Monkey Trouble (1994)

Little Eva Gregory (Thora Birch) longs for a pet she can call her own. But her mother, preoccupied with caring for a toddler, thinks Eva's too young to take full responsibility for an animal. To make matters worse, Eva's stepfather is allergic to fur. Luckily, Shorty Kohn (Harvey Keitel) happens along: Kohn's a boardwalk con-artist with a smart Capuchin monkey named Finster. Together Finster and Kohn have been scamming folks on the Venice, California boardwalk for a long time. But Finster has had quite enough of Shorty's abuse. So the talented creature runs away, and in a local park, encounters the little girl. Soon, Eva has smuggled him into her life. But it won't be easy to keep her parents from finding out what she's up to... especially with Finster stealing everything in sight.