The Monchhichi franchise is held by the Sekiguchi Corporation, a famous doll company, located in
Tokyo, Japan. Monchhichi was created by Yoshiharu Washino
ワシの良春 on January 25, 1974, as an improvement to the already successful Kuta Kuta Monkey (Exhausted monkey). Sekiguchi claims they created these characters in order to inspire respect and love in the young (Japanese) children and adults. Their name is derived from the words "Mon" which translates to "Mine" in French, and "Chichi" which closely resembles the sound a child's pacifier would produce according to Japanese phonetics. The resulting word also has a similar sound to the word "Monkey" in English. The dolls were successful in Japan, and the 1980 animated TV series
Futago no Monchhichi (ふたごのモンチッチ,
Monchhichi Twins) helped increase its popularity even further. Export of the doll line started in 1975 to
Germany and
Austria. The following years would see the Monchhichi line marketed in more countries. The original name was officially changed to "Chicaboo" in the
United Kingdom, to "Mon Cicci" in
Italy, to "Kiki" in
France, and to "Bølle" in
Denmark. Additionally, non-officially licensed by Sekiguchi clones popped up in several countries, like "Moncsicsi" in
Hungary and "Virkiki" in
Spain. The height of the Monchhichi dolls' popularity was in Germany during the 1980s, surpassing even the Japanese figure sales during this period. The Monchhichi doll line reached North American shores in 1980.
Mattel bought the license for the toy line. The American cartoon series
Monchhichis was produced by
Hanna-Barbera in 1983 and aired on
ABC (as part of
The Monchhichis/Little Rascals/Richie Rich Show) in an effort to promote the doll line. The line was dropped by Mattel due to poor sales in 1985, but was reintroduced during Monchhichi's 30 anniversary in 2004 by Sekiguchi. As of 2025, Monchhichi dolls are still available in the United States from retailers such as Urban Outfitters. In 2013 Sekiguchi decided to distribute Monchhichi worldwide directly, stopped the licensing and use of the different names in foreign markets, and unified the brand under the name Monchhichi officially in all the distribution markets. As of 2025, Monchhichi are still popular in Europe, mostly as a nostalgic toy or for collectors. Many variants and sizes of Monchhichi have emerged. For example, the original Monchhichi is still available under the Classic variants in 10 cm, 20 cm, 24 cm, 45 cm, and 80 cm sizes. Other variants like Boutique (Monchhichi in various dress styles), Mother Care (Monchhichi with a young one in her front pocket), and Anniversary editions are available. Dollhouses for Monchhichi also exist.
The Mall Group, a retail company in Thailand, collaborated with the doll brand during Christmas 2025. ==1980 anime series==