What’s the Story?

MAGILLA GORILLA, a classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon that originally aired from 1964-1967, follows Mr. Peebles (voiced by Howard Morris), a cranky, frustrated businessman who's desperate to sell Magilla (Allan Melvin), a sweet, fumbling ape who spends his days eating bananas and hanging around outside Mr. Peebles' front store window. Because he's lowered his asking price considerably, Mr. Peebles usually doesn't have a problem selling the gorilla -- but every time, Magilla's new owner ends up returning him and demanding his or her money back because of the ape's troublesome antics. The equally troublesome Ogee (Jean Vander Pyl) seems to be the only one who continues to ask "How much is that gorilla in the window?" But Mr. Peebles always turns her down, because her offer is always too low.

Is It Any Good?

The only thing this series is guilty of is poking fun. Mr. Peebles views Magilla as a nuisance, so he treats him like one. As a result, some young viewers might get the idea that all animals are stupid. Parents should point out that even though humans are intellectually smarter than animals, apes are the smartest creatures in the animal kingdom -- and that lack of intellect or education is never a valid reason to degrade another person and/or animal.

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Have you seen it?

TV Show Details

TV rating

TV-G

Network

Boomerang

Cast

Allan Melvin
Howard Morris
Jean Vander Pyl

Genre

Children, Cartoons, & Animation

Where to watch

Boomerang, DVD

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