Neal99

This is a great episode from perhaps the best season of the "Andy Griffith Show." Ronny Howard is especially good as he asks his "Paw" about the rules between dads and sons and as he tries some of the methods recommended by the "spoiled kid" for manipulating parents. Howard's deadpan delivery is just right. The writing is perfect, the acting is superb -- and, as in the best of the AGS episodes, a life lesson is taught in a warm, funny, subtle way. The relationship between Andy and Opie is well summarized in this episode. Overly doting 21st century parents would do well to watch and see the effects indulgence can have on their children. Oh, for more kids like Opie and fewer like the spoiled kid!

It is incredible that this hopeless mess of a movie was Robert Stevenson's follow-up to Mary Poppins! It is episodic to the point of incoherence, the 'monkey' of the title (actually a chimp, of course) barely appears, Annette's charm was wearing thin, and the sets, music and general production level are poor indeed. Tommy Kirk appears to be barely awake throughout much of the film; he was probably wondering why he ever signed that long-term contract with Uncle Walt. Worse is seeing Arthur O'Connell, Leon Ames and other dependable character actors flailing away with what must be one of the worst scripts ever churned out by Disney. This is another of those pictures that gave 'family films' a bad name. Of minor cultural interest is the appearance of the Beach Boys, who function as a back-up band for Annette during the opening credits! They then disappear and are never seen again – another example of the filmmakers' total lack of interest in anything that might sustain interest from beginning to end.