Top 10 Monkeys

With the release of Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes and Project Nim in the same week, I thought it was the perfect time to make a list of my favourite television and movie monkeys.

But before I start, I just want to comment that I'm being pretty general regarding the term 'monkey"...I know, I know "I'm not a monkey, I'm an ape." Whatever!

10.  Flying Monkeys (Wizard Of Oz)

The most frightening part of the Wizard Of Oz are the flying monkeys (though they don’t come close to the fear-inducing Wheelers in Return To Oz). Fortunately, I have grown out of the stage of being scared of them but, even more fortunately, they are even better when you aren’t scared. Look at their adorable costumes.

9. Dunston (Dunston Checks In)

This jewel-thieving orang-utan has impeccable taste. Enjoying the finer things in life, he is booked into a 5 star hotel - leading to much hotel hilarity. Has a poor 7% on Rotten Tomatoes but they don't know what they're missing...then again I haven't seen it since I was 7.

8. Joe (Mighty Joe Young)

After relocating to USA to perform at a wildlife refuge due to his abnormal size of 15ft, Joe is at risk from poachers. As he struggles to get away with his owner Jill, a ferris wheel is damaged and as he saves a child from the collapsing wheel, I never fail to tear up.

7. King Kong

While the special effects of the original may be rubbish and everything else in the remake might be worse, put them together and you have a super monkey! Come on, use your imagination. A tragic tale of unrequited love - “Oh no, it wasn't the airplanes. It was beauty killed the beast.”

6. Clyde (Every Which Way But Loose)

He manages to compete with the king of bad-asses Clint Eastwood on the bad-assery scale. The best part of the film is when he gives a pair of bikers the finger at a set of traffic lights. How could a monkey swearing not be funny?

5. Ham (Space Chimps)

He comes from a family of great ape achievers – his grandfather being the first monkey in space – but it is Ham who saves Earth from imminent doom. And that’s after a career of acting as a cannonball for his local circus. How multi-talented.

4. Tipps Family (PG Tips Adverts)

PG Tips began using chimpanzees dressed as humans in their adverts in 1956, and within two years they rose from fourth to first place in the British tea market. The advertisements stopped in the 1970s after complaints from animal rights groups, but when sales dropped they brought them back 18 months later. The last Tipps family advert was broadcast in 2002. Anybody else miss them?

3. Abu (Aladdin)

The best friend of Aladdin, they work together to pilfer food from local stools. One of the best Disney animated classics with great characters, rousing music, a hilarious script and beautiful drawings. But this choice is mainly because he wears a fez and waistcoat.

2. Marcel (Friends)

Marcel became the palaeontologist’s companion during the first series, until the cast reportedly grew tired of the monkey’s antics. Katie the Capuchin went on to star in Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, Outbreak and George Of The Jungle, but it was Marcel that has stayed in all of our hearts as we watch endless re-runs on Friends on E4.

1. King Louie (Jungle Book)

This guy has to be number one, he’s King Of The Swingers. The Jungle VIP. He's done all the hard work for me here.


What monkeys have I missed?