Michael's Movie Grade:C+
Year Released: 1965
HistoryThe Monkey's Uncle was a sequel to an earlier Disney movie called The Misadventures of Merlin Jones. The Misadventures of Merlin Jones was originally planned to be the last Disney film for Tommy Kirk and Annette Funicello. However after its huge success at the box office, it was decided to make a sequel. This sequel would end up being the last Disney film for the two stars instead. Also returning here is the same director as The Misadventures of Merlin Jones, Robert Stevenson, as well as writers Alfred Lewis and Helen Levitt. Since Alfred Lewis and Helen Levitt were blacklisted at this time (believed to have connections with the communist party) they once again worked under the pennames Tom and Helen August.
This film marked the cinematic debut of Mark Goddard, who is best remembered today for playing Don West in the TV series Lost in Space. The first episode of that show would premiere later the same year this movie was released.
When released this film was better liked by critics than the previous film. They didn't consider it any cinematic masterpiece, but they admitted that it was fun. On the other hand while this film didn't do bad at the box office, it was not as successful as the previous movie.
ReviewThis is a quite entertaining film, however it will never be mistaken for one of the Disney studio's best.
This film inherits both the pros and cons of its predecessor. Like the first movie this one is also broke up into two different stories. Again the transition here does not work and feels abrupt and distracting. While in this case it fairs better than it did the previous movie, it still doesn't work. The first segment has some charm due to the likable characters and naturally flowing story, it is easily the weakest segment of the movie. The reason for this is that there are very little real laughs here. This film is a comedy first and foremost and a lack of laughs is a big problem with a comedy. Again the story itself isn't that bad and actually has some intriguing ideas. The characters while not fully developed are likable and we want to see things work out well for them. Despite this though the lack of laughs keeps this segment from being as good as it should be. The second segment actually has some great laughs, but sadly too few. I did laugh out loud watching the scene where they are viewing footage of airplane flights, Leon's great dream sequence, Stanley playing the heater like an accordion and the film's great ending. However on the other hand these moments did not make up the majority of the segment. Often there was too much time in between, where the jokes just weren't that funny. Still this segment again had likable characters and a story that seemed to flow naturally. It also had a great song called I Can Fly. Speaking of songs this movie does start with a song sung by Annette as well as The Beach Boys. While the lyrics are extremely corny, the song is fun and it is cool to see the Beach Boys preform in a Disney movie. With all this said though the film has one major problem which I haven't addressed. While it can be fun, it is also forgettable and it is likely you won't remember much of it the next day.
Overall this is an enjoyable little comedy for Disney fans, but it is far from the best the studio could provide at this time. It does actually have a fantastic and very funny ending though that even those who don't like the rest of the movie may enjoy.
Film CreditsDirector: Robert Stevenson.
Writers: Alfred Lewis Levitt, Helen Levitt
Cast: Tommy Kirk (Merlin Jones), Annette Funicello (Jenifer), Leon Ames (Judge Holmsby), Arthur O'Connor (Darius Green III), Judy (Stanley), Frank Faylen (Mr. Dearborne), Leon Tyler (Leon), Norman Grabowski (Norman), Cheryl Miller (Lisa), Connie Gilchrist (Mrs. Gossett), Alan Hewitt (Professor Shattuck), George Clarke (College President), Mark Goddard (Haywood), Harry Holcombe (Regent), Alexander Lockwood (Regent), Harry Antrim (Regent), The Beach Boys (Themselves)
Producers: Walt Disney, Ron Miller
Music: Buddy Baker
Songwriters: Richard and Robert Sherman
Cinematographer: Edward Colman
Editor: Cotton Warburton
Set Decorators: Emile Kuri, Hal Gausman
Costume Artists: Gertrude Casey, Chuck Keehne
Makeup Artist: Pat McNalleySpecial Effects Artists: Robert A. Mattey, Eustace Lycett
Resources UsedThe Disney Films by Leonard Maltin
http://www.thedisneyfilms.com/search/label/Monkey%27s%20Uncle%20%28The%29
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059462/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm
-Michael J. Ruhland
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