Cymbal-banging monkey toy explained

A cymbal-banging monkey toy (also known as Jolly Chimp) is a mechanical depiction of a monkey holding a cymbal in each hand.^[1] When activated it repeatedly bangs its cymbals together and, in some cases, bobs its head, chatters, screeches, grins, and more. There are both traditional wind-up versions and updated battery-operated cymbal-banging monkeys. The cymbal-banging monkey toy is an example of singerie and kitsch.

History

The earliest documented toy of a monkey banging cymbals is "Hoppo the Waltzing Monkey" by Louis Marx & Co. in 1932.^{[2] [3]} The trope of a monkey using cymbals to perform dates back to organ grinders using Capuchin monkeys as part of their performances.^[4] Around 1954, a toy using the same concept named Musical Chimp was produced by the Japanese company Alps.^{[5] [6]} A variety of toys using the same concept would pop up over the next decade by companies such as Russ and Yano Man Toys. In 1972, advertisements started appearing for a toy named "Jumbo Jolly Chimp" or "Musical Jolly Chimp."^[7] Musical Jolly Chimp was originally released as "わんぱくスージー (Naughty Susie) in Japan^[8] and manufactured by Kuramochi Company in partnership with Daishin in the United States and Bandai in Japan.^{[9] [10]} Musical Jolly Chimp was battery operated and would bug its eyes out and screech when hit on the head.^[11] Its chest was often constructed from recycled tin from food packaging.^[12] This specific design was featured in a variety of entertainment such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Toy Story 3 and How The Grinch Stole Christmas. This design has switched companies over time as well as changes to its appearance; its most recent iteration is Yamani's "Curious Cymbal-kun."^[13]

In popular culture

• Season 1, episode 1 (pilot) of the 1981 TV show The Greatest American Hero
• The 1988 horror film Monkey Shines
• The 1996 film Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders (derived from the 1984 film The Devil's Gift)
• Visually referenced in the 2002 animated film The Powerpuff Girls Movie
• Eurotrip
• The Phantom of the Opera
• Monster House
• The Simpsons Movie
• Annabelle Comes Home.
• In the early 1970s, the National Clearing House of Drug Abuse Information aired an anti-heroin public service announcement with a Jolly Chimp banging its cymbals for some time while a child says, "They say people addicted to heroin have a monkey on their back. Isn't it cute?" before the monkey stops and the public service announcement cuts to an image of a screaming monkey, with the text "Why do you think they call it DOPE?!" This has become a popular internet screamer.
• It is also widely seen in the games Fallout 4 and Fallout 76, and features in horror writer Stephen King's 1980 story The Monkey and is the cover to the book of short stories Skeleton Crew.
• It is a throwable item in the Little Nightmares video game series, and can be used to distract enemies.
• One appears in the Wallace and Gromit 2008 short A Matter of Loaf and Death.
• A monkey with a bomb attached to its back features prominently in the Call of Duty franchise’s “Zombies” gamemode.
• In the 21 May 2005 episode of Doctor Who, "The Empty Child" when the radio is playing, the doctor notices a moving Jolly Chimp.
• The 2006 Hot Chip song Over and Over references "a monkey with a miniature cymbal".
• A Jolly Chimp serves as the Sunnyside Daycare's security system in the 2010 Disney and Pixar's animated film Toy Story 3.
• Large Jolly chimps are seen in the 2018 horror platformer and are used to solve many of the game's puzzles.
• The character Jinx from League of Legends has a big emotional connection to Jolly Chimps. Other than explosions which give her happiness, Jolly Chimps give her peace to her mentally ill mind. This connection can be seen in her starring 2021 animated series Arcane: League of Legends.
• Most recently the Chimp has featured in the popular Netflix series Stranger Things in 2022.

Notes and References

1. Web site: History. The Classic "Cymbal Banging Monkey" Toy. en. 2019-11-14.
2. News: 13 December 1932 . Watch the Monkey Play the Cymbals . The Evening Sun . 25.
3. Book: Schroeder's Collectible Toys Price Guide: Antique to Modern . Collector Books . 1995.
4. Web site: Coronet Instructional Films . 1955 . The Monkey and the Organ Grinder . YouTube.
5. News: 14 November 1954 . The Toy Everyone One Is Asking For! Musical Chimp . Santa Barbara News-Press . C6.
6. Book: Schroeder's Collectible Toys Price Guide: Antique to Modern . Collector Books . 2008.
7. News: 19 July 1972 . Skaggs Drug Centers' Big Bargains! . Tucson Daily Citizen.
8. Web site: 2 November 2012 . わんぱくスージーの箱の箱 . smile3retro.
9. Web site: Dockerill . Kevin . 22 May 2020 . Guide to Japanese Tin Toy Trade Marks. Blog Extract . Dockerills.
10. Web site: 9 May 2022 . 当時物 バンダイ かわいい動物シリーズ わんぱくスージー 検；玩具 人形 ぬいぐるみ 昭和レトロ ビンテージ . Aucfan.
11. Web site: 28 December 2016 . わんぱくスージー / Musical Jolly Chimp をスカベンジ . ちむたんブログ.
12. Web site: よっちん . 4 October 2012 . わんぱくスージー(o^^o) . よっちんの日記.
13. Web site: Curious Cymbal-kun . Yamani.