An estimated 15 million children were born in the U.S. during the “baby boom” following World War II, and because of the abundance of toys available to them, they became known as Generation Playmates. That was the target market for a 1988 film that changed the face of horror movies: Child’s Play, starring Chucky.
The brainchild of writer/director Tom Holland, Child’s Play was a movie about a killer doll that could come to life and wreak havoc on anyone who crossed its path. Chucky’s story began when serial killer Charles Lee Ray (played by Brad Dourif) was mortally wounded in a shootout with police. With his dying breath, he hid his soul inside a “Good Guy” doll sold at a toy store called Kaslan Corp., and soon after, young Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent) discovered the doll under his Christmas tree.
In celebration of Child’s Play’s 30th anniversary, we’ve gathered some facts about this iconic horror film for you to enjoy.
1) Brad Dourif won an Oscar for his performance as Billy Bibbit in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (1975).
2) His inspiration for voicing Chucky came from his daughter Fiona, who was six
Released in 1988, the original Child’s Play was an instant classic. The film follows a mother and her young son as they take in an innocent-looking “Good Guy” doll named Chucky. Little do they know, the doll is possessed by a serial killer’s soul and has dark plans for the family.
This slasher film quickly became a cult classic and spawned six sequels, all of which are wildly different from one another. Whatever you think of the series, there is no denying its impact on horror. Here are ten fun facts about Child’s Play that you might not know.
1. The film was originally going to be called “Blood Buddy,” but this was changed over concerns that kids would want to see it.
2. Chucky’s full name is Charles Lee Ray, named after serial killer Charles Manson, Lee Harvey Oswald, and James Earl Ray.
3. The filmmakers created working prop dolls that were used in scenes where Chucky moves his arms and legs. However, they also had to create a remote-controlled version for more intense scenes like the fight with Karen Barclay (Catherine Hicks).
4. The production team originally wanted animatronics for Chucky but opted for puppetry after seeing how creepy it was when real people
1. Child’s Play was originally supposed to be called Blood Buddy.
2. The film was initially called Blood Buddy, but it was changed because of the doll’s name change from Buddy to Chucky.
3. The doll’s voice was provided by Brad Dourif, who played Billy Bibbit in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
4. The character of Chucky is loosely based on serial killer Charles Lee Ray, also known as The Lakeshore Strangler, who murdered more than 20 people in Chicago during the 1970s and 1980s.
5. There are actually two versions of Chucky: a real one for close-ups and a dummy for long-distance shots.
6. Child’s Play didn’t make much money when it first hit theaters but became a cult classic after finding an audience on video and cable TV (the film cost $9 million to make).
7. Director Tom Holland said that he has never seen any of the Child’s Play sequels, which were handled by different directors (including John Lafia, Don Mancini and Ronny Yu). “They all seemed like they were trying to compete with each other,” he told Yahoo Movies UK in 2013
Child’s Play is a 1988 film directed by Tom Holland and written by Don Mancini based on a story by Holland and John Lafia. It stars Catherine Hicks, Chris Sarandon, Alex Vincent, and Brad Dourif. The movie was produced by David Kirshner.
Despite the title of the movie, it is rated R for strong horror violence and language.
2019 will see a reboot of this classic horror film that is set to release on June 21st of 2019. This reboot will be directed by Lars Klevberg and produced by Seth Grahame-Smith, David Katzenberg, and Aaron Schmidt. The movie will star Aubrey Plaza as the mother of Andy Barclay (played by Gabriel Bateman). The voice of Chucky will be played by Mark Hamill.
When Child’s Play was released in 1988 it received some negative reviews but went on to become a cult classic. The movie grossed $44 million in North America with a budget of just $9 million.
The original Chucky movie was filmed back in 1988 at the same time as Poltergeist III which was being filmed next door to them at the MGM studios in Culver City, California. At the time Child’s Play was being filmed they were using an
The original Chucky doll was a more crudely stitched version of the Good Guy dolls we’ve now come to know. It was made by an actual serial killer, who passed away before he could finish it.
The script for Child’s Play was actually written with no intention of using Chucky as the vessel for the spirit of Charles Lee Ray. Originally, the film’s writers wanted to use what they called “a Cabbage Patch Doll or something”.
The first draft of Child’s Play was titled Blood Buddy and featured a much less frightening version of Chucky. The film was originally intended to be a dark comedy.
Brad Dourif has said that when he imagined Charles Lee Ray speaking through the Chucky doll, he thought about his own father, who suffered from schizophrenia.
1. The original working title for the film was Batteries Not Included.
2. The character of Chucky is named after a friend of screenwriter Don Mancini’s who died in a car accident.
3. The name of the company that manufactures Chucky’s Good Guy doll is “Play Pals.” This is a nod to the real-life toy brand Playmates, which is famous for its Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line.
4. It was originally intended for Chucky to be possessed by the soul of 12-year-old Andy Barclay’s father, who had been killed by a drunk driver before the start of the film. The idea was scrapped when it proved too difficult to work into the story and too expensive to shoot, and it was changed so that Chucky was a serial killer’s spirit trapped in a doll instead.
5. The first draft of Child’s Play, then titled Batteries Not Included, featured a murderous clown doll who came to life after Andy opened his birthday present early against his mother’s wishes — an homage to Night of the Living Dead (1968). After taking out several victims, including Andy and his mother, the clown would eventually be destroyed by police at Andy’s funeral following an attack on his
1. Tom Holland’s original script was titled Blood Buddy, and Chucky was called Buddy. It was a much darker film in its first draft (it involved a satanic ritual).2. Holland’s first two films — Fright Night and Psycho II — had been directed by Richard Franklin, who was slated to direct Child’s Play as well. But he left the project shortly before cameras rolled, after an actor friend of his died on the set of a film he was working on.3. In Child’s Play 2, the name of the orphanage where Andy is sent is “Lakeshore Orphanage.” This is likely a reference to Michael Myers, another doll-themed horror movie character who lived in Haddonfield, Illinois, which is near Lakeshore Drive in Chicago.4. The original design for Chucky was much more sinister-looking (with pointed ears and upper teeth that protruded over his lower lip). The filmmakers decided to make him look less scary so that kids would be more inclined to “play” with him.5. The only thing scarier than Chucky himself is the fact that he was voiced by Brad Dourif, who has starred in such horror