Hey ho all, I’m back this week with a new Fabulous Find. And what did I find? Well, how about an original 1964 Magilla Gorilla Board Game by Ideal (No. 2243-4). Yep, that’s right, a board game based on Magilla Gorilla, who is the star of The Magilla Gorilla Show by Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. that aired from 1964 to 1966. Where to sell collectible toys near me?
Magilla Gorilla was an anthropomorphic gorilla who spent his time in the front display window of Melvin Peebles’ pet shop, eating bananas and being a drain on the businessman’s finances. Peebles marked down Magilla’s price considerably, but Magilla was invariably only purchased for a short time, typically by some thieves who needed a gorilla to break into a bank, or by an advertising agency looking for a mascot for their new product. The customers always ended up returning Magilla, forcing Peebles to refund their money. Magilla often ended episodes with his catchphrase “We’ll try again next week.”
Many of Hanna-Barbera’s animal characters were dressed in human accessories; and as such, Magilla Gorilla sported a bow tie, shorts held up by suspenders, and an undersized derby hat.
The only customer truly interested in obtaining the trouble-prone Magilla was a little girl named Ogee (pronounced “Oh Gee!”). During the cartoon’s theme song, “We’ve Got a Gorilla for Sale”, she asks hopefully, “How much is that gorilla in the window?” (a twist on the old standard, “How much is that Doggie in the Window?”, but she unfortunately was never able to convince her parents to let her keep Magilla.
But back to the game. Here is the box top:
As you can clearly see, Magilla is front and center and that’s the Pet Shop owner, Mr. Peebles’ who is slipping on a banana peel on the right. Sorry but I don’t remember the weiner dog’s name on the left.
The game itself is pretty simple. In turn, each of two to four players spins the spinner and move their Magilla Gorilla marker the indicated number of spaces. One interesting twist is that the player could move their Magilla Gorilla in any direction, as long as they move the correct number of spaces.
Prior to the game Pet Cards were shuffled and dealt to the players. There were five (5) pet cards each, representing a bunny, a turtle, a donkey, a duck, a mouse, a monkey, a parrot and a cat. As the players made their way around the board, if they landed on a pet space and had that pet in their hand the pet would be placed in the Pet Shop.
The object of the game was to get rid of all your pet cards, with the first to do so winning the game! Here is the board game, so you don’t have to image it:
As you can see, but probably can’t read, from the picture above, the colored spaces represented the individual pets. The board itself is great, with lots of shots of Magilla himself spread about. I count eight (8) as a matter of fact!
I also like the fact that each of the players get to be Magilla, rather than just a generic marker. The show itself ran for two seasons, with the first season, 1964, having fifteen (15) episodes and the second season. 1965, having sixteen (16) episodes for a total of thirty-one (31) episodes!
Magilla Gorilla also appeared in comic books. From 1964 through 1968, he appeared in a series published by Western Comics; the series ran for ten (10) issues. Also in 1964, he appeared in a one shot comic called The Magilla Gorilla Kite Fun Book from the same publisher. From 1970 through 1971, he also appeared in a series published by Charlton Comics which ran only five (5) issues.
And just to leave you with the complete experience, here is the Magilla Gorilla theme song by way of YouTube:
Oh by the way, this cool board game is available right now at Back To The Past. Check out their eBay store or inquire at the shop! Better act fast, though!
Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed this Fabulous Find and see ya soon with a new RETRO REVIEW or another Fabulous Find. Til then …
be seeing you …
