Little Monsters (1989)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Richard Greenberg

Writers (WGA):

Terry Rossio (written by) &
Ted Elliott (written by)

Release Date:

25 August 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Adventure | Family | Fantasy

Tagline:

Some friends can be REAL MONSTERS. And some monsters can be REAL FRIENDS.

Plot:

A boy discovers an incredible and gruesome world of monsters under his bed.

Plot Keywords:

Bed | Monster | Friend | Horror For Kids | Flamethrower

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Fred Savage	...	Brian Stevenson
Howie Mandel	...	Maurice
Daniel Stern	...	Glen Stevenson
Margaret Whitton	...	Holly Stevenson
Rick Ducommun	...	Snik
Frank Whaley	...	Boy
Ben Savage	...	Eric Stevenson
William Murray Weiss	...	Todd
Devin Ratray	...	Ronnie Coleman
Amber Barretto	...	Kiersten
J. Michael Hunter	...	Mr. Finn
Tom Hull	...	Principal
Magbee	...	Bus Driver
Lisa Cain	...	Holly's Friend
Tony Bonsignore	...	Beach Bum

Also Known As:

Little Ghost Fighters (Philippines: English title)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Spain:7 | USA:PG (certificate #28813) | Iceland:LH | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Davis Entertainment

Trivia:

In the scene where Daniel Stern is asking Fred Savage to get the monster's autograph, the tickling was improvised and Fred Savage's reactions are genuine.

Goofs:

Continuity: Brian takes a Polaroid picture by holding the camera in front of himself while in the classroom with Kiersten. Later in the movie, the photo is on Kiersten's nightstand but he is posing with his arms folded.

Quotes:

Maurice: Don't worry it's just a drill!

Movie Connections:

References License to Drive (1988)

Soundtrack:

I WANNA YELL

Its A Small World Afterall

"Little Monsters" seems to be the sort of children's movie that isn't made these days. Maybe Hollywood comes close with the vulgarity factor,no shortage on that front,but with no heart at its center like this number, we have only real sh*t like "See Spot Run" & "Cat In The Hat".There's something almost wholesome inherent & real to this film when comparing it to todays' shiny plastic but spiritually devoid contributions masquerading as children's cinema.Its not deep or even particuliarly intelligent, but "Little Monsters" at least feels honest and uncondescending.

Plus there's definitely something distinctive to this utterly juvenile, but oddly likable fantasy. In a striking fade-in, the film's protagonist Brian, ( Fred Savage) explains to the audience in moody voice-over that his family has moved to a different neighborhood, leaving his former friends behind and forcing him to start anew. While his younger brother(really his younger brother, Ben Savage of "Boy Meets World") doesn't seem to have a problem in this respect, brian is left to sneak downstairs to devour peanut butter and onion sandwiches and catch late night cable until running into Maurice,(Howie Mandell) a professional monster who enters any house he pleases via the netherworld situated beneath every child's bed.quickly deducing that said monster can't be exposed to bright light, Brian quickly has Maurice showing him the ropes, sneaking into other family's houses and causing all the mischief you swore wasn't your fault when YOU were a tyke.But there's trouble brewing in the monster's dimension, as the sinister"Boy", high chieftain of this rickety realm, decides he wants Brian to join his world permanently and goes to extreme lengths to see this through.

"Monsters" delights itself in scatology and other assorted gross-outs,like swigs of urine, & catfood sandwiches, it even has the kids exclaiming "Sh*t" at times, certainly something i don't see in today's antiseptic pre-teen movies, it appeals to the mindset of its demographic fairly well in other words. The idea of secret world of labyrinthine staircases,endless nights and mountains of junkfood is admittedly a seductive one still, even if it is restricted by the movie's budget, as is most apparent from the monsters themselves,merely dolled up kids in elaborate halloween costumes. Howie Mandel is clearly doing his best "Beetle-juice" impression here, with Fred Savage suitably nonplussed as the adventurous sixth grader, but what really has the strongest impact, even now , a good decade on from my first viewing is Frank Whaley's performance as Boy,the abomination even the other monsters fear.He's soft spoken and androgynous, coyly appealing to Brian at the climax to come and play with him forever in this fabulous netherworld, and only when the camera pans backwards do we see that his face is literally tacked on like a mask, disguising a hideous interior.The sequences with Boy seem to plumb at something deeper and darker than the rest of the film ever reaches . Were the filmmakers intentionally alluding to pedophilia with this strange, sinister character? If so, they've succeeded, as it provides "Little Monsters" with an subtext towards its conclusion that really does suggest an impending danger thats all to real and not just some screenwriters half-baked concoction.This is the only time "Little Monsters" transcends its status as enjoyable malarkey.

Boy is too adult to really be like all the other monsters,so naturally hes the villain of the piece.

You can't help but think of another powerful man-child barricaded in his never-never land, entreating other children to come join him and be young forever.