Where Did THAT Come From – Mojo the Helper Monkey

Hey there Addicterinos!  How are all my favorite wabbit whackers doing?

Easter is upon us and of course with a big event like this, it means lots of new content.  You know what that means, right?  Yup… more WDTCF fun from your resident writers.  For today’s edition, I thought it might be nice to turn our heads away from all the fluffy cotton tail antics and concentrate on an anima near and dear to this fuzzball’s heart… MONKEYS!  And not just any monkeys, but helper monkeys.  More specifically…. MOJO!

I am an admitted Simpsons nerd and really do love so many things about this show but this particular addition to the game has me so thrilled.  Mojo the Helper Monkey has always been one of my favorinos.  I am always a sucker for simians and although not a member of the great ape family, monkeys are also amazing.  Mojo comes to us from Season 9, Episode 21: “Girly Edition”.  Although this episode is probably best known for the Kidz Newz program or Willie’s creamed corn shack explosion, it’s B Plot is arguably one of my favorites.

Homer is doing his normal shopping at the KEM when he is startled to find a monkey at the cash register.  While not Mojo, Apu has a helper monkey who is so cute wearing a mini Kwik-E-Mart shirt.  How dare a robber shoot Apu six times and leave him for dead?  Not all bad though if you get a monkey who can work a cash register for the trouble.  (Now Apu has two monkeys including Sanjay)  Of course, Homer is interested in the concept of a monkey helping him out (who wouldn’t be?) and is off to get one of his own.

But where does one go in Springfield to get a helper monkey?  Why, to Animal Assistants (“As Felt in Braille Weekly”) of course… duh.  The clerk asks how is Homer “differently abled”?  Well, he’s not handicapped, he’s just lazy and even though the clerk tells Homie that helpers are only for the physically challenged or enfeebled, Homer is not deterred and brings his enfeebled father to get his monkey.  Poor Grampa was so excited but of course Homer only uses him, takes his new monkey and leaves Grampa standing on the curb lamenting the possibility of eating it.

Of course Homer doesn’t tell Marge he got a new friend so we next find Marge chasing Mojo around the house with a broomstick.  He may be a filthy monkey, but Mojo can do all kinds of cool stuff: answer the phone, make orange juice, steal donuts from Lard Lad, laugh evilly with Lisa.  Of course Mojo seems the most at home when he’s drinking beer and eating pizza and binging on junk food with Homer.

Marge: “You said this monkey would be sweeping the floors and cleaning the gutters and now he just lies there struggling to breath.”
Homer: “What do you want?  His cholesterol is through the roof.”

Turns out hanging out with a monkey and eating junk food is not good for a helper monkey.  Poor Mojo can’t even do his happy dance any more.  Homer didn’t help his helper monkey out at all.  Homer takes him back to the store and the clerk is exasperated at Mojo’s condition.  All Mojo can type is “Pray for Mojo”.  This obviously explains why when tapped upon, Mojo lies on his back out of breath.  He’s trying to do his happy dance but I guess his cholesterol never recovered from his time with Homer.

Like I said, this is just the B plot of the episode and a series of really funny scenes but they’re all great.  I for one am of the opinion that you can never go wrong with a monkey on screen.  It’s comic gold.  Maybe Alissa will let me get one for the Addicts offices?  I promise I won’t let his eat the cheetos.  Look how cute he could be Alissa, he could maybe even help us get donuts.  Pretty please?

This episode is completely worth a watch if you’ve never seen it and if you have, I know you want to view it again.  As a bonus, it also includes Crazy Cat Lady and her throwing cats at Lisa not one but two times.

For anyone like this silly guy who likes how art imitates real life, there actually is an amazing charity that trains Capuchin Monkeys to help disabled individuals.  I actually donate Helping Hands annually because A: It’s a little known service I find cool B: Donating to the world you live in is good for the soul and C: It’s frickin monkeys that helps people instead of ripping faces off!  Here’s the link if you’re interested or think I’m joshing you.

And that concludes another Where Did THAT come from here at Addicts… I’m Bart Simpson.

Errr…. The Wookiee… TTFN!