Monkeybone (2001)

In a coma, a cartoonist finds himself trapped within his own underground creation and must find a way to get back, while racing against his popular but treacherous character, Monkeybone.

Director:

Henry Selick

Writers:

Kaja Blackley (graphic novel "Dark Town"), Sam Hamm

Stars:

Brendan Fraser, Bridget Fonda, John Turturro

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brendan Fraser	...	Stu Miley
Bridget Fonda	...	Julie McElroy
John Turturro	...	Voice of Monkeybone (voice)
Chris Kattan	...	Organ Donor Stu
Giancarlo Esposito	...	Hypnos
Rose McGowan	...	Miss Kitty
Dave Foley	...	Herb (as David Foley)
Megan Mullally	...	Kimmy
Bob Odenkirk	...	Head Surgeon
Pat Kilbane	...	Burger God Rep
Lisa Zane	...	Medusa
Whoopi Goldberg	...	Death
Sandra Thigpen	...	Alice
Wayne Wilderson	...	Hutch
Amy Higgins	...	Clarissa (as Amy D. Higgins)

Storyline

In a coma, Stu Miley a cartoonist who created a comic strip called Monkeybone which features a rascal monkey. He finds himself trapped within his own underground creation and must find a way to get back, while racing against his popular but treacherous character, Monkeybone. Naturally, Monkeybone himself is there, and he and Stu quickly start fighting like cats and dogs. When Stu realizes that his sister, due to a pact they once made, is preparing to pull the plug on him, Stu makes a deal with Hypnos, the god of sleep, to help him steal a golden ticket from Death himself. But when Monkeybone takes over Stu's body and escapes to wreak havoc on the real world, Stu has to find a way to stop him before his sister pulls the plug on reality forever!

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Plot Keywords:

coma | carnival | monkey | fantasy sequence | car accident | 

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Taglines:

Get Boned!

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for crude humor and some nudity

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 February 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Untitled Monkeybone Project

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$75,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,685,078, 25 February 2001, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$5,411,999

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,210,366

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox, 1492 Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox Animation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Cartoon Network later went to make their hit late night block Adult Swim after receiving criticism from parents for supporting the movie and it's marketing during it's regular run time blocks.

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Goofs

When Monkeybone is singing as Marilyn Monroe and takes off the dress, he is wearing a suit. But in the next shot he is just wearing his vest.

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Quotes

Doctor: [racing towards the Ambulance with other doctors carrying the loaner body and Stu's body] Excuse me! That's our corpse. We've been chasing him all over town.
Ambulance Driver: [sitting in the driver seat] Help yourself pal.
Doctor: [pulling the cover off the loaner body] All right smart-ass you prepare to co-operate now?
[Stu sits up, scaring the doctors]

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Crazy Credits

Lisa Zane is listed in the opening credits, however due to editing her entire time on screen is only about 20 seconds.

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Alternate Versions

Also on the DVD is the full piano scene. In the theatrical release of the movie, the scene was split into two parts. The first part was used to introduce Monkeybone to Stu, instead of him coming out of his backpack as in the original version. A bridge between Monkeybone as Marilyn Monroe and Monkeybone as Frank Sinatra was cut to split the piano scene into two, where Sinatra talks about Monroe being "a helluva broad. I'd do her. Hey, I DID her." He then calls Julie "doable", and refers to Stu as an "eggplant". Also, there is explicit phallic imagery used, as Monkeybone tucks his tail between his legs to represent an erect penis - once when he calls Stu is "castrator" (as a play on "creator"), and when Monkeybone is singing about Julie's "loose caboose", when he simulates a sexual act.

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Connections

References South Park (1997)

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Soundtracks

Foxy Lady
Written and Performed by Jimi Hendrix
Courtesy of Experience Hendrix LLC/MCA Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Could this movie get any stranger?

Well, sadly, yes.

I had really high hopes for this one. I liked it, don't get me wrong. I just wish they'd pushed a lot farther with it. I was expecting something truly trippy and messed up with frightening and bizarre images. What I got was more like a frat party attended by the minor characters in "the Never-ending Story".

Come to think of it, that's one heck of an idea for a movie. I thought of it first, so hands off!

If you've already seen "Nightmare Before Christmas" and the highly underrated "James and the Giant Peach", you won't miss anything much by skipping "Monkeybone". If you haven't seen either of those two movies yet, well, check them out ASAP!