- “Not those banana brains!”
- —Alan Parrish
Dead Eye, Brute & Fang are a trio of very naughty Monkeys that appear frequently in the animated series, who like to annoy anybody that comes their way. The trio reside with other fellow simians in the jungle of "JUMANJI", although they are sometimes sent out by The Game to cause havoc in Brantford, New Hampshire. They are unnamed in the animated series, only ever being called those banana brains by Alan Parrish in Bargaining for Time, or The Chimps, with their names coming from production notes and expanded media, such as the official TV site and promotional LCD game. The trio also appear in promotional merchandise and publicity artworks, such as some versions of the Milton Bradley Board Game in some Asian regions.
Characteristics[]
Banana brains.
This particular trio of Monkeys are frequent nuisances to the trio and possibly the leaders of all other Monkeys, although they seem to follow and revere the Judge. There is nothing these three love more than causing trouble for any players, and even have the audacity to irritate Van Pelt by stealing his pith helmet or rifle.
Dead Eye[]
Dead-Eye is the middle-sized blue Monkey of the trio, who appears to be the leader, named for having a lazy eye.
Brute[]
Brute is the larger brown and gray Monkey and probably the muscle of the group, who resembles a Gorilla despite still having a Monkey tail.
Fang[]
Fang is the smaller, reddish-brown and most annoying member of the Monkey trio who closely resembles the Monkeys that appear in the 1995 film. Fang is so annoying in fact, that even Brute and Dead Eye have to shut him up now and then, by either poking him in the tail or slamming him on the head. Fang also appears in the LCD tie-in game.
Agility[]
Being Monkeys, the banana brains are highly agile and able to make quick actions to their advantage. They can move quickly, climb trees and make leaps, often taunting their victims from a safe enough distance.
Tail[]
As with most Monkeys, the banana brains trio have useful prehensile tails that can act as a fifth arm, to grab objects and help with climbing. As such, Fang may use his tail to hang from a tree branch while taunting victims with his free hands from a safe distance.
Hands & Feet[]
Using their dextrous hands, feet and tails, Monkeys can interact with their environment and are able to climb and scale almost any surface. They are able to seize and steal any objects they like with these hands, and throw any objects at anyone they feel like.
Animated Series[]
In The Price, when Van Pelt takes Judy and Peter back to his lodge, a large party of Monkeys were already looting the lodge, with Dead Eye helping himself to a crossbow, nearly shooting Brute in the face. Fang finds the near miss funny, until Brute stabs him in the tail with the arrow head to shut him up, Dead Eye then breaking them up by slamming their heads in with the crossbow. The intruder party are initially scared away by Van Pelt's gunfire, but the Monkeys stuck around and Dead Eye tries to land a hit on Alan as he escapes the lodge with the kids. When "JUMANJI" invited itself to the Parrish Mansion, it sends out plants, a stampede and the banana brains to cause havoc across town. Like the 1995 film, the Monkey trio hop into Officer Carl Bentley's police cruiser for a joy ride, but were brought back to The Game when Peter solved the clue.
In Bargaining for Time, once again the banana brains are sent out by the Game to cause havoc across Brantford, who take the opportunity caused by the time stop to have fun around with the town. The three Monkeys also mess around Nora Shepherd since she was frozen in place and couldn't do anything to stop them from ruining her appearance prior to her date. They also once more mess with Officer Bentley while he was on traffic control duty.
In Ransom of Redhead, yet again, the banana brains spot Nora escaping Van Pelt's Lodge and decide to play a game of chase after her. Scared by the rowdy simians, Nora flees for her life across a river, and are shooed off by Peter firing Alan's slingshot at them.
In Master Builder, when Judy is searching Ibsen's database, the Monkey trio are briefly seen fooling around with other simultaneous events happening in The Game.
In Law of Jumanji, the trio interrupt Van Pelt's hunting of Alan, snatching his pith helmet and throw coconuts at his unprotected head. The angry hunter turns his attentions to hunting the banana brains until he is distracted by a trap set out for him. Later, when Peter starts turning into the next Van Pelt, he starts to see his schoolmates and teachers turning into various animals, with Rock appearing as a Cobra, and his three cohorts becoming Dead Eye, Brute and Fang.
In Stormy Weather, Judy and Peter observe Van Pelt once again being bothered by the Monkey trio, using bungee vines to swoop down and pester him, Brute stealing his pith helmet, Dead Eye snatching his Rifle and Fang swiping his pants. These antics give Peter the idea to use the bungee vines to save Alan from falling over the bridge to his treehouse. Later when the trio are caught in the twister, Dead Eye, Brute and Fang are also pulled in and try catching a ride with them in the Manji canoe, but Peter swats the Monkeys off them.
In The Gift, after Judy buys a false antidote for Alan from Trader Slick, the Monkey trio come along and snatch the bottle from her in a game of keep away, spilling the tracking juice over themselves and unintentionally end up leading Van Pelt, Slick and Professor Ibsen towards them instead of Alan, Judy and Peter. Inside a dark cave, the Monkeys ambush the three men and snatch their headwear off them as prizes.
In The Trial, the banana brains take part with other simians in capturing Alan to stand him for trial of stealing the Singing Orb of "JUMANJI", which Brute hands over to the Judge as the primate society believe themselves responsible for it. They are present during Alan's prosecution, Dead Eye and Fang banging drums to prepare for the trial starting. On Desperation Island, the trio later stare at the Judge being trapped within an orb gifted by the Fludgels.
LCD Game[]
Fang appears in the LCD game as one of five possible dangers, referred to by his name on the rear packing leaflet. Like the series, Fang is quite a mischievous character and can be defeated by an axe, spear, or rifle. If the player decides to roll the dice against him, the dice must match anything from a 1 up to a 6.
