The Monkey's Uncle

Robert Stevenson directed quite a few great Disney movies but "The Monkey's Uncle" isn't one of them. It's an okay watch, at best. The human cast is good. They all turn in nice performances. The monkey, however, isn't so hot. All of his scenes are pretty dumb. The nice cast is let down by a weak script. There is very little plot and very few real laughs. "The Monkey's Uncle" is an okay time killer if you're in the mood for a "vintage" Disney life action movie.

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!

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.

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!

Say what you will about Walt Disney's slapstick suburban comedies of the 1960s, they at least looked good. Walt always ensured a decent production, and usually threw in some nifty visual effects, but "The Monkey's Uncle" is the exception. A pale follow-up to 1964's "The Misadventures Of Merlin Jones," the picture gets off to a spunky start with co-star Annette Funicello singing on-stage with the Beach Boys. Once the plot gets going, however, the movie becomes mired in Sitcomville; worse, it looks cheap and tatty, with flimsy walls passing for sets and terrible use of color photography. Having enjoyed "The Misadventures Of Merlin Jones" for what it was, I expected Disney to up the fun-quotient with this sequel, but it's a real snooze. *1/2 from ****