“Thank you, Disney!”: THE MONKEY director explains how a copyright issue improved his horror film

If you are a fan of Stephen King or saw the crazy director’s trailer Osgood Perkins’ next horror comedy The Monkeyyou’re probably familiar with the sinister toy monkey at the center of the story.

In King’s original story, the toy monkey brandishes the cymbals, causing them to ring together. But in Perkins’ adaptation, we see the monkey using a drum instead, and you may be wondering: why the change?

Surprisingly, we have Disney to thank for this, and according to Perkins, it might just be the best thing to happen to the film.

Disney owns the rights to that specific depiction of a cymbal-playing toy monkey in which it was featured History of the toy. When Perkins was handed the reins of the adaptation process The Monkeythere was a problem.

He told SFX Magazine: “The producer told me, ‘Oh, by the way, Disney owns the decks due [the toy monkey in] History of toys,‘” The solution was to replace the cymbals with a drum.

This limitation might seem like a frustrating obstacle for a filmmaker trying to stay true to the source material. But Perkins took it in stride and even hugged him.

He explained: “So it is [couldn’t] be flat. What if it was a drum? It’s one of those things where a limitation becomes an opportunity. If you’re making movies and you don’t agree with this adage, then you’re in real trouble!

“’I was like, ‘Hey, this is cool. The drum is better.” The drum is like a marching drum. It’s like, ‘Drumroll, please!’ before anything happens. So thank you, Disney.”

But The Monkey it doesn’t just play with iconic horror imagery; it also faces the challenge of immersing itself in ’80s nostalgia. Perkins said: “Stranger things he kind of cornered the market with the phrase ‘It’s like ’80s movies, it’s like’ GremlinsIt’s like Spielberg!’ – and he did it so well and so successfully.”

Originally, his script followed a similar timeline that included childhood flashbacks set in the 1950s, with the main story in the 1980s. But he pivoted. “We moved it into the ’90s and into the present,” taking the film away from well-trodden territory while maintaining the King-inspired feel.

The film promises an “outrageously gory” and “completely free” cinematic experience and the trailer shows people brutally killed in various ways with tools such as a harpoon, a bowling ball, a rifle, a swimming pool, a hibachi. knife, a lawnmower and more.

In The Monkey“When twin brothers Hal and Bill discover their father’s old toy monkey in the attic, a series of gruesome deaths begin to occur around them. The brothers decide to throw the monkey away and move on with their lives, growing apart over the years.

“But when the mysterious deaths begin again, the brothers must band together to find a way to destroy the ape once and for all before it takes the lives of everyone close to them.”

Speaking previously about the film, Perkins said: “It’s going to be more like Misery OR Creepshow OR Gremlins OR American werewolf. It couldn’t be LESS than this Long legs.“

He continued, “To me, if you’re going to make a movie about a toy monkey, you can take it seriously. But so much of King is fun and nostalgic.

“So we tried to make a movie that felt a little more like something from the late ’80s to ’90s.” For me, ideally, it’s the film that children and their parents want to go and see together.”

Movie stars Teo Giacomo (The White Lotus) alongside Tatiana Maslany (She–Hulk: Lawyer), Elijah Wood (Maniac), Christian Convery (Sweetness), Colin O’Brien (Wonka), Rohan Campbell (Halloween ends) AND Sarah Levy (Schitt’s Creek).

The Monkey will be released in theaters on February 21, 2025. For fans of Stephen King, Osgood Perkins or just great horror, The Monkey Sounds like an exciting ride. What if a little extra tension builds up along the way? Well, we can all say, “Thanks, Disney!”