 | The classic creepy toy, that's featured in many a horror movie. This little fellow always randomly starts banging his cymbals, just before something really bad is about to happen. The startling pre-warning to bigger shocks to come. The classic version of the manic mechanical monkey was manufactured by the Japanese company Daishin C.K., during the 1950s to 1970s under the name "Musical Jolly Chimp". Over the years a number of other toy manufactures have copied the basic design of the monkey, marketed under variety of names. |
| The classic monkey, is seen wearing red and white striped pants and a yellow vest with red buttons. The monkeys are often produced with red rings painted around their wide-open eyes, creating an appearance some find disturbing, which could perhaps explain their many appearances in horror, sci-fi and other movies over the years. The earliest known appearence is in 1955's Rebel Without A Cause, when James Dean is shown drunk, playing with one of the monkeys in the middle of the street. |  |
| | One of the most famous appearances of the monkey is in the 1977 film Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, when one suddenly begins clapping its cymbals as a UFO appears. The toy is featured in "The Monkey", a Stephen King short story from his 1985 book Skeleton Crew, which uses the monkey as its cover image. The monkey has also appeared in computer games, animations, as well as TV shows as diverse as The Simpsons, Dr. Who and Wallace & Gromit. |
