Everything's Better with Monkeys: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|''"More fun than a barrel of monkeys!"''|'''Old proverb''', setting the bar impossibly high}}
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This is sometimes associated with the tastes of the [[Lowest Common Denominator]], who view the ultimate form of entertainment as a cigar-smoking chimp wearing a diaper and top hat that is riding a tricycle.
A chimp with a
This trope is named for [https://web.archive.org/web/20120502182413/http://www.superdickery.com/index.php?view=category&id=31%3Amonkeys-index&option=com_content&Itemid=34 this] [[Super Dickery]].com subpage. And yes, we know it ought to be "Everything's Better With Non-Human Primates" too. After all, everything's also better with ''apes'', who are technically not monkeys. The difference is actually very simple - Monkeys have tails, while apes (including chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans) don't. [[Rule of Funny|On the other hand the word "monkey" is simply funnier]] (unless you're adressing a certain [[Discworld|librarian]]...)
The actual editor of the site explains [https://web.archive.org/web/20120502182050/http://superdickery.com/index.php?view=article&catid=31%3Amonkeys-index&id=621%3Aworst-contest-prize-ever&option=com_content&Itemid=24 here] how untrue this trope is. Speaking from personal experience, "Monkeys are not cute in real life, they are ''evil'' little bastards. On top of that, they carry the Hepatitis B virus." (And HIV came from a virus in monkeys called SIV.) In fiction, baboons are often used if Everything Is ''Worse'' With Monkeys, probably because they're on the large size for primates and are more than willing to display their formidable canine teeth on camera. Gorillas can work either way, because everybody knows gorillas are [[Badass]], so it depends on whether the gorilla in question is good or evil.
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* The newer Subway commercials all feature monkeys.
* A Dodge Automobile commercial advertising a new sale has Michael C Hall say, "This event could not be more amazing. Oh, wait, there's a monkey." Cue a small chimpanzee dressed like Evel Knievel walking into the lot and pushing down on a plunger that blasts a small amount of confetti. Hall then says, "I stand corrected."
** In response to PETA's complaints about using a monkey, Chrysler produced another commercial that was almost exactly like the first
** "Unbelievable"
* Invoked by USA Network while advertising [[The Golden Compass]].
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* Let's not leave ''[[Speed Racer]]'' out of the mix, with their [[Team Pet]] Chim-Chim.
** [[The Movie]] had not one but two chimps taking turns playing Chim-Chim. Whenever any one of them was on screen,they quite literally [[Getting Crap Past the Radar|threw crap past the radar]], and also [[Hilarity Ensues|got behind the wheel of a vehicle]].
* ''[[
* ''[[Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-chan|Bludgeoning Angel Dokurochan]]'' has a student transformed into a recurring monkey. Said monkey's head was made using stock real life photos.
* ''[[Fireball]]'' has the appearance of Schadenfreude, a ''robotic'' monkey.
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** [[Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series|"Do the words 'robot monkey' mean anything to you?"]]
* ''[[Buster Keel]]'' has Keel, a Dragon Ape, stuck in human form.
* In ''[[Ask Dr. Rin]]'', one of their four [[Ridiculously Cute Critter
* In a ''[[Naruto]]'' filler arc, Kakashi placed a genjutsu on a bunch of monkeys so they would look like his team, confusing his tail. Apparently said tail found monkeys highly entertaining, as it took him half an hour to figure out they weren't human.
* ''[[Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt|Panty and Stocking With Garterbelt]]'' episode ''1 Angry Ghost'' has an [[Ace Attorney]] monkey.
* ''[[GetBackers]]'' has monkeys popping up in the two [[Hot Springs Episode
* Averted in ''[[Yaiba]]'', where Basho Matsuo, one of the vilest and most dangerous villains of the series turns into an ape-man during his fight with Yaiba. He relies more on agility and [[Taken for Granite|cursed needles]] than brute strength though.
* The small purple monkey-like creature Chu-Chu in ''[[Revolutionary Girl Utena]]''
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== [[Comic Books]] ==
* Many, many [[
** Congorilla: Sacred golden gorilla who serves as the alter ego of Congo Bill, a British adventurer, courtesy of mind-swapping rings.
** Detective Chimp: [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin]]. He would like to remind you that [[Batman]] is merely the World's Greatest ''Human'' Detective.
** Gorilla Grodd: Psychic would-be world conqueror from a hidden city of superintelligent gorillas. Gorilla City's actually kind of a big deal in DC; King Solovar was an important figure in the ''original'' [[Crisis Crossover]].
*** Voiced in ''[[Blackest Night]]'' with an undead Solovar:
{{quote|
** The Mod Gorilla Boss: He's one hip swinger, Clyde, and you'd better believe that he's the big man behind the criminal underworld in Bludhaven. And that he thinks vertical stripes are cool.
** ''[[Doom Patrol]]'' villain Monsieur Mallah: [[Mad Scientist|Superintelligent]] [[More Dakka|machine-gun-toting]] [[Dirty Commies|communist]] [[The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized|revolutionary]] [[Badass Gay|homosexual]] [[Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkeys|French]]-[[Everything Sounds Sexier in French|speaking]]
** Sam Simeon: Comic artist and half of ''[[Angel and the Ape]]''. No points for guessing which half.
** Titano: Giant chimp with kryptonite-laser-shooting eyes.
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** Trope referenced directly in [http://www.gocomics.com/libertymeadows/2007/05/13 this comic.]
* Marvel brings us Hitman Monkey. No word as to whether he is ''that'' hitman monkey yet.
{{quote|
* The Norts in ''Rogue Trooper'' once attempted to counter the Southers' [[Super Soldier|GIs]] with part-human-part-gorillas, who like the GIs could breathe the atmosphere of [[Death World|Nu Earth]]. They failed when Rogue beat their leader in one-on-one combat, [[Asskicking Equals Authority|becoming the new commander]] and persuading them to rebel against their evil masters.
* In ''[[Promethea]]'' there is The Weeping Gorilla.
* The [[Take Over the World|megalomanical]] Doctor Vulter is the villain of the early [[Mickey Mouse]] story ''Mickey Mouse and the [[Instant Plunder, Just Add Pirates|Pirate]] [[Sub Story|Submarine]]'', a Captain Nemo [[Expy]] [[Mad Scientist]] with a [[High-Class Glass]] and a penchant for [[Putting on the Reich]] (well, it ''was'' published in 1936...). He has returned in European Disney Comics several times since then, and has been a [[Funny Animal]] gorilla since the beginning.
* In ''[[Requiem Chevalier Vampire]]'', Thurim's sex life gets better with gori-mandrills! {{spoiler|For those thoroughly [[
* German comic ''[[Nick Knatterton]]'' has one story about two chimps who were taught to steal. One of them ends up as Nick's "housemaid", having learned to do that job.
* [[Wilhelm Busch]]'s story about Fipps the monkey.
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** A similar sequence also appeared in the ''Jay and Silent Bob'' comic-book miniseries and the Clerks cartoon.
** [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] in the film. In one sequence, we see Shannen Doherty in a ''[[Scream (film)|Scream]]''-esque scene, in which she is attacked by Ghostface but manages to knock him out, and unmasks him. It's the orangutan:
{{quote|
'''Wes Craven''': What?
'''Shannen''': A fucking monkey? Jesus, Wes, are you even trying anymore?
'''Wes''': But the research says people love monkeys!
''(Jay and Silent Bob [[Stealth Pun|take the monkey and run]])''
'''Jay''': We love this monkey!
'''Wes''': See? }}
* [[Disney Animated Canon]] has a couple examples as well:
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** A few [[Disney Animated Canon]] geeks have a theory: this trope is the ''only'' acceptable reason why there are "[[Misplaced Wildlife|lemurs]]" in the Late Cretaceous period in ''[[Dinosaur]]''.
** [[We Named the Monkey "Jack"|Jack the undead monkey]] from the ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean]]'' movies.
** The Barrel Full of Monkeys game monkeys make brief appearances in each [[Toy Story (franchise)|Toy Story]] film (sometimes only during the credits), and they're usually used for quick, silly gags.
*** Taken [[Up to Eleven]] in ''Toy Story 3'' with '''[[Crazy Awesome|DEATH BY MONKEYS]]'''.
** Gorillas actually appear as background characters in ''[[Dumbo]]''. One tries to escape from its cage during a parade, and a whole family of them can be seen during the [[Tear Jerker|"Baby Mine" number.]]
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** And the musical thereof on ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]''.
* ''[[28 Days Later|Twenty Eight Days Later]]'' combines this with the [[Uncanny Valley]]-esque effect of a humanoid animal to make one scary-ass scene. Test animals unnerve us, monkeys amuse us, but-"The chimps are infected".
* A scene of ''[[Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull]]'' has Mutt Williams getting stuck in a tree, and being discovered by monkeys that due to having the same "hair" as his, decide to show Mutt vine-swinging and then help him attack the [[Dirty Communists]]. Opinions were divided between "it's stupid" ("[https://web.archive.org/web/20131101213429/http://www.comingsoon.net/news/reviewsnews.php?id=45198 I used to joke that you could make any movie better by adding monkeys or explosions to it. I take back the part about the monkeys.]") and "it's fun" ("[https://web.archive.org/web/20130310214431/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=
** Third opinion: [[Rule of Funny|friggin hilarious]].
** Of course, a monkey appears in several scenes of ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]'' until its greed gets the better of it.
{{quote|
** And of course they eat chilled Monkey brains in ''[[Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom]]''.
* ''[[Space Chimps]]''. Everything's better with Monkeys... [[Recycled in Space|in SPACE!]]
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* ''[[Ace Ventura]]: When Nature Calls'' has a scene with Ace joining a bunch of chimps in a mass exodus from a building, and doing a pretty fair imitation of their movements. Also, [[Black Comedy Rape|gorilla rape to the tune of "The Lion Sleeps"]]. The latter is a case of [[Did Not Do the Research]] combined with [[Rule of Funny]], as gorillas, by and large, have much smaller penises than humans. What? Why are you looking at me like that?
** And let's not forget about Spike, his monkey sidekick.
* In ''[[The Fall (film)|The Fall]]'', [[Charles Darwin]] (yes, that
* The [[The Danza|Tony Danza]] vehicle ''Going Ape''.
* Dino, the [[The Loins Sleep Tonight|sexually impotent]] gorilla in ''[[The Kentucky Fried Movie]]''.
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** Crichton's novel ''[[Next]]'' features a ''talking'' monkey pretending to be a kid with a skin condition. Really.
* [[Rudyard Kipling]]'s ''[[The Jungle Book (novel)|The Jungle Book]]'' had a bunch of monkeys, the Bandar-log, most of whom were eaten by Kaa.
{{quote|
* [[Dean Koontz]]'s Christopher Snow books, ''Fear Nothing'' and ''Seize the Night'', feature a tribe of monkeys that are escaped lab animals.
* In ''[[Animorphs]]'', Marco's favorite battle morph was a gorilla. Chimpanzee and monkey morphs show up as well, although the monkey morphs were sario rip morphs and unusable after the end of the rip.
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* The sitcom ''BJ And The Bear'' was essentially a ripoff of ''Every Which Way But Loose''; it was about a long-haul trucker and his pet ''chimpanzee''.
* Subverted in an episode of ''[[Boston Legal]]'', in which a lawyer attempted to use a case study involving a monkey in one of his closing arguments, but the judge was not impressed.
* The entire premise of ''[[Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp]]''. ("Get that Ape!")
** Which was apparently based on a series of British commercials for PG Tips
*** A more recent example could be TBS's "Monkeyed Movies" shorts (featuring chimps doing parodies of popular movies) and it's 30-minute follow-up/spin-off The Chimp Channel from the 1990s.
* ''[[Tin Man (TV series)|Tin Man]]'''s Mobats were a new spin on the Winged Monkeys. Only thing better than flying monkeys? Flying monkeys that spawn from the tattoos on the hot Wicked Witch's boobs!
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*** Even more telling, some type of primate tends to be one of the default [[Humongous Mecha]] for most animal combinations of zords. Kakuranger had an ape, Gingaman, Gaoranger, Gekiranger, a gorilla, and Shinkenger had a monkey. Some type of primate is one of the default animal zords, along with Lion, Wolf, Shark, and a large Bird Of Prey.
* The premiere episode of ''[[The Middleman]]'' featured superintelligent genetically engineered lowland gorillas.
{{quote|
* Paul the Gorilla from ''[[The Electric Company]]'', companion of Jennifer of The Jungle. No, not ''that'' kind of companion...
* Kelso on ''[[That '70s Show]]'' thinks that if a Monkey had a loaded gun would be an awesome premise for a TV Show.
* ''[[Mork and Mindy]]'' had Mork rescuing (or so he thought) a chimp from the zoo. Twice. The first time was just a gag at the beginning of an episode, but the second time was an entire plot.
* Professor Bobo, the semi-intelligent chimp from ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000|MST3k]]''.
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* On ''[[3rd Rock from the Sun]]'' Doctor Liam Neesam, played by [[John Cleese]], tries to turn the entire population of Earth into monkeys to turn Earth into "Super Monkey World" as an amusement attraction for the rest of the Universe.
* ''[[Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide]]''. In the episode where he tackles the evil monday haze his second (or third) attempt was
{{quote|
Ned: "Monkeys make ''everything'' better." }}
* ''[[Legends of the Hidden Temple]]'': The infamous "Shrine of the Silver Monkey" room is one of the few obstacles on the show that lasted through the entire show's history.
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* The title character of the short-lived '80s sitcom ''Mr. Smith'' was a talking orangutan who worked as a government advisor in [[Washington DC]].
* Gerald the Gorilla, in one of the best known ''[[Not the Nine O'Clock News]]'' sketches. Taken onto a talk show by Professor Fielding, to demonstrate how he has taught a wild animal to talk, they quickly descend to bickering like a married couple, while the interviewer looks on in bemusement.
{{quote|
'''Gerald''': Wild? I was absolutely livid! }}
* [[Playing with a Trope|Lampshaded and Discussed]] in ''[[Community]]'':
{{quote|
'''Troy''': It's an animal that looks like a dude, why don't I have ten of them? }}
** There's a monkey living in the college air ducts with a trove of stolen goods.
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* [[The Monkees (band)|The Monkees]].
* The song "Monkeys and Playbills" from [[Title of Show|[title of show]]].
* "Mechanical Ape!" by ''[[The Aquabats!]]'' is about, [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|as the name suggests]], a [[Humongous Mecha]] shaped like a gorilla.
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xp9Gm-aRe5A Chimpanzee Riding On a Segway, bam ba ba bam ba bam!]
* George Michael's "Monkey" ("Why can't you do it? Why can't you set your monkey free?")
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* Placebo's "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKC7RCb1H_o Space Monkey]" ("Space monkey in the place to be")
** And John Prine's song of that title.
* The punk/alternative band Sprung Monkey.[
* [[Jonathan Coulton]]'s "Code Monkey", a sympathetic take on the slang term referring to software developers whose work involves no creativity.
** Also "My Monkey," about the narrator [http://www.jonathancoulton.com/wiki/index.php/My_Monkey projecting thoughts and feelings onto his monkey butler].
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* [[Flight of the Conchords]] subverts it in "Think About It"; people on the streets are getting diseases from monkeys.
* The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band's first album was called ''Gorilla'', featured a man in a gorilla suit on the cover, and was dedicated "to Kong who must have been a great bloke".
* ''[[Dance Sensation|The Funky Gibbon]]''
* The eternal struggle of [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_QsCXm1vrk Monkey versus Robot].
* Inverted in the [[Neil Cicierega|Lemon Demon]] song "Fiberglass Monkey", which is about a guy having [[Nightmare Fuel|reoccurring nightmares]] about a fiberglass monkey statue.
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** ''Who smoke cigars''.
* ''[[Feng Shui]]'' includes among its factions the Jammers, which are intelligent cybernetic monkeys and apes working in concert with the few humans immune to the influence of Chi. Their aim is to destroy every feng shui site in existence so humanity can be "free" from the "tyranny" of Chi, something which may have very bad consequences for the world.
* The ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'' joke set ''Unhinged'' featured monkeys, alongside donkeys, as the two major creature types featured. [https://web.archive.org/web/20090114022722/http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?&id=74233 Monkey Monkey Monkey]!
* The ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'' design team for ''Alliances'' thought that continuity's idea for a race of sentient gorillas was silly, so they made fun of it by putting the word gorilla in every card's name. For example, Force of Will was originally called "Gorilla Gorilla Gorilla Gorilla Gorilla Gorilla Gorilla Gorilla (Stop That)." As an homage to this, the card Sol Grail's name is an anagram of "gorillas".
** Of course, some of the gorillas (and references to them) still made it into the set as actual cards. In all, nineteen distinct Ape cards have been printed to date (most recently four reprints in the ninth edition of the main set)...not counting those which simply have ''all'' creature types.
* Kroot from the ''[[Warhammer
** There's also the Jokaero, who are intelligent orangutans...[[Recycled in Space|In SPACE]]. Though not as prevalent as they once were, they are still important due to their feats of engineering.
*** And now, thanks to the new Grey Knights codex, it's possible to field ''an entire army'' consisting of them (plus one Inquisitor).
* ''[[Rifts]]'' features Ape-Boys (genetically-enhanced apes and monkeys) as a playable race.
* The fourth set of ''[[Monsterpocalypse]]'', "Monsterpocalypse Now", introduced the faction "Empire of the Apes".
* ''[[Dungeons
** [[Memetic Mutation|Monkey bees... my God.]]
** Monkey Bees DO NOT make everything better.
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*** There have actually been lots of monkey- and ape-based creatures in D&D over the years. Listing all of them could probably double this page's length.
* Doctor Silverback, from the [[Champions]] Universe (and brought over to ''[[Champions Online]]''), is a superhumanly-intelligent gorilla.
* [http://evilhat.com/ Evil Hat Productions] games frequently feature Gorillas, in particular the pulp styled game [https://web.archive.org/web/20120729061228/http://www.evilhat.com/home/sotc/ Spirit of the Century] has Gorilla Khan, a sentient gorilla mastermind with many gorilla minions, and the upcoming [http://www.dresdenfilesrpg.com/ Dresden Files RPG]. A spin off company 'One Bad Egg' produced a whole setting seed and race of intelligent apes for Dungeons and Dragons 4e.
* Meta example for ''[[Exalted]]'': The team of freelance writers calling themselves the Ink Monkeys, who [[Broken Base|nearly]] everyone agrees make everything they touch a thousand times better.
** Keep in mind however, that some fans (some more rational [[Unpleasable Fanbase|than]] [[Fan Dumb|others]]) think they dialed down the brokenness ''too'' much, and now the game is a ''little'' underpowered. Most of those admit that the game is more playable, now (and the official boards [[Fandom Heresy|won't like you very much]] if you bring up that criticism).
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== Theater ==
* In the opera ''Der Junge Lord'' (''The Young Lord'') by Hans Werner Henze, scientist Sir Edger introduces his 'son', Lord Barrett, to the upper dignitaries of a German town. The young Lord's strange speech and eccentric behavior become a source of fascination: he is much admired and imitated, even catching the eyes of a young noble
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* The reason why Crunch wouldn't take off his NV Helmet in ''[[Crash Bandicoot|Crash: Mind over Mutant]]''. "Sooo ''awesome!'' Monkeys!"
* ''[[Deus Ex]]'' describes {{spoiler|the Grays}} as (possibly) being genetically engineered hairless monkeys. This doesn't stop them from being the most annoying enemies in the game. Note that these are ''psychic'' monkeys.
* The ''[[
** [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?|His name is Salsa]]. Fassad makes him his slave by threatening his girlfriend (whom Kumatora dubs the "love monkey") and then fitting him with an [[Shock and Awe|electric collar]].
* One of the main villains in ''[[Earthworm Jim (video game)|Earthworm Jim]]'' is Professor Monkeyforahead, a mad scientist who shares his head with an upside-down monkey. The monkey's name is Monkey Professorforahead.
* In ''[[The Elder Scrolls]]'' series, the Imga and the Tang Mo are two monkey races, respectively from Valenwood and [[Wutai|Akavir]].
* ''[[Far Cry]]'' has mutated monkeys known as Trigen that run straight at you, can leap at you from more than a dozen feet away, and can kill you in just 2 or 3 hits. They were widely considered [[Demonic Spiders]] and an unexpected [[Genre Shift]] from the game's previously tactical combat against human mercenaries.
* A [[Sidequest]] in ''[[Final Fantasy X
** The Trainer Dressphere for Rikku provides her with a monkey named Ghiki for a battle companion.
* ''[[Freedom Force]] vs. the 3rd Reich'' has the Kill-a-Rillas, half-human, half gorilla experiments created by Bliztkrieg.
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** ''[[Mega Man X]]'' series had Spark Mandrill and Soldier Stonekong. More recently there's Purprill the Pseudoroid from ''[[Mega Man ZX]]''.
** ''[[Mega Man Legends]]'' have the recurring character of Data, a cute robot monkey sidekick.
* ''[[Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater]]'' included the minigame entitled "Snake VS Monkey". It's almost exactly what it sounds like. It's a [[Shout-Out]] to Sony's ''[[Ape Escape]]'' series which, in return, featured a minigame in ''Ape Escape 3'' called "Metal Gear Solid: Snake Escape", an [[Affectionate Parody]] of the MGS games.
** ''[[Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots]]'' has a monkey in the actual game - apparently the character it hangs out with wasn't "interesting enough" on his own. Fortunately Raiden's [[Motion Capture]] actor was pretty good at imitating a monkey, and Kojima liked the imitation enough that he decided to [[Throw It In]].
* ''[[Metal Slug]] 3'' allows the player to get a cute monkey armed with a deadly Uzi as a sidekick. ''[[Metal Slug]] 4'', in the other hand, allows the player to ''transform'' into said cute machine gun-wielding monkey.
* ''[[Monkey Island]]''. Better yet, '''[[Look Behind You!|three-headed]]''' [[Running Gag|monkey]].
** ''[[The Curse of Monkey Island]]'' (the third in the series), obviously taking advantage of this trope, advertised having more monkeys in it than the previous two games combined.
*** Also the awesome [[Logo Joke|parody]] of the THX logo in it with increasingly louder monkey sounds and the ominous text "The monkeys are listening".
* In ''[[Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan|Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2!]]'', one of the bonus missions involves the Ouendan helping a stuffed monkey and toy soldier who were accidentally thrown away return home. The BGM? The theme song to the 70's TV show, ''Monkey Magic''.
* A number of ''[[Pokémon]]'' are monkeys and other primates.
** Ash has captured some of them in the [[Pokémon (anime)|anime]]: Primeape, Aipom (traded to Dawn and now an Ambipom), and Chimchar (now an Infernape).
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** There's also the robot monkey Coconuts featured in both Sonic 2 for the Genesis and a cartoon series that was (somewhat) based on it, as well as some of the Sonic-based comics.
* ''[[System Shock]] 2'' had monkeys with [[Psychic Powers|cryokinesis and pyrokinesis]].
* The Eliminators from ''[[Resident Evil
* Zombie monkeys also showed up in the original ''[[The House of the Dead (series)|House of the Dead]]''.
* ''[[Thief]]: The Dark Project'' and ''[[Thief]] 2: The Metal Age'' include ApeBeasts among the Trickster's minions. In the second game, some of them have blowpipes.
* Monkeys have become the de facto mascots of the ''[[Time Splitters]]'' game series. ''Time Splitters: Future Perfect'' included [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|ninja monkeys, zombie monkeys, and cyborg monkeys]] (which the game describes as "Inevitable, really"). Multiplayer includes "Monkey Assistant" mode, in which the losing player is lent help by a pack of monkeys with rocket launchers.
** The easiest way to describe the series (especially 2) is like this: ''[[GoldenEye 007 (1997 video game)|GoldenEye]]'' on speed with monkeys!
** The 4th entry to the series will reportedly have a [[Halo (series)|Master Chief monkey]] and a [[
* In ''[[Wario Ware]]: Touched'', Kat and Ana adopt a monkey and call him Nunchuck.
* ''[[Banjo-Kazooie]]'' features a monkey named Konga, who returns in the sequel as a circus ringmaster.
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* In ''[[Mind Jack]]'' the corporate military have cybernetically enhanced gorillas and bonobos in their army.
** In his otherwise-bile-filled review of the game, [[The Angry Joe Show|Angry Joe]] singled this out as the only positive thing he could mention about it.
{{quote|
* Monkeys and apes are very well-represented in the roster of species available for ''[[Zoo Tycoon]] 2'', especially if you include the Endangered Species and African Adventure expansion packs.
* Jep, a monkey you can befriend in ''Return to Mysterious Island'', is an implausibly-clever helper that uses inventory items for you.
* ''[[Aladdin (Virgin Games)|Aladdin]]'' has bonus levels that actually let you play as Abu the monkey.
* [[Doubly Subverted]] in ''[[
* Subverted in ''[[Asura's Wrath]]'', with Gohma Howlers, which are anything but nice, as they kill humans without hesitation in packs.
* Averted in ''[[Star Fox (series)|Star
* The Hozen of ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' are a race of sapient mountain- and tree-dwelling monkeys. They are noted as having mentalities comparable to a fourteen year-old boy, made only worse when their new Horde allies give them rocket launchers and machine guns.
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* In ''[[The Adventures of Dr. McNinja]]'', Dr. McNinja employs a gorilla named Judy as his secretary.
** According to [[Word of God]], Judy is the proud possessor of one of the few immutable laws of the universe:
{{quote|
* Some children have a monster in their closet. Max, from ''[[Bitmap World]]'', has a [http://www.bitmapworld.com/smcomic2.cgi?a=61 monkey in his closet.]{{Dead link}} Later in the comic, there's a whole storyline involving monkeys.
* In ''[[Schlock Mercenary]]''
** And the Vhorwed are gorilla-like, but ''huge''. When the crew are going undercover in a circus, the ringmaster wants to know what a sentient elephant and an ape could do that would be impressive. [http://www.schlockmercenary.com/
** And now, we have a [http://schlockmercenary.com/
** [http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2010-10-31 "One of the best uses for a monkey is to make everyone pay attention to the monkey."]
* ''[[El Goonish Shive
** [http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=954 An] evil monkey-[[Political Correctness Gone Mad|
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110617005310/http://www.kismetropolis.com/view.php?date=2005-11-24 Kismetropolis]: featured a [[Mushroom Samba|tryptophane trip]] involving a recipe for Monkey Bread.
{{quote|
* In ''[[Dominic Deegan]]'', Everything's Better With [[Incendiary Exponent|Fire]] [https://web.archive.org/web/20140921125948/http://www.dominic-deegan.com/view.php?date=2007-03-18 Monkeys].
* Gwynn from ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' owns several monkeys who are enchanted to attack and humiliate anyone who irritates her. The monkeys themselves don't appear that often, but a lot of mileage is gotten out of the gag that the other characters pretend "monkeys" is Gwynn's nickname for her breasts. "I've done something bad with my monkeys (...) If we don't do something my monkeys are going to be ''all over her'' in front of ''everyone'' (...) be on the lookout for my monkeys and grab them if you see them. They could pop up anywhere."
** Eventually, Bun-bun tried to weaponize monkeys by training them to viciously attack anyone holding exactly 11 items. And when his plan didn't work, [http://archives.sluggy.com/book.php?chapter=51#2007-01-19 used them] to [[Asshole Victim|attack jerks]] clogging "ten items or less" lane. Speaking of which, "Gwynn's monkey are touching my cruller!" is not an euphemism, either.
* ''[[Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal]]'' uses [http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=1713 a monkey dressed as Hitler] as part of a proof that fiction is stranger than truth.
* ''[[The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage]]'' features lots and lots of monkeys in "Lovelace and Babbage vs The Organist." In [https://web.archive.org/web/20130905145837/http://sydneypadua.com/2dgoggles/lovelace-and-babbage-vs-the-organist-part-9/ part nine], Ada Lovelace has to negotiate a room full of sleeping monkeys belonging to the titular organist and his minions. It's a subversion for the protagonist, though - everything is [[Maniac Monkeys|far worse with monkeys]].
* In [[Balderduck]]'s Single Panel [https://web.archive.org/web/20130515022003/http://www.balderduck.com/2010/12/20/single-panel-8/ #8], monkeys seem to have played a huge part in making Shakespeare's works better.
* ''[[My Roommate Is an Elf]]''. Griswold's familiar, Glen, is a talking monkey.
== Web Original ==
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* Never one to miss a comics trope, [[The Descendants]] has recurring character Lucian the Ape Knight and has had some one shot demonic baboons.
* Karl Pilkington's "Monkey News" and the short-lived "Cheap as Chimps" segments from ''The Ricky Gervais Show.''
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* Bruno, Vatsy's bodyguard/handyman/gopher in ''[[Vatsy and Bruno]]'', is a chimp. Subverted somewhat in that, unlike most chimp characters, he's pragmatic, stoic, and content. To quote the work:
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* Well not everything is better with monkeys, as the end of this [[Nightmare Fuel|nightmare fueled]] video should prove: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRMEGMZcF2Y&feature=recommended\]
* In [[Doctor Steel]]'s propaganda video, "Building a Utopian Playland", Dr. Steel talks about his plans for world domination, then distracts his audience with a monkey puppet, saying, "Now... who wants to see the dancing monkey!"
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* In [[The Nostalgia Chick]]'s list of top villainesses, she places [[The Wizard of Oz (film)|The Wicked Witch Of The West]] as #2, but admits that other than the flying monkeys, there's not much to say about her. So instead, the Chick just says "here's some monkeys" and shows videos of chimps dancing to "Yakety Sax" for the next ten to fifteen seconds.
* Subverted by [[The Nostalgia Critic]] in his ''Dunston Checks In'' review, who actually interrupts his own opening catchphrase to say "MONKEYS AREN'T FUNNY!"
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140710022343/http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/teamt/nash/wtfiwwy/28928-monkeys An episode] of [[What
* The Monkey King certainly thinks so in the [[Whateley Universe]]. Some of the people he decides need a little pranking, like Phase, may disagree.
* [[The League of STEAM]] often have to deal with invisible ghost monkeys.
* ''[[Psycomedia]]'' features some amazing experiments with a monkey with a robot arm, or monkeys using poop-throwing the way humans use speech.
* [[Cracked.com|M. Asher Cantrell]]'s [http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-10-biggest-password-mistakes-people-make/ The 10 Biggest Password Mistakes People Make] cites a study claiming that half a percent of English-speaking Internet users have "monkey" as a password on an online account and suggests it may be related to the word's status as an [[Inherently Funny Word]].
== Western Animation ==
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* Let's not forget the "Dial M For Monkey" shorts on ''[[Dexter's Laboratory]]'', where one of Dexter's test animals is secretly a super-powered crime fighter.
* ''[[Dora the Explorer]]'' has a monkey, Boots, as a [[Sidekick]].
* ''[[The Fairly
** "You know, if it weren't for the fact that all of this is historically accurate, I would think that someone was making up incredibly lame puns."
*** This is specifically in response to a history lesson about how the "Founding Alpha Males" signed the "Declar''ape''tion of Independance" to create "The United Apes of America", but there are more ape related puns. [[A Worldwide Punomenon|Many, many more]].
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* [[Hanna-Barbera]] worked this trope handily during the 60s and 70s.
** ''[[The Herculoids]]'' had a rock ape named Igoo, and "The Beaked People" had flying monkeys.
** ''[[Space Ghost]]'''s [[
*** ''[[The Fairly
** ''[[Magilla Gorilla]]'', which, in addition to its own primate star, had a secondary cartoon called ''The Adventures of Peter Potamus and So-So''. So-So, Peter's [[Sidekick]],
** ''Beagley Beagley and The Great Grape Ape''
** The ''[[Superfriends]]''' [[Wonder Twins]] had a monkey named Gleek, effectively making Gleek, as Blip before him, the [[Sidekick]]'s sidekick. Technically, Gleek is indeed a space monkey, but not, as far as we know, a [[Killer Space Monkey]].
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** And by "less than amused," we mean "Luthor shot him in the face."
** Even the heroes were underwhelmed; [[Wonder Woman]]'s response upon seeing her transformation: "Oh, come ON!"
* Monkeys and apes are a recurring joke throughout ''[[Kim Possible]]'', with them being the source of Ron's mystical kung-fu powers (which usually don't work until the [[Grand Finale]]), as well as his greatest fear and the source of power of his personal archenemy, Monkey Fist. Two words: ''monkey [[
** There was also Josh Mankey, a character that Ron formed a [[Conspiracy Theory]] around, based on his last name being one vowel away from "monkey." And Camp Wannaweep, the camp Ron went to as a young boy, had a chimpanzee for a mascot. Ron was forced to bunk with said mascot, and this is where he developed the phobia.
* [[King Kong]] had his own cartoon series that was produced by [[Rankin/Bass Productions]]. Yes, [[The Hobbit (animation)|THAT Rankin-Bass]]
* ''[[My Gym Partner's a Monkey]]'' uses a monkey (not to mention a whole cast of [[Funny Animal
* ''[[Planet Sheen]]'' has Nesmith, a [[Talking Animal|highly intelligent]] chimpanzee frequently dumbfounded by the title character's actions.
* ''[[The Powerpuff Girls]]''' first nemesis is an evil monkey called Mojo Jojo.
** And in the episode "[[The Beatles (band)|Meet the Beat-Alls]]", they disguise a monkey named Michelle as [[Yoko Ono|Yoko Jono]] to break up Mojo's villainous team.
** And let's not forget [[The Movie]], which shows his origin, [[In Which a Trope Is Described]] Mojo got together an '''''entire '''''<s>monkey military</s> <s>[[
* ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'' has used the primate gag a couple dozen times over its long run, most delightfully when Homer becomes the leader of a Stonemasons-style secret organization and decided that the best way to use his new-found power was to get a bunch of monkeys together and re-enact the Civil War. Of course there's also Mr. Teeny, Krusty's cigar-smoking chimp sidekick. And there's that time Flanders's house got taken over by a radioactive baboon. And... well, there's a lot of examples.
** "That's what you get for not hailing to the chimp!"
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* ''[[Bucky O'Hare and the Toad Wars|Bucky O Hare and The Toad Wars]]'': B-B-B-BERSERKER B-B-B-BABOON! The only thing Toads fear. With good reason.
* ''[[The Ren and Stimpy Show]]'' had the Baboon as a recurring character.
* A monkey participated in many of the Prometheus and Bob shorts on ''[[
* Spidermonkey from ''[[Ben 10: Alien Force|Ben 10 Alien Force]]'' is [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|just what he sounds like]]; a monkey with [[Spider-Man]] powers. Though his species is called "Arachni''chimp''". His [[Super Mode]] in ''[[Ben 10: Ultimate Alien|Ben 10 Ultimate Alien]]'' is apparently a gorilla with [[Spider Limbs|spider legs]].
* Monsieur Mallah, mentioned up in Comics, also appeared in the fifth season of ''[[Teen Titans (animation)|Teen Titans]]'' as [[The Dragon]]. Considering that the show was aimed at kids, no mention of his sexuality was made.
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== Other ==
* ''[[Mad]]'' had a one-panel feature for a brief period of time called "Monkeys Are Always Funny". The article consisted of a serious, often tragic picture from real life with a monkey digitally added
** They also did an entire issue "written by" monkeys. It didn't work as well as you'd think; when [[Overused Running Gag|every single punchline is "MONKEY!"]], it loses its effect.
* The greatest TV pitch in history: "[[They Fight Crime|She's the Pope. He's a chimp. They're cops]]."
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** Monkeys are a fairly common theme in Ross Noble's comedy as well, particularly on his 'Unrealtime' DVD.
* As they're all improvised it gets hard to really pin it down, but around 30% of Ross Nobles shows will involve monkeys.
* The Penn Jillette radio show had a regular feature called "Monkey Tuesday", in which monkey news and monkey-related discussion would open the show, and callers would call in with stories of their personal encounters with primates. It all started with a story about a monkey and a dwarf ([https://web.archive.org/web/20140829030027/http://www.pennfans.net/view/Audio_Archive/PennRadio/The.Penn.Jillette.Radio.Show.2006.04.11/ part 1 near the end], [https://web.archive.org/web/20140828204751/http://www.pennfans.net/view/Audio_Archive/PennRadio/The.Penn.Jillette.Radio.Show.2006.04.12/ part 2], and [https://web.archive.org/web/20150430183407/http://www.pennfans.net/view/Audio_Archive/PennRadio/The.Penn.Jillette.Radio.Show.2006.04.18/ next week it was a trend].
* Freeware 3D program Blender has the head of a monkey (named "Suzanne," as a [[Shout-Out]] to Kevin Smith) as one of its basic models. It's often used for test renders.
* Plans for ''[[The Haunted Mansion|The Mystic Manor]]'' at [[Disney Theme Parks|Hong Kong Disneyland]] involve a mischevious monkey among the supernatural stuff.
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* Oh dear, the Lake Superior State University has added the word to their "List of Words to Be Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness", specifically because of this trope. I think we broke it [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081230/ap_on_re_us/banned_words\].
* ''[[The Daily Show]]'' had a lot of fun with this one in relation to Congress' [http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=219507&title=Felonious-Monkeys "monkey bite bill"].
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* The late [[Michael Jackson]]'s best friend, Bubbles The Chimp.
* A man in China trained some pet monkeys in rudimentary Tae Kwon Do to entertain passersby. In December 2009 the monkeys turned on him. (For the record, the trainer overcame the monkeys and restrained them before they could do any real harm)
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