Winged monkeys
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Flying monkeys, as illustrated by W. W. Denslow in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Winged Monkeys (often referred to as flying monkeys) are characters from The Wizard of Oz, of enough impact between the books and the 1939 movie to have taken their own place in pop culture, regularly referenced in comedic or ironic situations as a source of evil or fear.
In the original Oz novels, these were just what the name implies: intelligent monkeys with wings. They were controlled by a golden hat, initially worn by the Wicked Witch of the West who used it to set the monkeys upon Dorothy and her friends. At one point they destroy the scarecrow entirely, leaving him scattered across the landscape.
Political interpretations
Some historians who interpret The Wizard of Oz as a political allegory suggest the Winged Monkeys represent African-Americans, oppressed by an overbearing force and who are relieved to be free of that bondage when the evil force is terminated. Others see them as hired Pinkerton Agents who worked for the Trusts in the 1890s and hounded labor unions.
References in pop culture
- Flying monkeys have appeared in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and The Simpsons.
- The Wayne's World catch-phrase "when monkeys fly out of my butt" may be a reference, at least incidentally, to the winged monkeys.
- In Gregory Maguire's revisionist novels Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West and Son of a Witch, the flying monkeys were created by Elphaba (the Witch) as part of her experiments on the nature of the soul and what distinguishes non-speaking animals from intelligent, speaking Animals. In these novels, most of the flying monkeys cannot speak, but Elphaba's favorite (named Chistery) has a distinctive speech pattern characterized by the repetition of similar-sounding words. In the musical adaptation, the monkeys gain wings as part of a magic spell gone awry.
- The Vertigo comic book series Fables features a flying monkey named Bufkin, who may be a survivor of a conquered Land of Oz.
- In the movie Jumanji, monkeys see inside a TV shop on a television the winged monkeys from the Wizard of Oz, so they break inside the shop and steal TV sets.
- In the movie 1973 movie Hunter, in which actual footage from the Wizard of Oz movie is used to brainwash a race-car driver, terrorizing him until he screamed the line "Stop the monkeys! PLEASE Stop the monkeys!"
- In Todd McFarlane's action figure line "The Twisted Land of Oz," two flying monkey action figures (with a bloated Munchkin) are available as part of the "Collector's Club." According to the accompanying story, they are the Wizard's minions, transformed into steampunk cyborgs due to "Ozmic power."
- The music video for "Heretics & Killers" by Protest The Hero opens with a shot of the front page of a newspaper stating 'The Witch is Dead: Flying Monkeys Out of Work'. The remainder of the video features the bandmembers dressed as the Flying Monkeys, trying (and failing) at various jobs, begging on the street, getting thrown out of a bar, and rocking out.
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