Mookie

A talking chimp, a jolly monk and a boxer on the run make an unlikely team in this French comedy for children. Brother Benoit, a French monk working with underprivileged youth in Mexico, one day finds a sick chimpanzee in need of water and medical attention. He brings the chimp back to his mission and nurses her back to health, naming her Mookie. A year later, Brother Benoit discovers Mookie can not only play basketball, but she can talk, the result of an exposure to radiation from a meteor crash. Primate experts from America are eager to get their hands on the little ape, but the Brother will allow no experiments to be performed on her. The Brother recruits Antoine, a boxer down on his luck, to help Mookie and the Brother flee to Mexico City, but when it turns out Antoine is wanted by the Mexican Mafia for not throwing a fight, all three must make tracks to insure their safety.

Directed by Hervé Palud, Mookie leans on a strong ensemble — Éric Cantona, Jacques Villeret, Emiliano Suarez — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about comedy titles of 1998.