bright Eyes and the former dominant chimpanzee Rocket also has an uncredited cameo as one of the gorillas on the Golden Gate Bridge action sequence.