Child's Play (1988)

Director:

Tom Holland

Writers (WGA):

Don Mancini (story)
Don Mancini (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

9 November 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

You'll wish it was only make-believe.

Plot:

Young Andy Barclay gets the doll he wanted. However, he did not know it was alive!

Plot Keywords:

Doll | Birthday | Voodoo | Murder | Serial Killer

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Catherine Hicks	...	Karen Barclay
Chris Sarandon	...	Mike Norris
Alex Vincent	...	Andy Barclay
Brad Dourif	...	Charles Lee Ray / Chucky
Dinah Manoff	...	Maggie Peterson
Tommy Swerdlow	...	Jack Santos
Jack Colvin	...	Dr. Ardmore
Neil Giuntoli	...	Eddie Caputo
Juan Ramírez	...	Peddler
Alan Wilder	...	Mr. Criswell
Richard Baird	...	News Reporter at Toy Store
Raymond Oliver	...	Dr. Death
Aaron Osborne	...	Orderly
Tyler Hard	...	Mona
Ted Liss	...	George
Roslyn Alexander	...	Lucy
Bo Kane	...	Male TV Newscaster (as Robert Kane)
Leila Lee Olsen	...	Female TV Newscaster (as Leila Hee Olsen)
Ed Gale	...	Chucky Stunt Double
Lena Sack	...	Bellevue Patient
Tommy Gerard	...	Bellevue Patient
Michael Chavez	...	Bellevue Patient
Jamie Gray	...	Bellevue Patient
Erin Munz	...	Bellevue Patient
Jana Twomey	...	Bellevue Patient
Suaundra Black	...	Bellevue Patient
Edan Gross	...	Friendly Chucky / Kid in Animated Commercial (voice)
John Franklin	...	Walkabout Chucky (voice)
Michael Patrick Carter	...	Kid in Animated Commercial (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert Minkoff	...	Bit (uncredited)

Directed by
Tom Holland

Writing credits (WGA)
Don Mancini		(story)
Don Mancini		(screenplay) and
John Lafia		(screenplay) and
Tom Holland		(screenplay)

Produced by
Elliot Geisinger	....	co-executive producer
David Kirschner	....	producer
Laura Moskowitz	....	associate producer
Barrie M. Osborne	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Joe Renzetti

Cinematography by
Bill Butler		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Roy E. Peterson
Edward Warschilka

Casting by
Sharon Bialy
Richard Pagano

Production Design by
Daniel A. Lomino

Set Decoration by
Cloudia Rebar		(as Cloudia)

Costume Design by
April Ferry

Makeup Department
Michael Hancock	....	makeup artist
Marina Pedraza	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Robert Latham Brown	....	unit production manager
Carl Olsen	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Arthur Anderson	....	first assistant director: insert unit
Bud Davis	....	second unit director
George Fortmuller	....	second assistant director
James Giovannetti Jr.	....	first assistant director: second unit (as James R. Giovannetti Jr.)
Michael Green	....	first assistant director
Stefanie Moore	....	second assistant director: second unit
Linnea Ebba Wicklund	....	second assistant director

Art Department
William Arnold	....	set designer (as William David Arnold)
Gary Baugh	....	set designer
Bernard P. Cutler	....	assistant art director
William Dambra	....	property master: Chicago
Edward England	....	construction coordinator: Chicago
Casey Hallenbeck	....	leadman
James F. Orendorff	....	construction coordinator
Francis J. Roix	....	carpenter
Arthur Shippee	....	property master
Timothy W. Tiedje	....	set dresser
James E. Tocci	....	set designer
Frank White	....	labor foreman
David Gianneschi	....	swing gang (uncredited)
Robert E. Knight	....	scenic artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
Harry Cheney	....	sound editor
Clayton Collins	....	sound editor (as Clayton R. Collins)
Rick Kline	....	sound re-recording mixer
Cheryl Kroll	....	assistant sound editor
Donald O. Mitchell	....	sound re-recording mixer
Kevin O'Connell	....	sound re-recording mixer
John Riordan	....	supervising sound editor
Kirk Schuler	....	sound editor
Douglas Vaughan	....	boom operator
Sherman Waze	....	sound editor
James E. Webb	....	sound mixer
Daniel Yale	....	sound editor (as Daniel Evan Yale)
Marty Church	....	foley mixer (uncredited)
Don Summer	....	sound mixer (uncredited)
Dan Yale	....	dialogue editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Howard Berger	....	shop supervisor: chucky construction crew
Richard O. Helmer	....	special effects supervisor
Rick Lalonde	....	lab technician: chucky construction crew
Ron Pipes	....	hair: chucky construction crew
Zandra Platzek	....	hair: chucky construction crew
James D. Schwalm	....	special effects
Carl Sorensen	....	lab technician: chucky construction crew
Christopher Swift	....	lab technician: chucky construction crew
Kevin Yagher	....	designer and executor: "Chucky" doll
Mark C. Yagher	....	shop assistant: chucky construction crew
James Kagel	....	lead sculptor (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Peter Donen	....	visual effects supervisor
Joseph Yanuzzi	....	visual effects editor

Stunts
Anthony Cecere	....	stunts
Joie Chitwood Jr.	....	car stunts: Mike (as Joie Chitwood)
Bob K. Cummings	....	stunts (as Robert Cummings)
Bud Davis	....	stunt coordinator
Eddie J. Fernandez	....	stunts & stunt driver
James Fierro	....	stunts
Glory Fioramonti	....	stunts
Joe Gilbride	....	stunts
Rick Le Fevour	....	stunts
Stacy Logan	....	stunts
Carl Paoli	....	stunts
Debby Lynn Ross	....	stunts
Dennis Scott	....	stunts
Joie Chitwood Jr.	....	assistant stunt coordinator (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Art Bartels	....	key grip: Chicago
James Blanford	....	director of photography: second unit
James R. Connell	....	camera operator (as Jim Connell)
Peter J. Donoghue	....	rigging gaffer: Chicago
George Hill	....	key grip
To Lee	....	second assistant camera
Morgan Michael Lewis	....	key grip
John Lubin	....	best boy: Chicago
Wayne Mort	....	dolly grip
Mike Moyer	....	chief lighting technician
Peter Salim	....	camera operator: insert unit
Don Smetzer	....	still photographer: Chicago (as Donald Smetzer)
Peter Sorel	....	still photographer
Robert Ulland	....	steadicam operator: Chicago (as Robert K. Ulland)
Johnny Walker	....	first assistant camera (as John Morton Walker)
Paolo Cascio	....	second assistant camera (uncredited)

Casting Department
Jane Alderman	....	casting: Chicago
Shelley Andreas	....	casting: Chicago

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Mort Schwartz	....	costume supervisor
Lois DeArmond	....	costume illustrator (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Donah Bassett	....	negative cutter
Bob Noland	....	color timer
Kevin Nolting	....	assistant editor
Scott K. Wallace	....	additional film editor (as Scott Wallace)
Carlyn Montes De Oca	....	assistant film editor (uncredited)

Music Department
David Chackler	....	music supervisor
Brad Dechter	....	orchestrator
Arlon Ober	....	orchestrator
Ted Whitfield	....	music editor

Transportation Department
James Davis	....	transportation coordinator
George DiLeonardi	....	transportation coordinator: Chicago

Other crew
Howard Berger	....	puppeteer: "Chucky"
Susan J. Bonno-Buckner	....	first assistant accountant
Billy Bryan	....	puppeteer: "Chucky"
John Ross Bush	....	location manager
Bundy Chanock	....	set medic
Allen Coulter	....	mechanical crew
Allen Coulter	....	puppeteer: "Chucky"
Pete Emmet	....	unit publicist
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	title designer
Karen Golden	....	script supervisor
Judy Groffman	....	production associate
Steven James	....	mechanical crew
Steven James	....	puppeteer: "Chucky"
Carol Kim	....	assistant to Mr. Osborne
David Kirschner	....	creator: Chucky doll
Frank Charles Lutkus III	....	mechanical crew
Frank Charles Lutkus III	....	puppeteer: "Chucky"
Michael J. Malone	....	location manager
Dave Nelson	....	mechanical crew
David Arthur Nelson	....	puppeteer: "Chucky"
Lisa J. Olin	....	assistant to producer
Margrit Polak	....	dialogue coach
Sioux Richards	....	script supervisor: second unit
Carol S. Siegle	....	assistant to director (as Carol Siegle)
Loren Soman	....	mechanical crew
Loren Soman	....	puppeteer: "Chucky"
Marc Tyler	....	puppeteer: "Chucky"
N. Brock Winkless IV	....	mechanical crew
N. Brock Winkless IV	....	puppeteer: "Chucky"
Kevin Yagher	....	doll designer: "Chucky" doll

Production Companies

• United Artists

Distributors

• United Artists (1988) (USA) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (1989) (Austria) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1989) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (19??) (Argentina) (VHS)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2000) (France) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2000) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Apogee Productions

Other Companies

• BT Industrial Supply  expendables
• Cinema Research  opticals
• Goldwyn Sound Facility  sound re-recording
• Inter Video  24 frame video services
• Ruby-Spears Productions  animated sequence
• The Cast Supper  catering

Also Known As:

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 | Finland:K-15 (re-rated) | Finland:(Banned) (1988) | Ireland:18 | UK:15 (cut) (1989) | UK:15 (uncut) (2005) | Spain:13 | Spain:18 (DVD version) | South Korea:15 | New Zealand:R16 | Portugal:M/16 | Chile:18 | Mexico:C | Italy:T | Germany:16 (re-rating) (2011) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A | France:-12 | Netherlands:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate. 29242) | West Germany:18 | Ireland:18 (original rating) | Norway:18 (video premiere) | Norway:(Banned) (1989-2003) (cinema release)

Filming Locations:

Brewster Building Apartments - 2800 N. Pine Grove Avenue, Lake View, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

United Artists

Trivia:

Howard Franklin contributed to the screenplay. He remains uncredited in the final film.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Karen Barclay is looking at the Good Guy box where it says "Batteries Included", it says "Play Partners Toys" in the bottom left-hand corner. The company that produces the Good Guy dolls is called "Play Pals Toys", not Play Partners.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Mike Norris:I got the strangler! Wabash and Van Buren.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "The Simpsons: The Ziff Who Came to Dinner (#15.14)" (2004)

Soundtrack:

IS IT REALLY LOVE

Not very scary, but entertaining nonetheless

Child's Play was billed as a horror movie, but it's hard to categorize it as such. Especially by 1980s standards. There's no brainless teenage cattle, no gratuitous nudity, and no ridiculously high body count. If anything, Child's Play runs like an episode of Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone. It's creepy, but ultimately not shocking. This is no coincidence. An episode of The Twilight Zone called Living Doll used a similar premise.

Child's Play is done very well, considering it's about a serial killer who uses voodoo magic to transfer his soul into a doll. The acting is way above average for a horror movie and the momentum builds nicely. The viewer is forced to wait quite awhile before they actually see Chucky kill anyone. If anyone has seen VH1's "I Love the 80s" then you've probably seen Dee Snider mock the movie: "It's a doll! Step on it! It's over!". If Chucky tried to go on a killing rampage, this would work. But he doesn't. He uses stealth and cunning to make up for the failings of his diminutive body. He reveals his true self only to young Andy, the boy who gets him as a birthday present. He kills all his hapless victims without much trouble. After all, who would suspect an innocent little doll could kill you when you're not looking?

Perhaps the biggest problem with Child's Play is that it was billed as an evil doll movie. Chucky was on all the posters and commercials, knife in hand. It would have worked much better as a suspense thriller, where you suspect that little Andy Barclay is the murderer.

Despite it's failings as a horror movie, Child's Play is still a great movie because it paints a dismal and accurate picture of the 80s: the frustration of single parenthood, the dark dangerous inner cities, and trying to get your kid that overpriced toy that they just *have* to have. Child's Play also came at a time when dolls were really popular: Teddy Ruxpin, Cabbage Patch Kids, My Buddy, and Kid Sister were all hot items. Little kids loved these things, but there's something inherently sinister about dolls. Those glassy eyes and perma-smiles seem insincere.

Overall, Child's Play is a movie that probably succeeded because it was in the right place at the right time. Nonetheless, it's worth at least a few viewings. Chucky is easily one of the top 3 horror movie villains of the 1980s along with Freddie Krueger and the Gremlins.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars