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Chic a boo was one cheeky little monkey who though it was fine to encourage kiddiwinks to keep on sucking their thumbs, while their frustrated parents insisted it would give them buck teeth. Well, i suppose it never did Chic a boo any harm. Originally developed in Japan in 1974, the Chic a boo toys were originally developed by Koichi Sekiguchi as a way of teaching children to be loving and respectful to each other and came in boy/girl pairs. It was called Monchhichi until it came over to British shores in the 80s. In Italy, it became Mon Cicci, Virkiki in Spain, and in France it was called simply, Kiki. But I digress. The line reached North America in 1979, where Mattel bought the license for the toy line. Chic a boo was an incredibly cute little toy, with perfectly formed plastic feet, hands and face sticking out from a so-soft brown furry body - complete with monkey tail. But the real selling point of this toy was not its fluff, but rather than it could insert either of its thumbs into a hole in its mouth, with a little guidance from owner. There was also a range of accessories that could be bought to complement the cuddly, with various cute outfits being a big seller. As the advert played on: "Chic-a-Chic-a-Chic-a-Boo Furry and cuddly we love you Chic-a-Chic-a-Chic-a-Boo It's such fun to dress you up too" The characters were best-loved in Japan (and are still big today), with two television series being produced based on them: the Japanese anime series Monchhichi Twins in 1980, and the American cartoon series Monchhichis in 1983, produced by Hanna-Barbera and aired on ABC. Monchhichis were monkey-like creatures who lived in the forest land of Monchia at the top of tall trees well above the clouds. The tribe's leader, Wizzar, was a magical wizard who could make up spells and potions to defeat their enemy, the evil Grumplins of Grumplor. The show didn
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