The Enchanted Monkey Room, Cologne

Well, if you think you have seen the height of animatronics at the Disney Tiki Room, get a load of this beauty:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oUIW3_7rDg

Please rate and comment on it, friends!

Some 50s venture capitalist probably earned himself a golden nose with these things. Imagine this in an early sixties b/w movie. A shady part of Hamburg. It stands for hopes and innocence, or the mere aftertaste of it. Something bad is going to happen. Klaus Biederstedt, übernehmen Sie!

It's definitely pre-Scopitone. Regarding your very "German" commentary on U-tube: I think the fact that the tune's style does NOT match perfectly makes the whole thing even funnier and more surreal. The song has that overly upbeat muzak quality that was used so well to the same surreal effect in the Ren & Stimpy cartoons.

This would've been the perfect prop for a b/w Cold War spy movie, set in Berlin. The happy monkeys play their upbeat song while nearby, the Stasi pumps a double-agent full of bullets as he hangs helplessly in the razor wire that covers the top of the Wall.

I think they call that a Bimbo Box.

FREE THE MONKEYS, NOW!

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=1021

Yes, there is a similar 'Bimbo Box' in San Francisco, at the Musee Mecanique, a free museum of old coin-operated amusement attractions in the Fisherman's Wharf area - really a must see if you are in the area.

The Bimbo Box is one of my favorite machines in the museum - I always put a couple of quarters in the box to see them perform. Last time I took individual photos of each of the monkeys - they can be found in this photo stream

http://www.flickr.com/photos/itsvern/2466234181/in/set-72157604891811973/

It would be great to unexpectedly encounter a Bimbo Box in the wild, while walking the streets somewhere!

Vern

I used to repair the games at the old "St. Pete Beach Amusement Center" in my youth, and they had a more modern "Bimbo Box" circa 1965. It was just a marionett clown and when you pressed different buttons, the arms, head, legs, etc. would move. It was called "Bimbo The Clown". An 8 track player inside would play circus music and the person could make Bimbo dance by pushing the buttons.

Tiki Bill.

Thanks for all the contributions to Bimbo Box history! I recommend to click on "watch in better quality", for improved monkey detail (and me in the reflection :) ) I remember seeing one as a kid in a Hamburg department store by the elevators.

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2008-05-25 03:22 ]