The Monkey's Uncle (1965)

Just perfect...

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Blistering performances.

Merlin Jones and Jennifer are back, in the sequel to The Misadventures of Merlin Jones. This time around, Merlin, after fighting for Stanley the monkey's (actually a chimp) rights, he is seeking custody, making him the "monkey's uncle." Judge Holmsby returns as well.Meanwhile, the college is in need of funding to stay alive. The board of regents, to which Judge Holmsby sits, has asked former alumni for help, to no avail. Until a cantankerous crackpot, much like Merlin Jones himself appears, and makes a ridiculous offer. Cue the hilarity.The man's name, Darius Green III, his offer, funding. The only problem, he will only pay if someone can fly like a bird! Sounds like an unattainable task, but a challenge for Merlin Jones. Remember, always check references. You never know who Darius Green III really could be!

Several of the cast members of The Misadventures Of Merlin Jones made the return trip for the sequel The Monkey's Uncle. The critics including me panned this one too, but it did well at the box office. But the trip back was bittersweet for Tommy Kirk.It was while that first film was being made that Walt Disney discovered that his teen star Tommy Kirk was gay and terminated him forthwith. But the film made money for the Magic Kingdom and Kirk came back to do this sequel. It must have been one strained set and I'm sure Kirk who wasn't getting job offers piling up needed the money. You have to hand it to Walt Disney for chutzpah.This one was equally as bad as the first. First Kirk as the science genius devises a sleep study program so that the football team can pass their exams to be eligible. For the second half of the film he's given a challenge by Leon Ames of the board of trustees to develop a method of man made flight under manpower, no motors or airships. It's do or die for Tommy because another member of the board of trustees of Midvale College, Frank Faylen has got a check in hand for a million dollars if they ban football. Kirk has school spirit and he's the only one smart enough to take on the task.He's also got the help of Annette Funicello and there's a rival to her in Cheryl Miller of Daktari who babysits Stanley the Chimpanzee for Kirk. If this all sounds ridiculous that ain't the half of it. All this plot comes about because Kirk and Annette want to adopt Stanley because Kirk is convinced he can get a college education. The chimp that is.The best part of the film is the beginning when Annette sings the title song accompanied by The Beach Boys. I'm sure Disney would have kept Kirk around if a third film was in the offing. Poor Tommy Kirk one of the saddest stories about gay actors ever from Tinseltown.

'The Monkey's Uncle' is the sequel to 'The Misadventures of Merlin Jones'. I have not yet re-watched this classic Disney comedy. Have I ever seen it? 'The Monkey's Uncle' is only available on VHS. The only place you can rent VHS nowadays is at the local library. If you're persistent enough you can find many VHS only movies at the local library. The first film is available on DVD and on Netflix but I couldn't find it at my local library and I don't yet have Netflix. So I watched the 2nd one first.It's a very good and decent OK film. There is nothing outstandingly funny and memorable but there is nothing outstandingly bad worth mentioning either. The monkey in the title does play a central role in the movie but not as central as the title may suggest.After opening up with the Annette Funicello (who just goes by Annette in the credits) and the Beach Boys, the film centers on Genius boy Merlin Jones. After becoming the Monkey's Uncle in a court hearing he then uses the chimp for scientific experiments. He plays records while the chimp is sleeping and when he wakes up, he thus is able to do what was instructed to him while he slept. Merlin uses this method for some football players to learn English while they sleep so they can pass the big English Test. It is an honest way to cheat.The 2nd half of the film focuses on Merlin trying to invent a man-made flying machine. If he does his school will get a generous donation from some guy for 10 million dollars. Through the picture is a rivalry between two members of the college faculty which figures very significantly into both plots. One wants to abolish football because he was once rejected from the team and the other wants to keep it, thus relying on Merlin to always save the day.There are some funny moments and gags. The ending is actually very good compared to the whole movie. It raises the film up a notch. It's an amusing film. Not worth avoiding and worth seeing if you're a Disney enthusiast. It's not on VHS (I think). Is it worth being on DVD? Well there are other Disney films that aren't great that are on DVD and for the sake of completion perhaps it should be. Put Merlin on the job to figure out how.

It seems that it would have been good as a series because yes it's true that the movie seems to have two different plots but with an underlying plot to save football at Midvale College and Merlin Jones is the one to do it! I like this movie, I guess it brings back childhood memories. The first part of the movie, Merlin adopts a chimpanzee and has a girlfriend Jennifer. Some of the football players won't be able to play if they fail a test. So , Merlin decided to help by experimenting with sleep learning. The next part of the movie, Merlin is confronted with the task to create man-powered flight. He may or may not succeed...Cute movie with good actors. It's like the movies, babes in toyland, child of glass, and other oldies that my mom used to have us watch over and over again since we didn't have cable!