S03E04 The Monchhichis

In this premiere of THE MONCHHICHIS, your Saturday Morning preservationist, Christopher Jay, takes a look at the origin of the show. Included, is a look at the talent behind the scenes, a rundown of the pilot, “Tickle Crystal”, and a look at the legacy of THE MONCHHICHIS after all these years.

It’s not just a look at THE MONCHHICHIS, but also how the animated DC Superheroes came to be from Hanna-Barbera. Explore the life and times of Bobby Morse, Frank Nelson and the rest of the cast.   

Come along with Moncho, Thumkii, and Too-too all the way back to September 10, 1983. Take a trip back to Monchia to defeat Horgg and his evil Grumplins!

Thanks for ‘tooning in.

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Featured Music:

“Nostalgic Happy Music” by AudioJungle - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtxSUR6MQhw&t=2s

“Happy Life” by Fredji - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzQiRABVARk

“I Feel You” by Kevin MacLeod” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw8E3jjbUCE

“Nostalgic” by OrangeHead - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wExcRoNNzAc

“Breakfast Club” by Vodovoz - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Spi22l3m5I

“Horizons” by Atch - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-u53MADIag

“80’s Hijack” by Gee - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndVqzJ9Lk6M&t=26s

“Synthmania” by Vodovoz - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6r20TKnA6M

“United” by Vodovoz - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArjGQFCcHxA

“Cool Blue” by Vodovoz - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lp5cxZWP-wc

Transcript

THE SATURDAY MORNING PODCAST

“The Monchhichis”

0. OPENING (PRE-RECORD)

                   MUSIC: 80s SYNTH

ME:           Wake up, it’s Saturday Morning. Let Mom and Dad sleep in and come with me back to the 80’s. Let’s grab a bowl of Chocolate Donutz Cereal or Honey Bunches of Oats and flip on the tube. I’ve got the TV Guide and hours of nothing to do. 

              My name is Chris and I love all the Saturday Morning cartoons. When I was a kid, I lived for Saturday mornings. Now that I’m an adult, I want to relive all those great shows and see how they came about. 

Let’s take a deep-dive back to the 80’s and see what’s waiting. Rewind!

                   FX: REWIND SOUND

1. INTRO

                   AMBIENT: JUNGLE

ME:           High in the trees, live the little Monchhichis. They don’t seem to have many worries. They lounge and read and invent things, and some of them talk way too fast. It’s not anime, Thumkii! It looks like paradise, and I’d like to go there. Maybe I’ll book a flight. Oh, and then there’s the Grumplins. They’re your typical baddies. Mean and incompetent and, you know, declare genocide on the Monchhichis. Oh, that’s dark. And my tickets on Air Patchitt are non-refundable? Of course they are. Well, curl your tail on a branch and hang upside down as we explore the happy world of THE MONCHHICHIS. 

                   MUSIC: SHOW THEME SONG

*   *   *

                   AMBIENT: JUNGLE

ME:           In the Fall of 1983, ABC thought it wise to open their Saturday Morning programming to… monkey-like creatures who lived in trees above the clouds? (beat) Okay then. They were called THE MONCHHICHIS, and they premiered in a package show along with “The Little Rascals” and “Richie Rich”. In their 8:30 time slot, they were up against “Saturday Supercade” on CBS, and “Shirt Tales” on NBC.  If you tuned in, you had the option of seeing tree monkeys, video game animals or living greeting cards. 

              Before THE MONCHHICHIS was “The Best of Scooby-Doo”, a series that recycled and truncated stories. If you stuck around after THE MONCHHICHIS, you were treated to the one-two 80s punch of “Pac-Man & Rubik, the Amazing Cube”. The latter was a new show. “The Littles”, “The Puppy’s Further Adventures” and “The New Scooby & Scrappy-Doo Show” were on the schedule for that season. All of them, and the returning favorites, were in the print ads, which proclaimed “Kids Love Saturday Morning on ABC”. Sharp-eyed fans would be on the lookout for segments featuring Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, who had performed the theme song for “Rubik”. It’s been almost 30 years, but I can still remember hearing the song “Cannonball” from Menudo, and I only heard it that one time.

              The world of THE MONCHHICHIS took place in the world of Monchhia, where the natives lived high up in the trees, above the clouds. They were a combination of mechanics, magical folk and regular people. The inhabitants would use their tails to perform tasks, and to swing from the trees. 

              Below these trees, where the sun was not bright and gloom seemed to be the norm, was the Underland. It was there you would find Ha-Ha Hollow, where tickle crystal grows. There was also Grumplore where the Grumplins lurked.

              Horgg, the head Grumplor, charged his lieutenants with defeating the Monchhichis. They used their flying ship, the Grumplin Galley, to run their missions and attacks. Horgg’s right hand man was Snogs, who was given the responsibility of defeating the Monchhichis, but never succeeded. Under him were Grumplins Shreeker, Gonker, Snitchitt, Scumgor, Fossit and Yabbot.

              As savage and gross as the Grumplins sounded, the Monchhichis always endured. Maybe that was because of the leadership they had in Moncho. He wears a yellow headband and likes to show off his acrobatic ability. Personally, I think he’s showing off to keep the affections of Kyla, his girlfriend.

*   *   *

              Kyla likes to read, and she’s great in a fight. Of course, fights would go better if the others listened to her. She tends to be ignored, especially by Moncho. Her best friend is Tootoo, the animal lover of the group.

*   *   *

              Tootoo overdoes everything, whether it’s a good deed, or a compliment. She stands out from the others, as she’s got ivory fur and wears a pink bow. When she’s excited, she mixes up her words and has to shake her head to straighten them out.

*   *   *

              Thumkii is the youngest of the Monchhichis. As the youngest, it’s almost his duty not to listen to the adults, and to break all the rules. He wears a red visor and bowtie and talks a mile a minute. Seriously, he’s a chatter box of anime proportions once he gets going. Because he breaks the rules, he gets into trouble… but it usually works out to save the day.

*   *   *

              Patchitt is an inventor who is constantly surrounded by machines at the Happy Works. Some of his inventions run smoothly and efficiently, making life easier. The others… not so much. In a pinch, Patchitt is the MacGyver of the group, often saying, “I can fix that!” He wears a pendent straight out of 70s disco culture. Around his waist is a Mary Poppins-like fanny pack that can produce more than it can seemingly carry.

              As a whole, the tribe seems to be in great spirits and upbeat. And why not? After all, Monchhichi means “happiness”.

                   FX: TV STATIC

2. THE CREATORS & SERIES ORIGIN

                   MUSIC: HAPPY MEMORIES

ME:           Way back in 1974, the Sekiguchi Corporation of Japan released a line of plush monkey characters they dubbed The Monchhichis. Yoshiharu Washino was the primary designer of the new creation. They were produced to replace a line of toys known as the Kuta Kuta Monkey, or exhausted monkey. They were an improvement over the previous line, and were a hit themselves. 

              The entymology of the name comes from two different words. “Mon” translates to “mine” in French, and the “chhichi” part comes from the phonetic sounds a child with a pacifier might make. “Chhichi” also translated to “monkey” in English. 

              The company that created them claimed they were a way to inspire love and respect in children and adults. How that might be achieved is unclear. Perhaps there were moral lessons on the box. Or maybe the commercials equated the Monchhichis to a baby that needed to be cared for thoroughly. Whatever the reason, the dolls were a huge hit in Japan.

In 1975, Sekiguchi started to export the dolls to Germany and Austria. Soon, they were in demand elsewhere, and each place they were sold had special names for the doll. They were Chiaaboo in the UK; Kiki in France; Mon Cicci in Italy and Bolle in Denmark. In the 80s, they were more popular in Germany than they were in their home country of Japan.    

It took a whooping six years before Mattel in the United States even considered bringing them to America. It would occur at the same time Japan released their anime series “Futago no Monchhichi” based on the toy.

When toys are a hit, animation generally comes calling. And sometimes it’s the other way around. For the Monchhichis, Hanna-Barbera saw a future for the plush cuties when Mattel wanted a series to promote the toys. 

The two men HB put on the show were Dick Robbins and Bryce Malek.

Robbins started his career back with the 1967 “Spider-Man” as a writer. He became a producer on the 1971 series “Hold That Pose”, but would remain a writer for the rest of his career. He was a staple at Hanna-Barbera, working on such shows as “Electra Woman and Dyna Girl”, “Valley of the Dinosaurs” and “The All-New Super Friends Hour”, among others. 

Malek started in animation with the 1979 “Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo” series. He was a relative newcomer, but a quick learner. In 1981, he was put on “The Kwicky Koala Show”, and then transitioned to THE MONCHHICHIS with Robbins. 

With the idea in place, and the writers on board, all that was left to do was assemble The Perfect Cast.

                   FX: TV STATIC

3. THE PERFECT CAST

                   MUSIC: HAPPY MEMORIES

ME:           Robert Xavier Morse, Bobby to his friends, was born in 1931. Arriving in Newton, Massachusetts to  Charles and Mary, he was the second of their children. While in high school, Morse started acting, and credited high school drama teacher Henry Lasker with helping him find this passion. Right after graduation, Morse left home for New York City, following his older brother to the Neighborhood Playhouse. In the early 50s, he appeared in a few TV shows. But his career opened up when he was cast in Thornton Wilder’s “The Matchmaker” on Broadway. In 1961, he took his final step into stardom, by winning the Tony Award for his leading role in “How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying”. He would reprise the role he originated in the 1967 film adaptation. His first role in animation occurred in 1976 when cast as Young Stuffy in the TV movie “The First Easter Rabbit”. In 1983, he was cast as Moncho for THE MONCHHICHIS, the first animated series he was a part of as a series regular. 

*   *   *

              Laurel Page was born in Los Angeles in 1950. At the age of twenty-seven, she started her career in animation with Hanna-Barbera. Page started her career with “Scooby’s Laff-A-Lympics” in 1977. She provided Additional Voices on “Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels” the same year, and stayed with the series until it ended. At the time she voiced Kyla on THE MONCHHICHIS, she was working on “The Dukes”, and was a regular on “The Littles”. 

*   *   *

              Hank Saroyan started his acting career in 1979 with “Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo” for Hanna-Barbera, providing Additional Voices. From there he voiced the character of Afid on “Trollkins” in 1981, and landed the role of fasting-talking child Thumkii on THE MONCHHICHIS. His writing career started in 1975 on “The Wide World of Mystery” TV show. While on “Trollkins”, he was also the story editor. In fact, he was a writer on “Dungeons & Dragons”, as well as voice director, at the time he was on THE MONCHHICHIS. His career has been diverse, and he’s worn the hats of writer, actor, producer, voice director and eventually as a musician. But more on that later.

*   *   *

              Frank Brandon Nelson was born in 1911 and raised in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In 1926, at the age of 15, he started his acting career in radio. In fact, he was known for playing the role of a 30 year old man on Denver station KOA on a weekly series. In 1929 he moved to Hollywood, and generally played the leading man in the radio work he found. He was cast on “Flywheel, Shyster, and Flywheel”, a nationally broadcast radio show featuring Groucho and Chico Marx. During the 1940s and 50s, he generally played the exasperated foil to radio star Jack Benny.  He played people in the service industry that Benny interacted with. He was known for the memorable catchphrase… You know what, I’ll let him do it because I can’t do it justice. 

FX: "EEE-Yeeeeeeeeesssss?” 

Nelson would follow Benny to TV in the 50s and his face would become instantly recognizable in the other shows he appeared in. He was a character actor’s actor, appearing in such shows as “I Love Lucy” and “Our Miss Brooks”. He was the Narrator for the 1960 series “Mr. Magoo”, and then guest starred on “The Flintstones” for Hanna-Barbera. He continued on in animation through the 70s, building an impressive amount of credits. In 1983, he landed the role of reclusive wizard Wizzar on THE MONCHHICHIS.

*   *   *

Bob Arbogast was born in Bellingham, Washington, on April Fool’s Day 1927. His father, Lewis, was a champion tennis player, stockbroker and Great War veteran. His mother, Christine, was also a champion tennis player. Living in Los Angeles, he attended John Marshall High School, which he graduated from in 1944. It should come as no surprise that Bob was on the tennis team. After graduation, Arbogast enlisted in the Navy and participated in the raid on Tokyo Bay. Getting back from the war, he attended the University of Arizona on the GI Bill, and ran a nighttime radio show on campus. A radio program director from Kansas City heard the show, and hired Arbogast.

              In the years that followed, Arbogast moved up and down the radio dial, relocating when better opportunities came along. He created a segment called “The Question Man”, who was featured on “The Steven Allen Show”. The concept of the Question Man would later inspire Johnny Carson’s Carnac the Magnificent. 

              In 1958 Arbogast and Stanley Ralph Ross wrote and recorded the single “Chaos Parts 1 & 2”, which sold 10,000 copies in three days. On the fourth day, it was banned from radio play because it satirized Top 40 formats.

              In 1965, Arbogast performed his first animated role, on the series “Roger Ramjet”, voicing, get this,  General G.I. Brassbottom. 

              He would perform voices for “Sesame Street” and a variety of animated shows. He was a pro by the time he landed on THE MONCHHICHIS, voicing Snogs.

*   *   *

              Before we go on, I’d like to acknowledge some of the other actors on the series. Actress Ellen Gerstell voiced Tootoo, and this was her first role. For more on her, check out our episode on “The Little Clowns of Happytown”. The big, bad Grumplin ruler, Horgg, was played by Sidney Miller, a director and actor. A comprehensive biography about Miller can be found on our episodes about “The Little Clowns of Happytown”, as well as “Garfield & Friends”. As usual, no Saturday Morning show would be complete without a mention of the legendary Frank Welker, who played Patchitt. Check out our special episode about “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!” for the story of Welker’s start and a brief look at his amazing career.

*   *   *

After these messages, we’ll be right back with the premiere of THE MONCHHICHIS.

                   VINTAGE COMMERCIALS #1 (1:30)

4. THE PREMIERE

                   MUSIC: “THE SAFETY DANCE”

ME:           If you watched the premiere of THE MONCHHICHIS, the date was September 10, 1983. The Number Three song on the American charts was “The Safety Dance” by Men Without Hats. The nation was reading “Poland” by James Michener, the number one book in the country. Sting was on the cover of “Rolling Stone”, with the caption, “Police Brutality”. The magazine also gave shout-outs to Secret CIA Drug Tests, Aztec Cameras, and Greider on the MX.

              On ABC, the other shows that premiered that day were: “The Littles”, “The Puppy’s Further Adventures” and “The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show”.

              If you were a kid in 1983, maybe you got up early and got yourself breakfast. Maybe you had a new cereal, like a bowl of Body Buddies or Cracker Jacks.

                   FX: FAST WOOSH

                   MUSIC: TROPICAL CHILL

              The theme song starts and it’s a tropical jam. Yeah, this is what I want on Saturday Morning! Channel the ghost of Bob Marley, and do this on every show. Is it wrong that I could totally head bang to this? Maybe I shouldn’t have dropped ecstasy.

              Anyways… the song tells the whole story. The Monchhichis are cool, the Grumplins are bad, and the nonsense word means happiness.

              The episode, “Tickle Pickle”, makes me wonder how a show called “Tickle Pickle” passed the censors back in 1983. So many questions. Since this was Saturday Morning, I can assume the result of this pickle tickle is a happy ending.

              We start in Grumplore, and the Grumplins get the Grumplin Galley flying high over the skies of Monchia. Half that sentence isn’t even real words.

              Snogs is out to defeat the Monchhichis. Did anyone realize that wiping out the Monchhichis is genocide? This has to be the darkest start to any Saturday Morning show in the history of anything.

              At the Dream Tree, we find the Monchhichis Monchhichi-ing. The younglings are riding their big wheels, and Kyla is reading. That would be too perfect, so Moncho has to pop out of the tree for a surprise attack. Maybe that’s why Viet Nam vets never watched this with their kids. 

              Moncho does some Olympic-level gymnastics to impress Kyla. If he really wanted to impress her, he should casually flex his muscles and brag about how much money he makes. Yeah, that’s how you get a monkey-thing to fall in love with you. It worked for my cat.

              These things hang by their tails so much, I think they might actually be Fingerlings. What is it with all these products for kids that sounds like code words for sex? “Tickle Pickle”! “Fingerling”! “Smurf”! This is more suggestive than Disney releasing that 6-inch tube-shaped Minnie Mouse vibrator. True story.

              You know what else the Monchhichis invented? The Segway. Tootoo comes riding in on what looks like a Segway and is screaming for Thumkii. She keeps amazing balance on that thing, like a mall cop.

              Looking for Thumkii, Tootoo checks the Happy Works, home to monkey MacGyver Patchitt. The inside of this tree is the most amazing Rube Goldberg machine I have ever seen. Do humans exist in this world? Because if they do, can you imagine a human stumbling onto this community? The Monchhichis would be part of the freak show for sure.

              Digging into his fashionable fanny pack, Patchitt pulls out Thumkii sucking on his thumb. Patchitt tells Thumkii to go home, he hasn’t got time to monkey around. Thumkii then jumps around the machinery with a wrench and makes adjustmnents. Patchitt is ape-solutely horrified that Thumkii will destroy his life’s work. They do manage to mess with the Rainbow Color Puller, and make it spray its color everywhere. Well, not all the colors of the rainbow, just red, yellow and white. So, it looks more like ketchup, mustard and mayo. Maybe Patchitt mixed this up with his hot dog condiment dispenser. 

              Patchitt and Thumkii get washed out of the tree, and find the entire tree has been rainbow-ized. The colors, man, the whole screen is filled with colors!

              The rainbows extend into the sky, disgusting the Grumplins who are about to attack. Snogs gives his troops a pep talk about obliterating the Monchhichis because they didn’t let him into art school, and the war is on!

              At the Dream Tree, Moncho and Kyla see the approaching Grumplins, and sound the warning. What I want to see is the Monchhichis mobilize with lazers and shoot the Grumplins from the air. It’s too early to call “GI Joe”, but how awesome would that have been? 

              The Grumplins open fire, dropping red kelter pods on the village. Patchitt is worried that the pods will gum up the works, and he starts to gather them up. 

              The smartest thing I have ever seen happens. The Monchhichis gather the pods they’re attacked with and recycled them, throwing the attack back at the Grumplins. Although, if they could have figured out how to make a cannon out of bamboo, diamonds and flint, this might have been more effective. Maybe this is the wrong arena for that.

              When the Grumplins get hit with their own pods, it looks like they’re being attacked with a Toys R Us worth of hi-bounce balls.  The Grumplins retreat, and the day is saved thanks to balls! Uh, kelter pods.

              The Monchhichis find that the attack damaged the Happy Works, and shattered the tickle crystal. Without the crystal, the Happy Works won’t work and no one will be happy. So, crystal equals happiness? Was Walter White a Monchhichi? 

              Unsure about their future without happiness, they go and see the Wizzar (wiz-R), who lives at the top of the Dream Tree. Looks like he bought one of those Smurf homes cheap. The inside, however was obviously decorated by MC Escher, with construction work by MC Hammer. Just like the TARDIS, it’s bigger on the inside. There’s a bed on the ceiling and a whole other tree floating at the back of a valley. 

              The Wizzar is obviously a recluse, and pulls a Wizard of OZ when the Monchhichis enter. He sounds mean, and drops the kids through a trapdoor. After sliding into the bowels of the tree, they end up on the ceiling of the living space. We learn that the Wizzar is not just a bearded wizard, but also the ruler of Monchia. Mon-ch-ch-chia. Monchia pets?

              When he hears that the tickle crystal is broken, the Wizzar says the Monchhichis must leave Monchia, go down to the Underland, and travel to Ha-Ha Hallow, the only place where tickle crystals grow. I won’t lie, the font on the Wizzar’s map looks a little too much like the font in the “Harry Potter” movies. In think we figured out JK Rowling’s source material!

              After the plan’s explained, Wizzar scares off bats that might have overheard. The bats flee, and are going to go back to Horgg, the leader of the Grumplins. If the bats spills the beans, Horgg might barricade the tickle crystal mines. The group of friends, these prime-mates, must be off immediately!

              At the Grumplin Palace, Horgg is berating his lieutenants for their SNAFU. The bats report, and Horgg says that need to leave for Ha Ha Hallow immediately to head off the Monchhichis! And then the manicial laughter starts! If villains spent less time on manicial laughter, and more time on getting their butts in gear, they might succeed once in a while. Case in point: Darth Vader! The dude never laughed, complete success! Palpatine, however, was known to yuck it up, and he lost twice. So, you know.

                   INSERT: MANICIAL LAUGHTER PSA

              Then again, maybe we don’t need PSAs to teach super villains to super villain better.

              At the Dream Tree, Patchitt and the rest are going to go to the Underworld via plane. Thumkii wants to go too, but told it’s too dangerous. Being a kid, he gets his way by being sneaky. Before taking off, Patchitt tells them to fasten their seat vines. Patchitt’s the puniest of all the Monchhichis.

              Once in the air, Patchitt says this is the test run. And then Thumkii pops up and Tootoo freaks-freaks out that they’re in danger-danger. Patchitt say’s they’ll be okay as long as the wings stay on. One guess what happens next. The wings fall off and we’ll be right back after these messages.

                   COMMERCIAL #2 (0:30)

              The Monchhichis eject from the plane, and safely parachute to the Underland, while the plane crashes. That’s how “Lost” started, so this could be great. Or this could end up in a church and be the worst thing ever… like “Lost”. 

              Patchitt rebuilds the plane into a ground vehicle, and has all the needed tools in his fanny pack. Those bats are lurking in the shadows to spy. From now on, I’ll refer to those bats as “The Others”. 

              Moncho, while talking about how scared he’s not, is picked up by a claw. Polar bear, it’s got to be the polar bear! It’s just a carnivorous cat plant, and I’m seeing shades of Devil’s Snare. While Moncho is being held by the snarling snaring plant, the othesr get into Patchitt’s car and roll away. The first rule of “Lost”: Run! Though, they run into danger, casually remove Moncho, and roll away. 

              Once out of danger, the group stops to come up with a plan. Now I’m confused, as I thought the plan was to go to the Deathly Hallows, I mean Ha-Ha Hallow to get a crystal. While trying to figure it out, they’re attacked by a dragonwasp. It’s a dragon creature with insect wings that makes a strafing run and attacks! Patchitt manages to capture the dragon and cage it. Tootoo is worried that the dragon won’t be able to get food and water, and thinks they should release it. 

              They’ll figure out what to do with the dragonwasp once they make their plan.

              Over in the mine of Ha-Ha Hallow, Horgg has his Grumplins taking all the tickle crystals. One of Horgg’s minions touches a tickle crystal, and then starts to laugh uncontrollably. To make a point, Horgg has him executed and removes his pickle. No, wait, Horgg just gets annoyed and uses his staff to freeze the minion. It’s how I handle my kids. Guess that makes me a Horgg-able dad.

              Back with the Monchhichis, Tootoo is still worried about the dragonwasp. She decides to name him Puff-Puff, because it’s like her name and doesn’t break Peter, Paul and Mary’s copyright. Feeling bad for Puff-Puff, Tootoo lets him out-out, and he flies off… off.

              Kyla decides to sneak off with Tootoo to Ha-Ha Hallow to get the tickle crystal. You can tell they’re sneaking off by the way they get up on their tippy toes.

              At the hallow, they’re immediately spotted by Horgg, and are levitated to be in front of the Grumplin leader. Kyla tries to say that they’re alone, and Tootoo gives up all the intel. There are five Monchhichis, they’re there for a tickle crystal. The troops will be make a low approach from the East at dawn. The plan would have stayed more secret if it had been aired on CNN!

              At the camp, Thumkii tells the others that the dragonwasp is gone. And so are the girls! The boys go to the mines, and find not a girl and not a crystal. They get ambushed by Horgg and the rest, and end up in prison on the Grumplin Galley.

              But at least they’re all together. And if they can’t live together, they’ll die alone. 

              Horgg actually hugs the bag of tickle crystals and spends his sweet sweet time on a short maniacal laugh. Horgg says that the Monchhichis have a bright future of working in the mines. The dragonwasp shows up, scares the Grumplins and gets the Monchhichis out of their cage. 

              The dragonwasp now has five monkeys on his back, and swoops down so the Monchhichis can grab the bag o’ crystals. 

              Horgg wants to give chase, and Snogs tells the Grumplins in the galley to row. The Grumplins are grumpy and grumble grouchily like geese. 

              The Monchhichis can see Monchia, and realize that the Grumplin Galley beat them there. Moncho dumps the whole bag of meth, I mean tickle crystals, into the galley and the grumpy Grumplins gaffaw. He managed to save one crystal, so they can get home and start up the Happy Works. 

              Snogs and the others have to row the Galley back to Grumplor, and Snogs can’t help but laugh. Or sure, the crystals make you laugh now, but wait til your teeth fall out!

              With the crystal in place, the Happy Works is back to normal. The cogs are cogging and the pistons are piston-ing. The day is saved thanks to Patchitt, who’s modest about all the attention. Although, you know he secretly wants the deli to name a sandwich after him. That’s how you know you’ve made it!

              Tootoo tells Puff-Puff bye-bye, and the dragonwasp flies to his home.

              As Moncho and Kyla have an argument about who’s to blame for getting captured, Kyla waves a tickle crystal at him, and they laugh uncontrollably. 

              Hold up! Why is this called “Tickle Pickle”? They go looking for a tickle crystal. Not once is the word “pickle” said. Other than the trees, there’s nothing green. Was there something green in the writer’s room? Were they smoking it? If they had just called this “The Tickle Crystal”, there’d be no problem. But they didn’t. They went for a sex joke on Saturday Morning, and it makes no sense. It took nearly 40 years, but the title police finally caught on. The end.

*   *   *

After these messages, we’ll look at the impact, aftermath, and explore the legacy of THE MONCHHICHIS.

                   VINTAGE COMMERCIALS #3 (1:30)

5. WAS IT A PHENOMENON?

MUSIC: I FEEL YOU 

ME:           Was it a phenomenon? Well, the dolls were, like a decade before. And they were still huge in Germany at this point. The TV series was not a hit, as evidenced by the fact it ran 13 episodes, swung from its last tree on December 24, 1983 and was not renewed. 

              As far as merchandise, Mattel put out the dolls in a variety of sizes. The dolls had accessories that were sold separately. There was also Monchhichis paper doll books, story books, coloring books, puzzles and PVC figures. There was eventually a McDonalds Happy Meal, but for a more recent iteration. 

              To really show the impact of the MONCHHICHIS, consider this: The American show was off the air before the end of 1983. Mattel ended their line of toys in 1985. They were something of a half decade phenomenon, and then gone. It is possible that, given the popularity of the Cabbage Patch Kids in 1983, the Monchhichis didn’t have a chance. It’s likely that sales of the dolls were tapering off as Mattel’s license was expiring. In 1985, Mattel’s biggest toys were the action figures based on “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe”, and the pink wrestlers known as “M.U.S.C.L.E. Men”. They had more than enough to replace the Monchhichis. After all, they also owned Barbie, which was a time-tested success. 

              The writers of THE MONCHHICHIS, Robbins and Malek, moved on to “The Transformers” and then “Defenders of the Earth”. 

              Cartoons on TV were changing in general. Yes, there is always a place for the furries that talk and have their own mythos. But, in 1983, possibly as a response to the success of “Conan the Barbarian”, TV was turning to the likes of “He-Man” and “Dungeons & Dragons”. Technology was seeing the rise in tech-toons, like “Inspector Gadget” and “Saturday Supercade”. The tastes of the viewers were changing and THE MONCHHICHIS were almost too cutsy to exist.

              So a phenomenon? No. It was a one and done, and gone by the end of 1983. However, as will we see, this wouldn’t be the end of THE MONCHHICHIS. 

                   FX: STATIC
 

6. AFTERMATH

MUSIC: NOSTALGIC 

ME:           Robert Morse acted in all mediums. But I would imagine his first love was the theatre. He returned to the stage again and again in a career that not only spanned decades, but millenniums. In 1989, he portrayed Truman Capote in the one man play, “Tru”. It won him another Tony, and then an Emmy when it was aired on American Playhouse in 1992. In animation, he was Howler on the short-lived “Pound Puppies” in 1985. In the 21st Century, he played Bertram Cooper on the critically-acclaimed series “Mad Men”. In 2016, at the age of 85, he was part of the Broadway revival of “The Front Page” with Nathan Lane. Morse was married twice, and is the father to five children. In his late 80s, he shows no sign of slowing down.

*   *   *

              Laurel Page would go on to “Challenge of the Go-Bots” and “My Little Pony: The Movie”. She played the part of the Nurse in “St. Elmo’s Fire”, one of only two live-action movies she was in. Her last role was as Lila’s Mom in the 1991 special, “Snoopy’s Reunion”. Wherever she is, we wish her well.

*   *   *

              Hank Saroyan, the voice of motor-mouth Thumkii, would start working on “Muppet Babies” in 1984, and stay with the series until it ended in the 90s. He was the executive in charge of production for that series, and composed the catchy theme song. He was heavily involved with the 1989 series “Rude Dog and the Dweebs”. For the past 35 years, Saroyan has been the Executive Developer at White Sneakers, Inc., a company that develops entertainment and consults on scripts. His career is well-rounded, having worked in all aspects of production. No matter what he’s done, there is one thing I know: I will never get the theme song to “Muppet Babies” out of my head. Thanks, Hank!

*   *   *

              Frank Nelson would move on to “Snorks”, playing Governor Wetworth, the father of series star All-star. In the 1986 special, “Garfield in Paradise”, he played a travel agent and hotel clerk, where he reprised his famous Jack Benny character. That same year, he played Dr. Pavlov on “Foofur”, and was in the live-action film “The Malibu Bikini Shop”. The 80s were good to Nelson, who played his trademark character in a series of ads for fast food chain McDonalds. It brought him some new found fame with a younger generation who still got a kick out of his antics. Over the course of his life, Nelson was married twice, divorced once, and fathered two children. In the summer of 1985, he was diagnosed with cancer, but fought it as best he could. On September 12, 1986, he passed away from the illness at the age of 75.

*   *   *

              Bob Arbogast was cast as Ither on “Galtar and the Golden Lance”. He would continue to act until 1991, making two appearances on “Square One Television”. In commercial work, he was the first to ask, “What would you do for a Klondike bar?” During the years he was retired, he enjoyed jazz, football and tending to his garden. On March 21, 2009, Arbogast passed away at the age of 81.

                   FX: TV STATIC

7. LEGACY

MUSIC: HORIZONS 

ME:           Where the legacy of THE MONCHHICHIS can still be felt today is in Germany. They were among one of the first countries to get the original doll from Japan in 1975. The Germans love the MONCHHICHIS, and some toy stores still have entire sections devoted to them to this day.

              The animated series is fondly remembered by adults of a certain age who watched originally. Girls in particular loved their dolls and watched the series, keeping it afloat for it’s solitary sesason.

              The legacy of the series is that it was the second show to feature the tree monkeys. Japan itself set the precedent in 1980 with their own series. America’s version came and went to support the merchandise. In 2017, “Monchhichi Tribe” premiered in France and Italy, and worked its way to America in 2019. This series is computer generated and focuses on a different set of characters than the first series did. This show can be found on Boomerang. The 1983 series can be found on the Warner Bros website, as well as Amazon, as a manufacture-on-demand DVD. 

              And, who knows? Maybe “The Monchhichi Tribe” will revive interest in the original show. Or at least help the toy store to move a few more dolls. For those interested in more recent merch, Amazon still sells the dolls manufactured in Japan. And eBay is a treasure trove of PVC and plush figures, as well as the puzzles and coloring books of the 80s. 

              Were you a fan of THE MONCHHICHIS? Did you have any of the dolls? What was your perception of the show?  Listen for our contact information at the very end of this show and let us know.

              Until next time, thanks for ‘tooning in.

                   MUSIC: SHOW END THEME 

THE SATURDAY MORNING PODCAST

“Maniacal PSA”

ME:           (0:00-0:15) Hi, I’m Christopher Jay, and I’ll be right back with one to grow on.

FX: PALPATINE LAUGHING BEFORE LOSING (20-22 sec)

*   *   *

ME:           (20-22 secs) That’s just the way it goes. You spend years building your secret plan, and are just about to win. You feel good because you’re about to conquer the innocent and rule the Galaxy. And what do you do? You let out a maniacal laugh. And that’s the moment you lose everything. Hitler never ha-ha’d. Hussain never howled. And if you think Pol Pot ever split his sides, you should be shot. When it comes to the maniacal laugh, remember this: Hold it in for the win!

                   FX: RESOLUTION CLIP (15 sec)

ME:           (5 sec) And that’s One To Grow On!

8. FOLLOW & END (PRE-RECORD)

                   MUSIC: HIJACK

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FADE OUT.

THE END