Line #57 Main/MischiefMakingMonkey


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4	[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mischiefmakingmonkey_abu.jpg]]]]
5	[[caption-width-right:350: "Perfect timing, Abu! As usual!"]]
6
7	Monkeys are often portrayed in fiction as mischievous little pranksters, who like to [[StickyFingers steal things]] (hats seem to be a common target), throw stuff at people (including [[DungFu their own excrement]]), drop {{Banana Peel}}s, and otherwise make [[{{Pun}} monkey business]]. Sometimes, the mischief-making monkey is a KarmicTrickster. Downright malicious examples can overlap with ManiacMonkeys, whereas funny, goofy examples overlap with SillySimian.
8
9	There is some TruthInTelevision with this, while wild monkeys are rarely intentionally mischievous they can still be serious troublemakers. In Asian countries especially monkeys have a notorious reputation for being obnoxious and thieving vermin, not unlike how many folk in the West regard [[PeskyPigeons pigeons.]]
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11	May be a reason for HilarityInZoos. Compare RascallyRaccoon and ScrewballSquirrel for other animals stereotyped as troublemakers.
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13	----
14	!!Examples:
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16	[[foldercontrol]]
17
18	[[folder:Advertising]]
19	* A Visa card advertisement had orangutans stealing the luggage of Catherine Zeta-Jones until she ransoms it back by using her Visa card to order a truckload of bananas. The monkeys are so impressed they want the Visa card as well. Catherine refuses and is about to drive off whereupon the leader of the monkeys shows he's nicked her car keys too.
20	[[/folder]]
21
22	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
23	* ''Anime/DoraemonNobitaAndTheSpiralCity'' has Shizuka's stuffed monkey, Wooky, being brought to life by the Life Key and behaving like a mischievous monkey would - including meddling with the Key bringing random objects like a Colonel Sanders statue, a lab skeleton, a Mannakin Piss replica and an election poster to life and then barging into a meeting with his new "friends".
24	* In ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}'', three little monkey youkai appear as playful pests. Subverted by their leader Sarugami, who's TheStoic.
25	* ''Toys/{{Jewelpet}}'': Tata, a squirrel monkey Jewelpet, is very mischievous and chaotic, and often a nuisance to the heroes. He's also known for stealing stuff in the second and fourth seasons.
26	* In ''Manga/BloodBlockadeBattlefront'', Sonic is introduced stealing Leo's camera and has to be chased down for the rest of the episode.
27	* In ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'', Ash's hat had been stolen twice by monkey Pokémon he would then end up capturing:
28	** In [[Anime/PokemonTheOriginalSeries the Indigo League]] arc, a [[ManiacMonkeys Mankey]] stole it off his head after violently attacking his face. The Mankey then made fun of Ash by turning the hat backwards and miming his throwing action.
29	** In the [[Anime/PokemonTheSeriesRubyAndSapphire Hoenn arc]], an [[SillySimian Aipom]] stole it as part of an offering to a giant Slaking on the nearby mountain. She would follow the group after that episode, frequently stealing Ash's hat again and again until he eventually formally captured her. Even then, she still retained her fondness for misappropriating headgear.
30	[[/folder]]
31
32	[[folder:Comic Books]]
33	* One of the locations on the map at the end of issue #2 of ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW'' is "Here there be Monkeys", with a subtitle warning visitors to guard their valuables.
34	* ''ComicBook/ThePunisher'': A Mafioso goes to the zoo with a date and a ButtMonkey bodyguard. While at the monkey cages, the don manages to ''get his penis ripped off by a chimp''. Naturally, it all falls on the bodyguard's fault, who would have been executed if Frank hadn't been in need of an informant. The mook later suffers brain damage, falls in love with a pumpkin, and heads out west with it.
35	* ''ComicBook/YTheLastMan''. Ampersand might be a crucial clue to the {{Gendercide}} and Yorick's pet, but that still doesn't stop it from throwing shit and biting people. [[spoiler:The former might well have saved Yorick's life, passing on whatever immunity the monkey had.]]
36	[[/folder]]
37
38	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
39	* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Rio}}'', the marmosets are all thieves and con artists (within the animal kingdom, at least).
40	* While his human partner WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}} steals only what he really needs out of necessity, Abu will [[StickyFingers grab anything that isn't nailed down]], and [[ItAmusedMe takes great pleasure in using it to mess with people]].
41	* The [[MixAndMatchCritters half-monkey, half-catfish]] ongis in ''WesternAnimation/RayaAndTheLastDragon'' definitely qualify, working with [[LittleMissConArtist con-baby Noi]] to rob people blind.
42	* ''WesternAnimation/TheRugratsMovie'' has the Banana Bros. Monkey Circus. When Sergei and Igor, the circus' owners stop their train at a station for coffee and donuts, they leave the monkeys unattended. The monkeys then take control of the train, eventually crashing it into a forest. When the babies get lost in the forest trying to return Dil, Tommy's new baby brother to the hospital, they meet up with the monkeys, who while rather playful, go crazy when Tommy tries to feed Dil banana-flavored baby food. When Tommy gets fed up with Dil's selfish behavior that led to Chuckie, Phil and Lil abandoning him, he tries to leave Dil in the forest to live with the monkeys, but has a change of heart when he sees just how frightened his brother is.
43	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Tarzan}}'': The baby baboon who steals Jane's sketchbook (and her portrait of him, in particular).
44	[[/folder]]
45
46	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
47	* In the Creator/CharlieChaplin film ''Film/TheCircus'', one scene featured The Tramp performing a tightrope routine because the regular could not be found. While highly entertaining, especially after the Tramp's safety harness falls off, a group of monkeys that has harassed Chaplin's character throughout the movie decides to get involved, crawling all over him, biting him, and removing his pants.
48	* The monkeys in ''Film/{{Jumanji}}'', who wreak havoc all across the town.
49	* A cute, playful little monkey shows up around Sallah's home when Indy visits him in ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'' causing a bit of comical mischief as the two discuss their plan to find the ark. Little do they know, [[spoiler:both the monkey and its owner are spying on them for the Nazis. [[CrossesTheLineTwice The monkey even knows their salute!]]]]
50	* Captain Barbossa's [[WeNamedTheMonkeyJack monkey Jack]] in the ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' films. Not just to the opponents of his owner or the protagonists but to his fellow crewmen too, such as constantly annoying his fellow namesake Jack Sparrow or stealing Ragetti's wooden eye from him.
51	-->'''Jack Sparrow''': [[Film/PiratesOftheCaribbeanOnStrangerTides I hate that monkey!]]
52	* Downplayed in ''{{Film/Nope}}''. Jupiter's backstory involves a chimpanzee on the set of the sitcom ''Gordy's Home'' killing two of his human costars and maiming a third after being frightened by a balloon popping on set. Though Jupiter was seriously traumatized by this event alone, it's made worse by pop culture in-universe treating the event like this trope, complete with a Saturday Night Live sketch mocking the incident starring Chris Kattan as the chimp.
53	* In ''Film/MutinyOnTheBuses'', some monkeys sneak onto the safari bus and cause trouble for Stan and Blakey, especially once they get hold of the steering wheel.
54	[[/folder]]
55
56	[[folder:Literature]]
57	* Sun Wukong from ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'' is what happens when a mischievous monkey gains extreme god-like powers. Had it not been for The Buddha's intervention, he would have overthrown Heaven.
58	* Zephyr from ''Literature/{{Babar}}'' is often mischievous.
59	* The monkeys in ''Caps for Sale'' by Esphyr Slobodkina steal all the peddler's stock, and he has to use another well-known monkey trait to get the caps back.
60	* ''Literature/TheFamousFive'': ''Five go to Demon's Rocks'' begins with chaos in an overcrowded Kirrin Cottage, with a boy Tinker, and his pet monkey Mischief, who is adorable yet gets up to all sorts of antics, including pelting the cook Joan and Aunt Fanny with raisins.
61	* ''Literature/GirlsToTheRescue'': Lek's pet monkey in "Mai's Magic" serves as his partner in crime. It's able to steal and plant items for him. However, the story presents Lek as the real problem; the end shows that Mai and her family took in the monkey for a while as Lek served time in jail for his scam.
62	* The title character of the children's book ''Good Night, Gorilla!'' is a mischievous young gorilla who steals a zookeeper's keys and releases the other animals in the zoo.
63	* ''Literature/AnimalInn'': Book 3 features Gigi the capuchin, who causes quite a bit of trouble for the Taylor family when she's recovered enough. The last straw for Val is when Gigi bites Cleveland's tail, prompting Val to insist that the monkey go. (And she does, to a nearby petting zoo that treats its animals well.)
64	* ''Literature/ButtOut'': Baboon is a cheeky little monkey who enjoys walking around town without clothes and [[BareBottomedMonkey showing off his butt to everyone]], which naturally flabbergasts them all. In the sequel ''Don't Butt In!'', after being convinced to start wearing pants he then decides to use ''the pants'' to annoy everybody too.
65	* ''Literature/TheOneAndOnlyIvan'' is a gorilla, but he was seen in much this way when he was young and living in a human home. He broke and ruined a ''lot'' of things, less out of deliberate mischief and more often by accident, out of curiosity, or in a fit of longing for something familiar, as when he used chocolate frosting to 'paint' in the kitchen the way that he would have 'painted' with mud in the wild.
66	[[/folder]]
67
68	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
69	* On an episode of ''Series/TheLucyShow'', Lucy gets a job babysitting but finds out she's expected to care for a couple's three chimpanzees which they see as their children. The chimps put off going to bed with all sorts of tricks including riding bikes and playing Cowboys and Indians. The couple comes home to an exhausted Lucy who apologizes that the chimps aren't in bed. The "parents" are just glad she didn't run away like the last babysitter.
70	* ''Series/{{Friends}}'': In Season 1, Ross kept a white-faced capuchin named Marcel in order to get used to having someone who depended on him, in preparation for his then-unborn son. Needless to say, Marcel got into a ''lot'' of mischief, including setting the girls' TV to the Spanish language SAP. Ross eventually donated him to a zoo, and he was last seen starring opposite Creator/JeanClaudeVanDamme in ''Outbreak 2''.
71	* ''Series/{{Community}}'': Annie's Boobs, the thieving monkey.
72	* On ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' Marshall may or may not have been mugged by a monkey; he refuses to say. From the same episode, Ted claims a monkey [[Film/KingKong stole a doll, climbed a model of the Empire State Building and was attacked by paper airplanes]], [[UnreliableNarrator but fans have their doubts]].
73	* ''Series/{{Monk}}'': Long story, but in "Mr. Monk and the Panic Room," Sharona is the only one who refuses to believe the victim of the week was not shot by his pet chimpanzee, Darwin[[note]]Chimpanzees are not monkeys, but apes. However, the show dubbed Darwin with vocalizations from a spider monkey [[CaptainObvious (which is a monkey)]], so it's possible that the role was written for a monkey, but the showrunners just couldn't get one. Either way, this trope was clearly being invoked.[[/note]]. She rescues him from being euthanized and eventually hides him at the last place anyone would believe him to be, Monk's house. Later, Monk is seen [[HeroicBSOD walking around in a daze having had a psychotic break]] due to Darwin absolutely trashing the place. It's so bad he tries to put the house up for sale. His landlord is not amused.
74	[[/folder]]
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76	[[folder:Theme Parks]]
77	* Hong Kong Disneyland's ''Ride/MysticManor'' attraction starts off when the owner Henry Mystic's monkey Albert opens a magical music box that causes the manor's exotic relics on display come alive.
78	[[/folder]]
79
80	[[folder:Video Games]]
81	* ''VideoGame/BigKarnak'' have monkeys as minor enemies along the Nile's coast. They stay out of range from your attacks, since your sole weapon at the time is your sword, and constantly pelts you with coconuts, although you can deflect their nuts back with your weapon.
82	* ''VideoGame/ScarabOfRa'' has a monkey that cannot hurt you, but likes to steal your gold and whatever else you might be carrying. Then after it's robbed you bare, it might come back to tweak your nose.
83	* ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'' has a kleptomaniac monkey familiar that increases meat drops when used (meat being Loathing's currency, in a bizarre justification of the MoneySpider trope).
84	* In ''VideoGame/SamuraiWarriors'', Hideyoshi has a monkey motif and has a mischievous, playful attitude.
85	* In ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld2YoshisIsland'', the third world is mainly inhabited by monkeys called Grinders that spit watermelon seeds at Yoshi and sometimes drop bombs.
86	* ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' had the hat-stealing Ukiki of Tall, Tall Mountain.
87	* In ''VideoGame/TheLionKing'', the second level had a lot of monkeys hanging from trees waiting to toss something around. That something is Simba, who can roar at them to change the direction they toss him.
88	* The Chimp from ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'' is a blue chimpanzee that will challenge Mario/Luigi to some sort of challenge several times in the game, such as stomping as many Goombas as possible, ice skating to knock out enemies a la Whack-A-Mole, bowling over pin-shaped enemies using the rock power-up or swimming for coins.
89	%% * Aipom and Ambipom from ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' fit this description to a tee. Mankey as well, provided that [[BerserkButton it isn't angry at something]].
90	* Levels set in ancient Egypt in ''Videogame/CrashBandicoot3Warped'' often feature monkeys who hide in (and can apparently teleport between) vases, while they throw stuff at Crash. Break the last of the vases in a given area, however, and the monkey will cower with its hands over its head, leaving you free to jump on his head a few times for more Wumpa Fruit, [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential if you're so inclined.]]
91	* Sun Wukong, the Monkey King from ''VideoGame/Dota2'' literally has an ability called Mischief, which transforms him into a semi-random object to blend in with the area and makes AI-controlled units (such as creeps and towers) ignore him. Videos abound on Website/YouTube about the cheeky plays that this enables.
92	* ''VideoGame/{{Spelunky}}'' has monkeys in the Jungle levels as a minor enemy. Unlike [[EverythingTryingToKillYou most things in this game]], they can't do direct damage to you; they simply latch onto your back for a bit and steal ropes, bombs, or money (or simply knock you down for a moment). The only real danger they pose is if one knocks you into (or near) something dangerous, like {{spikes\|OfDoom}}, [[PiranhaProblem a piranha pool]], [[ManEatingPlant a mantrap]]...
93	** In [[UpdatedRerelease the HD version]], the monkeys have been upgraded slightly: while they still don't do direct damage, they now light any bombs they steal. Woe unto you if a monkey throws a lit bomb into a {{shop\|liftAndDie}}; [[MisplacedRetribution the shopkeeper will blame you for it]].
94	* The 2017 reveal trailer for ''VideoGame/BeyondGoodAndEvil2'' features Knox, part of the crew of SpacePirates who will be serving as the game's heroes. Knox is a genetically-enhanced chimp with a cheeky Cockney accent and [[SirSwearsALot a really foul mouth]] who's first introduced selling a golden pig idol to PigMan Zhou Yuzhu in exchange for an [[FictionalCurrency M-disk]]. Zhou Yuzhu greedily grabs the idol, only for one of its jewel eyes to fall off, its gold paint rubs off to reveal it's actually brown, and it melts in his palms.
95	-->'''Zhou Yuzhu''': '''[[BigWhat WHAT]]?!'''\
96	'''Knox''': What "What"? That's Swiss-fuckin'-chocolate, ''Pig''! (he then punches out the skylights above his head with a mechanical fist on a grappling rope, before hightailing it out of there)
97	* In ''VideoGame/SesameStreetCountingCafe'' for the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis, Mr. Johnson rewards Grover with a star for each successful order he brings him. When he rewards Grover with the fifth star, a monkey wearing sneakers will appear and take the star from him. Grover then must find the monkey somewhere on Sesame Street so he can take the star back from him. The bananas the monkey throws give Grover clues on where he's hiding.
98	* ''VideoGame/{{Temtem}}'' has the monkey-like Smazee, which according to the Tempedia loves playing and monkeying around.
99	* A flash game from the Creator/CartoonNetwork website, entitled "Brick It!" is largely based on ''VideoGame/{{Breakout}}'', but features various CN monkeys as antagonists. WesternAnimation/MagillaGorilla will grab your paddle and discard his banana peels on it, [[Series/TheBananaSplits Bingo]] will catch and fling your ball, [[WesternAnimation/IAmWeasel I.R. Baboon]] will toss coconuts at your paddle, [[WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory Monkey]] will take your extra balls, [[WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998 Mojo Jojo]] will add new bricks to the play field (and will drop one upon his defeat), and [[WesternAnimation/SpaceGhost Blip]] will chuck bricks at your paddle and mess with your score.
100	* In ''VideoGame/MoshiMonsters'', the Chop Chop Moshling species is a textbook example of this, with their biography describing them as "part-time ninjas, [...] full-time jokers" who "leave a trail of whoopee cushions, banana skins and stink bombs wherever they go."
101	[[/folder]]
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103	[[folder:Web Animation]]
104	* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' gives us the monkey [[LittleBitBeastly faunus]] Sun Wukong. [[EstablishingCharacterMoment His introduction]] has him running away from guards who caught him stowing away on a ship and throwing a banana peel into their faces. And his jokey antics don't stop there.
105	[[/folder]]
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107	[[folder:Western Animation]]
108	* ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers'': Suchi, Ma-Ti's pet monkey, has been known to get into mischief. In "Creep from the Deep", Gi scolds him for bothering her while she's working on the eco-sub, implying that he's known to distract or get in the way while people are trying to do things. ([[TimmyInAWell In this case, though, at least part of this is trying to warn her that she dropped a bolt]].) In another episode, he takes a pair of scissors to Dr. Blight's hair, much to her dismay, [[KarmicTrickster after she had tried to use him as a test subject.]]
109	* Rhinokey from ''WesternAnimation/TheWuzzles'', although he's only [[MixAndMatchCritter half monkey]], is the joker of the gang.
110	* In the spin-off TV spots of ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'', Master Monkey is the most mischievous of the Furious Five, which is not often seen in the movies.
111	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Madeline}}'':
112	** The episode "Madeline's Birthday at the Zoo" has a mischievous monkey steals Madeline's new parasol, then unlocks all of the zoo's cages, making Madeline and Pepito running all around the zoo first to chase him then to get the animals back in their cages.
113	** Averted with the RecurringExtra street busking organ grinder and his monkey. The monkey remains at his job happily dancing and collecting the money donations, and occasionally Madeline and the girls will briefly dance with him.
114	* [[TeamPet Mr. Twitchy]] from ''WesternAnimation/RatedAForAwesome'' hinders the gang just as much as he helps them.
115	* In the [[WesternAnimation/SupermanTheatricalCartoons Superman short]] "Terror on the Midway", a mischievous monkey releases a bunch of circus animals, including a terrifying KillerGorilla.
116	* ''WesternAnimation/PJMasks'': Season 4 introduces Munki-Gu, a [[TalkingAnimal talking]] Monkey supervillain who only lives for causing mischief. He doesn't even care if he targets the heroes or other villains, as long as he can have his fun.
117	* ''WesternAnimation/LetsGoLuna'': In "Spring Has Not Sprung", some monkeys steal Andy's camera.
118	[[/folder]]

Context Main / MischiefMakingMonkey