History Main / SillySimian

*** Later [[StealthPun mimicked]] by [[http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/04/simian-super-he.html Marvel Apes,]] an alternate universe where everyone is a monkey except the Inhumans and Sue Storm. (Note that the ComicBook/MarvelApes version of Spider-Man, who has a tail, is not an ape, but a [[StealthPun spider monkey]]. He actually calls himself "Spider-Monkey".)

* In ''VideoGame/WarioWareTouched'', Kat and Ana adopt a monkey and call him Nunchuck.

** King Louie from ''WesternAnimation/{{The Jungle Book|1967}}'' was Disney's original addition to the movie, yet arguably, [[AdaptationDisplacement feels very much as if he belongs to Mowgli's world]]. The original book ''does'', however, have a scene where the monkeys try to make Mowgli their leader, and won't let him go. He was later transplanted to ''WesternAnimation/TaleSpin''.

* Many, many {{superhero}}es and {{supervillain}}s are intelligent apes of some sort. Notables include:

* Creator/{{Fox News|Channel}} (erroneously) reported in 2010 that the Taliban was training [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buoVwM1pQEs "monkey terrorists"]] to shoot and kill American soldiers.

* In the screwball comedy ''Film/{{Monkey Business|1952}}'' (not to be confused with a Creator/MarxBrothers [[Film/MonkeyBusiness film]] which has nothing to do with monkeys aside from its title), a monkey breaks into a chemistry lab and accidentally creates a batch of ScrewballSerum.

* In ''VideoGame/WarioWare: Touched'', Kat and Ana adopt a monkey and call him Nunchuck.
* The Hozen of ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' are a race of sapient mountain- and tree-dwelling monkeys. They are noted as having mentalities comparable to a fourteen year-old boy, made only worse when their new Horde allies give them rocket launchers and machine guns.

* The killer apes from Creator/MichaelCrichton's ''Literature/{{Congo}}'', trained to crush the heads of humans who approached the lost city. Crichton's novel ''Literature/{{Next}}'' features a ''talking'' monkey pretending to be a kid with a skin condition. Really.

One consequence of this trope is the tendency in media to refer to great apes like gorillas or chimpanzees as monkeys, as even though they're technically not monkeys in the popular sense, [[InherentlyFunnyWords the word "monkey" is simply funnier.]] It should be noted that apes are cladistically a specific ''type'' of monkey - they are the sister group of the Old World monkeys, together forming the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catarrhini catarrhine clade]] of simian primates. In other words, apes are more closely-related by descent to Old World monkeys than Old World monkeys are to New World ones, so any use of "monkey" to include Old World and New World monkeys but exclude apes is paraphyletic and arbitrary from a scientific perspective. Some TalkingAnimal works make light of this distinction by having a great ape be called a "monkey", only to either [[IAmNotWeasel correct whomever called them that]] or to take offense (such as, for instance, a certain [[Literature/{{Discworld}} librarian]] or an [[Film/EscapeFromThePlanetOfTheApes expectant chimpanzee father]]). By logical extension, this trope also extends to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosimian prosimians]] (a term traditionally used for primates that aren't monkeys ''or'' apes, e.g. lemurs such as [[WesternAnimation/{{Madagascar}} King Julien]]) being employed for comedy, despite not being technically monkeys in the ''cladistic'' sense.

* ''LightNovel/BludgeoningAngelDokuroChan'' has a student transformed into a recurring monkey. Said monkey's head was made using stock real life photos.

* In the "Medimoji" series by Creator/{{ZDoggMD}}, the primary care doctor is a monkey. He's usually pretty friendly, (except when he ''did'' start flinging poop when he got matched to a hospital he didn't want to go to), and is something of a ButtMonkey, as (being a JackOfAllTrades), [[AcceptableProfessionalTargets family medicine is considered something of an acceptable target within the medical community]].

** A few Franchise/{{Disney|AnimatedCanon}} geeks have a theory: this trope is the ''only'' acceptable reason why there are "[[MisplacedWildlife lemurs]]" in the Late Cretaceous period in ''WesternAnimation/{{Dinosaur}}''.

* Joe Cartoon's short subject "Look At My Monkey" is a pun on the phrase, "[[ADateWithRosiePalms spank the monkey]]." But the monkey gets his own back in the end.

** Monkeys are also known to steal from people; while this can be a minor inconvenience if they steal food, they are known to steal bags, phones or anything that they can take with them. They can also break them out of anger or discard them when they lose interest in them.

** There was also Josh Mankey, a character that Ron formed a UsefulNotes/{{Conspiracy Theor|ies}}y around, based on his last name being one vowel away from "monkey." And Camp Wannaweep, the camp Ron went to as a young boy, had a chimpanzee for a mascot. Ron was forced to bunk with said mascot, and this is where he developed the phobia.

* A CymbalBangingMonkey in a claw machine is a BonusBoss in the [[BossRush casino level]] of ''VideoGame/{{Cuphead}}''.

* The Norts in ''ComicBook/RogueTrooper'' once attempted to counter the Southers' [[SuperSoldier GIs]] with part-human-part-gorillas, who like the [=GIs=] could breathe the atmosphere of [[DeathWorld Nu Earth]]. They failed when Rogue beat their leader in one-on-one combat, [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority becoming the new commander]] and persuading them to rebel against their evil masters.

See also ApesInSpace, KillerSpaceMonkey, ManiacMonkeys, MischiefMakingMonkey, MonkeysOnATypewriter, SeaAping and NinjaPirateZombieRobot (which invokes this trope quite often); also check out QuackingUp and GoofyFeatheredDinosaur for the equivalents of this trope for avians and kin. See CymbalBangingMonkey for a common exception to this trope. See also EverythingsBetterWithSamurai for its human counterpart. For more mythically mysterious monkey-ish beings, see BigfootSasquatchAndYeti.

[[quoteright:340:[[WesternAnimation/TheJungleBook1967 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screenshot_2022_12_03_82816_pm.png]]]]

[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Deadpool_Vol_1_36_5868.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Don't worry, he actually thinks it's really funny.]]

* The Wiki/SCPFoundation disagrees with this trope.

* The greatest TV pitch in history: "[[TheyFightCrime She's the Pope. He's a chimp. They're cops]]."

* The Barrel Full of Monkeys game monkeys make brief appearances in each ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'' film (sometimes only during the credits), and they're usually used for quick, silly gags. Escalated in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'' with DEATH BY MONKEYS.

* Heroic simians in ''Machinima/GamingAllStars'' include [[VideoGame/DonkeyKong Donkey Kong]], [[VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry Diddy Kong]], and [[VideoGame/SambaDeAmigo Amigo]] in ''The Ultimate Crossover'' and ''Remastered'', all of whom become part of the ultimate team of heroes near the end of both versions.

* Music/TheRollingStones have the song "Monkey Man" and GreatestHitsAlbum ''GRRR!'' has a gorilla on its cover.

See also ApesInSpace, KillerSpaceMonkey, ManiacMonkeys, MischiefMakingMonkey, MonkeysOnATypewriter, SeaAping and NinjaPirateZombieRobot (which invokes this trope quite often); also check out CluckingFunny, QuackingUp, and GoofyFeatheredDinosaur for the equivalents of this trope for avians and kin. See CymbalBangingMonkey for a common exception to this trope. See also EverythingsBetterWithSamurai for its human counterpart. For more mythically mysterious monkey-ish beings, see BigfootSasquatchAndYeti.

* TruthInTelevision: Diane Fossey and the movie of her life, ''Film/GorillasInTheMist.'' Of only because they're docile, with her discovering the would-be KillerGorilla is mostly a GentleGiant.
* ''Film/AceVenturaWhenNatureCalls'' has a scene with Ace joining a bunch of chimps in a mass exodus from a building, and doing a pretty fair imitation of their movements. Also, [[BlackComedyRape gorilla rape to the tune of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"]]. The latter is a case of RuleOfFunny, as gorillas, by and large, have much smaller penises than humans. [[DefensiveWhat What]]? Why are you looking at me like that?
** It also introduces Spike, Ace's monkey sidekick who gets more screentime in the animated series.