Born to Be Wild

Margaret teaches a gorilla sign language etc. When the gorilla owner takes it back to make money from shows, Margaret's rebellious teenage son steals it. They're off on a road trip to the Canadian border.
Rick Heller is a juvenile delinquent who keeps getting himself into trouble. To keep him out of trouble his mother puts him to work cleaning the cage of a gorilla named Katie which she is teaching to communicate through the use of sign language. When the owner of the gorilla takes her back to become a flea market freak Rick takes it upon himself to break Katie out and take her on an adventurous journey to get her out of the country.