Monkey Trouble (1994)

A young girl's life turns hairy when her new pet monkey turns out to be a trained pickpocket on the run from a scheming Gypsy.

Director:

Franco Amurri

Writers:

Franco Amurri, Stu Krieger

Stars:

Thora Birch, Harvey Keitel, Finster

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Finster	...	Dodger (as 'Finster')
Thora Birch	...	Eva
Harvey Keitel	...	Azro
Mimi Rogers	...	Amy
Christopher McDonald	...	Tom
Adrian Johnson	...	Jack
Julian Johnson	...	Jack
Kevin Scannell	...	Peter
Alison Elliott	...	Tessa
Robert Miranda	...	Drake
Victor Argo	...	Charlie
Remy Ryan	...	Katie
Adam LaVorgna	...	Mark
Jo Champa	...	Annie
John Lafayette	...	Cates

Storyline

Eva is a girl that is feeling left out and ignored when her new baby brother arrives. Nothing is going well for her, until she finds a new friend. Her new friend is Dodger, a monkey. Dodger and Eva become close friends and entertain crowds at the Boardwalk. That is, until Eva finds out that Dodger has a hidden talent - he's a trained thief.

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Plot Keywords:

1990s | female protagonist | monkey | tween girl | cartoon on tv | 

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Taglines:

He's cute. He's cuddly. He's a klepto.

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for a moment of menace

Did You Know?

Trivia

Azro (Harvey Keitel) calls the monkey "Fingers". Keitel played the title character in Fingers (1978).

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Goofs

Eva presumably lives in the Warwick building in Los Angeles as the name Warwick is showing above the entrance to the building when she saying goodbye to her mom before going to her dad's house. When Katie's mom gets onto the 405 freeway, she gets on from Sunset Boulevard. The Warwick is on Sycamore Avenue which would be closer to Wilshire Boulevard, so it doesn't quite make sense for her to go all the way to Sunset Blvd, which is a longer route when she could've just got onto the 405 from Wilshire Blvd or Santa Monica Boulevard.

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Quotes

Azro: They tooked everything! She took the TV. She even took my frickin' FOOD!

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Crazy Credits

The film is dedicated "For Eva", after Eva Amurri, director Franco Amurri's daughter.

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Connections

Referenced in Shameful Sequels: Robocop 3 (2014)

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Soundtracks

SOLD FOR ME
Performed by The Aintree Boys
Written by Dylan MacAlinion and Granville Ames
Double Clutch Music/Big Barn Music (BMI)

User Reviews

What a Surprise!

My daughter put "Monkey Trouble" in the VCR and after I heard her laughing her head off I decided to sit down and see what was so funny. What a surprise! It was funny & fun with just the right touch of adventure and pathos to make an excellent family experience.

Thora Birch plays Eva, the little girl who finds a monkey named Dodgers (played by Finster) trained by a drunken gypsy (Harvey Keitel) to steal watches, wallets, earrings, cash and anything else he could get his little fingers on. Eva's step-dad, allergic to animal hair, won't let Eva have a pet. So, when Eva sneaks Dodger into her room she becomes a very responsible little girl indeed, even cleaning up her bedroom and doing her homework. Quite a feat for a ten year old! But Fingers, continues his pick pocketing and theft, hiding the loot in Eva's art box. Finster himself hides under Eva's bed whenever anyone enters her room. So much for the basic plot, within which a child's humor, innocence, emotion, problems of growing up, and adventurous spirit is played.

Thora Birch has a much wider range of expression and sentiment in her acting than the Olsen twins (who we love to watch as a family too). Thora has an all-American look with just a few freckles and reminds me of the "kid next door". The camera catches her perfectly. Especially attractive was the lighting which made her somewhat golden hair into a sort of halo of light. She is very human and a very good actress. Dodger the monkey played a role that perfectly complimented the performance of Eva. My bet is they really loved one another and had a great time on the set together. Is it my imagination or are monkeys and children smarter, more expressive and better actors than most humans?

My daughter laughed and cried throughout the movie and declared it "Great"! It even tickled a demanding old grump like myself who generally would rather do anything but watch a PG rated movie. It made me nostalgic for my own childhood. As a parent I give it a "ten" and highly recommend it for its humor and warmth.

Details

Country:

Japan USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 March 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Monkey Trouble

Filming Locations:

Warwick Building; 109 N. Sycamore Avenue, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,523,597, 20 March 1994

Gross USA:

$16,453,258

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$16,453,258

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Percy Main, Effe Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1