The Monkey's Uncle is a 1965 Walt Disney production starring Tommy Kirk as genius college student Merlin Jones and Annette Funicello as his girlfriend, Jennifer. The title refers to a chimpanzee named Stanley, Merlin's legal "nephew" ; Stanley otherwise has little relevance to the plot. Jones invents a man-powered airplane and a sleep-learning system. The film is a sequel to the 1964 film The Misadventures of Merlin Jones. Midvale College is told that a wealthy man, Mr. Astorbilt , will give a large donation, but he has a strange request — he challenges the school to build a... man-powered flying machine. If they succeed by a certain date, they get the donation, otherwise it will go to a rival school. Merlin Jones designs a lightweight airplane, powered by a propeller driven by bicycle pedals. Recognizing that even his football-jock friends won't be strong enough for such a feat, he develops a strength elixir , which should give the power that a man would need to get off the ground.
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