Magilla Gorilla is the main character from The Magilla Gorilla Show, an animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera between 1963 and 1967, and originally sponsored in syndication by Ideal Toys. The show also had other recurring characters, including Punkin' Puss & Mushmouse, and Ricochet Rabbit & Droop-a-Long. In syndication, the main and supporting characters from the Peter Potamus Show were also added. Like many of the Hanna-Barbera animal characters, Magilla was dressed in human accessories, sporting a small hat and a bow tie.
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History
In Magilla Gorilla, the protagonist spent his time languishing in the front display window of Mr. Peebles' pet shop, eating bananas and being a drain on the businessman's finances. Mr. Peebles marked down Magilla's price considerably, but Magilla was invariably only purchased for a short time, typically by some thieves who needed a gorilla to break into a bank or by an advertising agency looking for a mascot for their new product. The customers always ended up returning Magilla, forcing Mr. Peebles to refund their money. Magilla often ended each episode with his catchphrase, "We'll try again next week."
The only customer who was truly interested in obtaining the trouble-prone ape for good was a little girl named Ogee ("Oh Gee!"), who lamentably never had enough money (During the cartoon's theme song, "We've Got a Gorilla for Sale", Ogee would always ask hopefully, "How much is that gorilla in the window?" a twist on the old standard, "(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?").
Episodes
- Big Game
- Gridiron Gorilla
- Private Magilla
- Bank Pranks
- Groovey Movie
- Airlift
- Come Blow Your Dough
- Mad Scientist
- Masquerade Party
- Come Back Little Magilla
- Fairy Godmother
- Planet Zero
- Prince Charming
- Motorcycle Magilla
- Is That Zoo?
- Bird Brained
- Circus Ruckus
- Camp Scamps
- The Purple Mask
- Love at First Fight
- Pet Bet
- Makin' With the Magilla
- High Fly Guy
- Deep Sea Doodle
- That Was the Geek That Was
- Montana Magilla
- Magilla Mix-Up
- Wheelin And Deal
- Mad Avenue Madness
- Beau Jest
- Super Blooper Heroes
Cast
- Allan Melvin as Magilla Gorilla
- Howard Morris (and later, Don Messick) as Mr. Peebles
- Jean Vander Pyl as Ogee
Other Appearances and Media
- Magilla Gorilla appeared on both Yogi's Ark Lark and Yogi's Gang where he would run the treadmill that powers the Ark as long as there were plenty of bananas.
- In Yogi Bear's All Star Comedy Christmas Caper, Magilla Gorilla (alongside Wally Gator and Yakky Doodle) was unable to help Yogi and his friends locate J. Wellington Jones.
- In the "Fender Bender 500" segment of Wake, Rattle, and Roll, Magilla Gorilla was partnered with Wally Gator as they rode a monster truck called the Swamp Stomper.
- Magilla appeared as a teenage gorilla on Yo Yogi! (as superstar Magilla Ice, a reference to Vanilla Ice).
- Magilla Gorilla appeared as Sinbad on Scooby-Doo in Arabian Nights (1994).
- In an episode of The Simpsons, Homer looks at a statue of himself created by Marge and exclaims "You made me a statue of Magilla Gorilla!" Also in the episode "When You Dish Upon a Star," Homer is heard singing the theme song in his sleep, right before Homer as Magilla apparently savages Mr Peebles.
- On the Adult Swim cartoon series Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, in the episode "Free Magilla," Magilla Gorilla (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) was "liberated" by a parody of PETA called PAFF (the People's Animal Freedom Front), whom Mr. Peebles (also voiced by Maurice LaMarche) proceeded to sue. Whenever Magilla would use one of his trademark grating one-liners, the characters would slap him in the face or peck out his eyes. In the Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law video game, he and Secret Squirrel were suspected of robbing Harvey Birdman's office. After Secret Squirrel was found "not guilty," Magilla Gorilla was tried and was also found "not guilty" when it was mentioned that he wouldn't be able to fit in the window due to a machine left behind by X the Eliminator.
- Magilla Gorilla was seen in a Cartoon Network Rap in 1995.
- ON the Family Guy 'Live in Las Vegas' CD, Brian attributes Magilla as being responsible for the AIDS outbreak.
Trivia
- Mr. Peebles' physical appearance was based on that of an earlier Hanna-Barbera character from 1962-1987's The Jetsons, Mr. Spacely (George Jetson's boss, voiced by Mel Blanc).
- The great ape's name is a near-homophone to the Hebrew/Yiddish word megillah, which means scroll, and is often used in a joking way to indicate a long, drawn out story; and, by extension, the teller of such a story. There is no apparent connection between that definition and the ape, other than making a suitable rhyme. In The Joys of Yiddish, by Leo Rosten, 1968, p.233, the author observes that megillah "rhymes with guerrilla".
- As pointed out on the Rhino Records' CD liner notes for their collection of Hanna-Barbera theme tunes, part of Magilla's purpose was to sell likenesses of himself. The show was sponsored by Ideal Toys, which produced a Magilla stuffed toy.
- The Beastie Boys name check the ape on the album Pauls' Boutique (1989) -- "Take my advice at any price a gorilla like your mother is mighty weak..."
- In the X-Men comics, Hank McCoy (Beast), was nicknamed "Magilla Gorilla" in High School.
- Brazilian boxer Adilson "Maguila" Rodrigues got his nickname because of his physical resemblance to Magilla Gorilla.
- Howard Stern Show co-host Robin Quivers was nicknamed Magilla Gorilla by comedian Bob Levy.
- The term Magilla is used as slang to refer to bad play in a game of poker. "Wow, I played that hand like such a Magilla."
DVD release
Warner Home Video released the entire Magilla Gorilla series, together with the Ricochet Rabbit & Droop-a-Long and Punkin' Puss & Mushmouse shorts in a boxed DVD collection on August 15, 2006.[1] The DVD set doesn't include the 1964 Magilla Gorilla Show main/end title sequences and the cartoons are not yet restored.
| DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Complete Series | 23 | August 15, 2006 |
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Magilla Gorilla in other languages
- Brazilian Portuguese: Maguila, o Gorila
- Spanish: Maguila, el Gorila
- Japanese: ゴリラのゴンちゃん (Gorira no Gon-chan)
- Finnish: The same as in English ("Magilla" sounds good in Finnish and word "gorilla" is written in the similar way in both languages)
- Polish: Goryl Magilla (prenouncing with double "l")
External links
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