In 1974 a line of stuffed monkeys was released by the Sekiguchi Corporation in Japan. They were created by Yoshiharu Washino and based off another line he had previously created called the Kuta Kuta monkey, or Exhausted Monkey.
Yoshiharu was looking for a way to expand, and he also wanted to introduce the concept of love and respect to children. He started with his original concept, made a few tweaks to the aesthetic and then decided he needed a catchy name. The first part on the name comes from the French word for Mine, or Mon, and the second part? Washino knew it needed to be relatable to children and, according to Japanese phonetics, the sound a baby makes on a pacifier is Chi-Chi. He put the two together and He had it! A fun name that grabbed attention and in English even sounded a bit like Monkey, Monchichi!
With everything in place these new monkey creations were released and soon became extremely popular. They were shipped to various countries like Austria and Germany in 1975 and quickly grabbed to attention of a company in the United States.
In 1980 Mattel purchased the license for the line and began production in America. They were a hit! People loved these little guys; they were everywhere. There was animated series called the Monchichi Twins, and we even sang a stupid song that made little sense but everyone knew at the time.
“Monchichi, monchichi I can move my body. Monchichi, monchichi I can do karate. Monchichi, monchichi I can play Atari. Monchichi, monchichi - oops! I'm sorry.”
After 3 years on the market Mattel developed a deal with Hanna-Barbera to include a cartoon in their Little Rascals/ Richie Rich show. Only 13 episodes were produced but I remember them well.
The first Monchichi dolls were a set of twins, a boy and a girl, with furry bodies and human-like faces complete with blue eyes, freckles and the ability to put their thumbs in their mouths. Eventually the blue eyes were changed to brown and the thumb was replaced with a pacifier to discourage thumb sucking, but mostly the design was unchanged from version to version. Outfits and other accessories were also sold and even a Monchichi pencil hugger… Do you guys remember pencil huggers!?
Like so many things, these cheeky little monkeys were a fad, and by 1985 that fad had run its course. Sales declined and the line was eventually dropped, at least in the US, although in Germany sales held strong for a while longer.
So are they collectable? Of course, but not too expensive. There were slight variations, mostly in the color of the bibs they wore or outfits, and that can affect the value slightly, but you can get a vintage, 1970’s Monchichi, often with its original box, on ebay for $25-30. Not horrible! Used should run around $12-15.
I wouldn’t mind having one of those pencil huggers myself.
A great guide I found was www.fabtintoys.com/monchhichi
So there you go, loveable little monkeys from Japan that took the world by storm in a big way!
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Until next time my friends, remember, when it comes to Rewind Toys, the hunt is half the fun!
This is Jason Emmitt, signing off.
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