Regent Brian Wilson as Himself Carl Wilson as Himself Dennis Wilson as Himself Al Jardine as Himself Mike Love as Himself Production notes The Misadventures of Merlin Jones had been a surprise hit, earning over $4 million in rentals for Disney and prompting a sequel. The film was announced in March 1964. This production marks both Tommy Kirk's and Annette Funicello's last film for the studio. Mark Goddard, who plays Haywood (and is best known as Major Don West on television's Lost in Space), made his feature film debut in this film. The screen credit for writing reads, "Screenplay by Tom and Helen August", which were pseudonyms used by Alfred Lewis Levitt and Helen Levitt, two writers who were blacklisted. The home-video release of the film restored the Levitts' credits. Funicello (billed as "Annette") performs the title track with The Beach Boys over the opening credits. The song was written by the Disney song writing duo, Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. Funicello recalled: "They were just beginning. They were wonderful guys and I feel fortunate that I was kind of in on the ground floor. We even worked together performing at Disneyland. Little did any of us know how successful they would become!" She did not know whose idea it had been to bring in the Beach Boys but felt it was "a stroke of brilliance. As silly as the song is in places, it really does rock and with the Beach Boys' amazing four-part harmonies, I could sing it without echo". She regarded singing with the group as the highlight of her film career at Disney. Shortly after making the film, Funicello married her agent. This would be the last film she made for Disney until Lots of Luck. Music The title song, written by the Sherman Brothers, is performed by Funicello, with the Beach Boys providing background vocals. This song was covered in 2006 by Devo 2.0 on the album Disneymania, Volume 4. Reception Critical Richard F. Shepard of The New York Times described The Monkey's Uncle as "an amusing film made with artless artfulness ... It all falls into bright, colorful and innocuous non sequitur and, in an hour and a half, you are through, mildly diverted and unburdened by message". Variety noted that the film, "like its predecessor, depends on gimmicks and some nutty situations, which provide mild amusement". Margaret Harford of the Los