Monchhichi is a line of Japanese plush monkey-shaped toys from the Sekiguchi company, first released in 1974.

They were sold under license by Mattel in the United States until 1985, then distributed worldwide directly by Sekiguchi.
Four television series have been produced based on the characters: The Japanese Anime Series Monchhichi Twins in 1980, produced by Tokyo 12 Channel (now TV Tokyo), the American cartoon series Monchhichis in 1983, produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, the French cartoon series Kiki, the Kiki of all Kikis in 2001, produced by Ben-J Productions, the Japanese stop-motion series Monchhichi in 2005, by Kids Station and the French series in computer-generated images Monchhichi Tribu (La Tribu Monchhichi) in 2017, produced by Technicolor Animation Productions.

History

the franchise Monchhichi: The Kiki Of All Kikis is owned by the Sekiguchi Corporation, a famous doll company located in Tokyo, Japan. Monchhichi was created by Yoshiharu Washino on January 25, 1974, to improve the monkey Walls Walls, which was already a great success. Sekiguchi claims to have created these characters in order to inspire respect and love in young (Japanese) children and adults. Their name is derived from the words "Mine" which translates to "Mon" in French and "Chichi" which sounds a lot like the sound a child's pacifier would make according to Japanese phonetics, and the resulting word sounds similar. to the word "Monkey" in English.

The dolls were successful in Japan and the anime television series Futago no Monchhichi, which aired in 1980, helped boost their popularity even further.

The export of the line of dolls began in 1975, to Germany and Austria. In subsequent years, the Monchhichi line of dolls was marketed in more countries. The original name was changed to "Chicaboo" in the United Kingdom, in "Mon Cicci" in Italy, in "Kiki" in France, in "bully" in Denmark, in "Moncicci" in Hungary and in "Activein Spain. The popularity of Monchhichi dolls reached its peak in Germany in the 1980s, even surpassing sales of Japanese figurines during this period.

The line of Monchhichi dolls reached North American shores in 1980. Mattel purchased the license for the toy line. The American cartoon series Monchhichis was produced by Hanna-Barbera in 1983 and aired on ABC (as part of The Monchhichis/Little Rascals/Richie Rich Show) to promote the doll line. The line was dropped by Mattel due to poor sales in 1985, but was reintroduced on Monchhichi's 30th anniversary in 2004 by Sekiguchi. As of 2013, Monchhichi dolls are still available in the United States at retailers such as Target.

As of 2015, Monchchichi are still popular in Germany, sometimes taking up entire shelf space in toy stores. Many variations and sizes of Monchhichi have emerged. For example, the Monchhichi original is still available in the Classic variant in 10 cm, 20 cm, 24 cm, 45 cm and even 80 cm. Other variants are also available, such as Boutique (Monchhichi in different clothing styles), Mother Care (Monchhichi with a cub in his front pocket) and the 40th Anniversary Edition. Dollhouses for Monchhichi are also available.

Monchhichi: The Kiki Of All Kikis