The Monkey's Uncle

Slow and formulaic, it does at least have an amusing eventual pay-off.

'The Monkey's Uncle' is a sequel that never needed to be made. It isn't an awful film at all but struggles in a similar way as 'The Misadventures of Merlin Jones' does, just without the promising beginning.

The premise is dull, there is minor intrigue in the Darius Green III (Arthur O'Connell) plot but everything that builds up to it is uninteresting and mostly predictable. Tommy Kirk (Merlin) and Annette Funicello (Jennifer) are solid, but the performance of Leon Ames (Holmsby) comes across more sillier than in the 1964 production.

Disney continue to be iffy with their live-action sequels.

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.

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!

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.

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!