Monkey-ed Movies

''Monkey-ed Movies'' is a series of short films broadcast on the Turner Broadcasting System in the late 1990s. The films parodied popular films or television programs that were currently being broadcast on TBS with the use of costumed chimpanzees and orangutans voiced by human actors.

Ray Richmond of ''Variety'' noted that ''Monkey-ed Movies'' "proved to be clever stuff, in large part because it was short and sweet. It was just an irreverent little diversion made terrific by some dedicated training and impressive mimicry."

History

The idea for the series came from a five-minute pilot that originally aired on MTV. TBS ordered 48 segments to be produced which were run during ''Dinner and a Movie'' and in odd time slots after sporting events. However, one day when a golf tournament ran short, the station played about half an hour of ''Monkey'ed Movies'' to unexpected results. The ratings actually increased, which prompted TBS to order 13 episodes of an expanded half-hour series which would become ''The Chimp Channel''.

Production

The American Humane Association's Film and Television Unit monitored the filming of ''Monkey-ed Movies'', and reported:
:"The chimps and orangutans are receiving a very high standard of care. The trainers use modern, humane techniques to cue and motivate the animals. . . The TBS production team has been very cooperative, has upheld the Guidelines and insures the wellbeing icof the chimps during filming."Movie Review - The Chimp Channel
AHA Film (1999). Retrieved on 4-07-10.

Television show

In 1999, TBS spun the popular ''Monkey-ed Movies'' series into a situation comedy entitled ''The Chimp Channel''. The series lasted only one season and met with negative reviews criticizing its attempt to expand the already effective ''Monkey-ed Movies'' concept. The series featured a segment called ''Movies on Film'' where two critics reviewed films from the ''Monkey-ed Movies'' library and gave a non-opposable thumbs up or down.

List of ''Monkey-ed Movies'' shorts

* ''A Few Good Men''
* '' Air Force One''
* ''Alien''
* '' Apollo 13'' (two different versions)
* ''As Good as It Gets''
* '' Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery''
* '' Boogie Nights''
* '' Braveheart''
* Braves Baseball
* Caligula
* ''Dances with Wolves''
* ''Die Hard''
* ''Dinner and a Movie''
* ''Dumb and Dumber''
* ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (two different versions)
* ''Evita''
* ''The Full Monty''
* '' Forrest Gump''
* '' The Fugitive''
* '' Ghost''
* ''The Godfather''
* ''Gone with the Wind''
* ''Good Will Hunting''
* '' In & Out''
* ''Interview with the Vampire''
* ''James Bond'' (two different versions)
* ''Jaws'' (two different versions)
* ''Jerry Maguire''
* '' L.A. Confidential''
* '' The Lost World''
* ''Men in Black''
* '' Mission Impossible''
* NASCAR Racing
* ''Planet of the Humans'', a parody of ''Planet of the Apes''
* '' Raiders of the Lost Ark''
* ''Scream''
* '' Steel Magnolias''
* '' Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' (two different versions)
* ''Thelma & Louise''
* ''Tin Cup''
* ''Titanic''
* '' Top Gun''
* ''Twister''
* Ultra Chimps (promo)
* WCW
* '' When Harry Met Sally...''

References

Freekland.com Monkey-ed Movies review

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monkey-Ed Movies
TBS (American TV channel) original programming
Short film series
American short films
Parodies of films
Parodies of television shows
Chimpanzees
Television series by Studio T
1998 films