The Michael Jackson biopic Michael finally arrives in theaters this weekend. There’s certainly already a lot of conversation surrounding the movie itself… so why does it also have people bringing up John Mulaney?
A new report from Variety covers how Jackson’s chimpanzee, Bubbles, is portrayed in Michael. This includes chronicling the film’s decision to use CGI to bring him to life onscreen, instead of using a real-life ape, as well as an update on Bubbles himself, who is now 43 years old and regarded as an “elderly” primate.
Since 2005, Bubbles has been living at the Center for Great Apes sanctuary in Wauchula, Florida. He is reportedly close friends with a 52-year-old chimp named Oopsy, who was an understudy on the TV sitcom B.J. and The Bear, and reportedly spends much of his time napping, eating “all kinds of vegetables and leafy greens,” and fiddling with Velcro backpacks.
“He’s such a sweet, sweet guy,” the sanctuary’s founder, Patti Ragan, said of Bubbles. “People still picture him as cute little baby with a pink face that Michael carried around. But he’s big boy now, about 170 pounds. He’s living with a group of five, and we’re introducing some youngsters into that group right now. Bubbles helped raise two babies when he came here.”
John Mulaney vs. “Bubbles”…
That brings us to Mulaney, and his Netflix variety series Everybody’s Live With John Mulaney. The weekly series caught people’s attention for a lot of reasons: bizarre interviews with celebrity guests, or his season finale gimmick of fighting a trio of real-life teenage boys in a boxing ring. It also had a sketch of Mulaney “interviewing” Bubbles, who was clearly a man in a red vest adorned with pins and a monkey suit that looks like something out of the original Planet of the Apes movies. As Mulaney asked a number of questions, Bubbles answered on a series of elaborate sound boards… and most of his answers involved dodging any questions about the allegations around Jackson.
Now that Michael has brought Bubbles back into the cultural zeitgeist, the Everybody’s Live clip has gone viral once again. And now it sounds like the real Bubbles is contently chilling in Florida, it does seem like the perfect time for another “interview.” In the meantime, the original sketch not only continues to be funny, but almost illustrates the weird double-edged sword that has surrounded a lot of the Michael movie. A lot has been said (and will continue to be said) about the Jackson estate’s role in how the movie was brought to life, and the approach that it takes to the controversies that surround Jackson’s legacy… and a lot of it does feel reminiscent of “Bubbles” telling Mulaney to “just listen to the music.”
This isn’t the only time that a conversation has popped up this week involving both Mulaney and another long-dead musician. While appearing on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Mulaney spoke about performing in a theater tied to Graceland, the iconic estate of Elvis Presley. According to his retelling of events, Mulaney and his four-year-old son, Malcolm, were given an opportunity to tour the grounds of Graceland, which went into a hilarious territory when Malcolm asked to be allowed on the house’s roof. Then, Mulaney realized that he would have to explain the concept of death and the afterlife to his son, after Malcolm asked when he could meet Presley. The clip of it is, genuinely, one of my favorite TikToks I’ve seen this week.
(featured image: Netflix)
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