Don't Look Under the Bed (1999)

A teen enlists the help of an imaginary friend named Larry Houdini to deal with a prank-playing bogeyman, who's framing her for his dastardly deeds.

Director:

Kenneth Johnson

Writer:

Mark Edward Edens

Stars:

Erin Chambers, Ty Hodges, Robin Riker

1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Erin Chambers	...	Frances Bacon McCausland
Ty Hodges	...	Larry Houdini (as Eric 'Ty' Hodges II)
Robin Riker	...	Karen McCausland
Steve Valentine	...	Boogeyman
Mary Parker Williams	...	Ms. Readle
Geoff Hansen	...	Mr. Kepler
Barry Yourgrau	...	Principle Gribben
Stephen Tobolowsky	...	Michael McCausland
Nathan Stevens	...	Bert McCausland
RuDee Sade	...	Joanne Smith (as RuDee Lipscomb)
Rachel Kimsey	...	Zoe
Ruth Hale	...	Old Zoe
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Cody Cowdell	...	Library Child #1
Frank Gerrish	...	Driving Instructor
Travis Holt Hamilton	...	Johnny - Student

Storyline

A teen enlists the help of an imaginary friend named Larry Houdini to deal with a prank-playing bogeyman, who's framing her for his dastardly deeds.

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Plot Keywords:

horror for children | leukemia | boogeyman | imaginary friend | prank | 

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Genres:

Family | Fantasy

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 October 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Don't Look Under the Bed

Filming Locations:

Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Black and White (one scene) Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Trivia

The role of Larry was not written as black, and when Ty Hodges was cast, director Kenneth Johnson said that Disney Channel posed a question: "What are we going to do about the kiss at the end?" They had concerns about the Southern affiliates being unhappy with the on-screen kiss but then agreed with Johnson that the scene should be kept.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Frances Bacon McCausland: [narrating] Middleberg is a middle-sized town in the middle of the country. Middleberg is where I live, and so does something... else. Some people said that Middleberg was dull, that nothing ever happened here. Well, they were very wrong.

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Connections

Featured in Disneycember: Don't Look Under the Bed (2018)

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Soundtracks

Boogie Wonderland
Written by Jon Lind (as John Land) and Allee Willis
Performed by Earth Wind & Fire

User Reviews

Childhood Memories

Erin Chambers and Ty Hodges star in this Disney feature film where young teen Chambers is haunted from her past by a childhood memory. Hodges is the boogeyman come to life.

According to Boogey legend an imaginary childhood friend should not be discarded so easily lest they become the feared boogeyman. So it was with Chambers's brother who lost his faith in the existence of imaginary friends during a serious illness. Now the friend has come to life and trying to reverse the curse.

Watching the film put me in mind of my niece when she was small. The elder of two sisters she had imaginary playmates, but she grew out of them after a fashion. Her younger sister never took up that particular fantasy though.

Chambers is way too old for the part she sure didn't look a convincing 14. That's the way it is, always casting people too old for teens in Hollywood. Still in her case she couldn't convince me she was a juvenile try as she may.

Don't Look Under The Bed is a charming fantasy which would have worked better with a real teen lead.