welcome 2 my site!!
hello!!! my name is Sophia and this is my half personal, half monchhichi fansite ^_^ below are some fun facts, things i've researched, and my own personal connection to the adorable dolls. please enjoy your time here!
i made this page to be educational to all Monchhichi lovers, because i have struggled finding information myself, and i felt the need to share my knowledge!! so, please contact me and let me know if:
- i get absolutely any information wrong,
- i forget a notable doll (but do keep in mind i do not aim to catalog every kind ever),
- i forget an important event in Monchhchi's history,
- i miss any other cool or interesting facts,
- you notice any mispellings or grammar mistakes i've made,
- you have a better idea on how i should organize all this information,
- or i have included your photo or video & you want it removed
i really do not mind and would love to know more about anything Monchhichi. i know the least about the cartoons, older dolls, and fake dolls. you can email me for longer discussions or leave a little message by signing my guestbook.
About The Love Monkeys
Monchhichi, often misspelled as Monchichi, is a Japanese monkey doll made by Yoshiharu Washino for the famous doll company, Sekiguchi. They were first released on January 25th, 1974, as an update to the successful “Kuta Kuta Monkey”, and also to inspire respect and love in both children and adults (Hence the nickname “Love Monkey”). The name Monchhichi is a combination of “Mon”, French for mine or my, and “Chhichi”, the Japanese onomatopoeia for the sound of a baby sucking a pacifier, which ends up sounding similar to “monkey”.
Their name relates to one of their key features because they are actually designed to suck their thumbs, or in more recent versions (this change happened in 1980), a pacifier in their hands! Another staple for them is their bibs, which are commonly red and white, and have Monchhichi logo on them. Even more features are one or two tufts of fur tied with ribbons, which signal the doll is a girl, a long tail like a monkey's, and freckles, five on each cheek and three above their nose. The dark brown shown below is the typical fur color, but there are also blonde or beige and many other color variations.
Worldwide
While Monchhichi was very popular in Japan, they saw even more success in Germany and Austria. The dolls began to sell there in 1975, and to many other countries shortly after. In the 80s, Mattel bought the license and Monchhichi debuted in North America with a famous jingle: "Monchhichi, Monchhichi, oh so soft and cuddly!"
The international Love Monkeys had their names changed. "Chicaboo" in the UK, "Kiki" in France, "Mon Cicci" in Italy, "Bølle" in Denmark, "Moncsicsi" in Hungary and "Virkiki" in Spain. Although, according to the Monchhichi website, the dolls have been sold as Monchhichi instead of their special names for each country since 2014.
The Cartoons
Three TV series have been created. Firstly, Monchhichi Twins, the anime series from 1980, then Monchhchis, the 1983 show produced by Hanna-Barbera, and most recently, Monchhichi Tribe, which has been running since 2017. These shows are not my area of expertise and there will have links to other websites that have more information about them!
Anniversaries
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Variations
Over the past 50 years, there have been many sizes, special editons, costumes, collaborations, and other characters made of the dolls.
Monchhichi & Friends
Since the release of Monchhichi, a few other characters have shown up, including Chimutan, a pink bunny, Tanu/Tanutanu, a tanuki, Kuma, a bear (I think), and Cham/Chamu, a sheep. They can all be told apart from eachother and Monchhichis by their faces, and also their own unique features. For example, Kuma has a poof instead of a tail, Chamu has a sort of sherpa material instead of the fur, and Tanutanu has a little leaf on his head. Sadly, most of these dolls have a lot less modern dolls and images of vintage ones are much easier to find. Chimutan is the exception though; she still is very popular.
left image source, right image source
L-R: Chamu, Tanutanu, Chimutan, and Kuma
Let's not forget Bebichhichi, who was added to the line in 2004 and shares more similiarites to Monchhichi dolls. They are shorter, wear diapers and/or bonnets most of the time, and will have pacifiers attached to their necks, rather than in their hands. In my opinion, which I have been saving throughout this to add at the end, Bebichhichi dolls are like Monchhichi's cuter, more attractive younger siblings. Bebichhichis seem to replace all the "unattractive" and older design elements of a Monchhichi. This is by no means a bad thing, just something I've noticed. I love them all the same!
In 1979, the Nyamy family of Monchhichi cats were created. They were made by a company called by Washino DNP, which is not Sekiguchi, so I assume the creator of Monchhichi, Yoshiharu Washino, had Nyamy made independently. Like the previously mentioned dolls, Nyamy were made to be friends of Monchhichi. I think Nyamy was an earlier attempt though, but I cannot tell because I don't know when the others were made. It's difficult to find information on these dolls and Washino DNP because they were not around for very long. They were taken off of the market nine months after their release because they had iron powder in them, which made them very dangerous and flammable, and also very heavy. Sadly, it seems there are no modern Nyamy dolls or cat Monchhichi equivalents, but you can still find plently of them secondhand, like all older Monchhichis. Below are the main four, but there are also pink and blue ones out there.
image source
L-R: Felina, Vanilla, Nappy, Peppi
Lastly, there have been grandparent Monchhichis since 1980. They always have gray fur and the grandpa's have mustaches. The older grandma's wore long patterned dresses with matching hats and glasses, and the older grandpa's had overalls and a pipe. When they were rereleased in 2015, they lost the accesories and the grandpa's started to wear a bowtie and suspenders, but now they match the recent Monchhichi designs.
I would also like to mention. bear from chicaboo photo and purple doll villian from show