DID YOU KNOW?
1. Don Mancini (the creator of the characters and series) is not involved in this film, and has, along with Alex Vincent, Christine Elise, and Jennifer Tilly, expressed his lack of interest in it.
2. The original creators of Chucky (and every sequel before this) decided to do a separate limited series to continue the storyline there.
3. Mark Hamill made an announcement on social media on 3/31/19 that he would be taking over the voice of Chucky.
4. Mark Hamill previously voiced Chucky in the television series 'Robot Chicken' episode titled 'Plastic Buffet' (2005).
5. Tom Holland, director of the original film, posted on Twitter that Mark Hamill's casting of Chucky was a "smart move".
6. The horror film the kids are watching with Chucky was, 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2'.
7. Director Lars Klevberg said in an IMDb commentary that an earlier draft of the script was set at Christmas, as the original 'Child's Play' (1988) was. This was changed in the final script, but Lars thought that it would be funny to retain the scene in which Shane is ambushed while taking down the Christmas lights.
8. Andy Barclay in this film is considerably older, around the early pre-teen bracket as opposed to the original Andy, who was a six-year-old child. Andy in this film also bears a handicap in the form of a hearing aid, displaying the character bears limited hearing.
9. This was the first Chucky movie shot in the widescreen 2.39:1 scope aspect ratio, unlike the original theatrical films, which were shot in the taller 1.85:1 aspect ratio.
10. Jensen Ackles was also considered to voice Chucky before the role was given to Mark Hamill.
11. Mark Hamill is also famous for doing the voice of the Joker in the DC Comics Animated Universe, amongst others. Coincidentally, Brad Dourif, the original voice of Chucky, was considered for the part of the Joker in 'Batman' (1989), before the role was given to Jack Nicholson.
12. The music used in the trailer was Harry Nilsson's "Best Friend", which also served as the theme song to the 1969 television series 'The Courtship Of Eddie's Father', which starred Bill Bixby.
13. The Buddi dolls introduced are part of a planned series of dolls: the first Buddis are the human dolls that feature Chucky; the second was to include updated Buddi dolls, along with the Buddi Bears.
14. Tim Matheson (Henry Kaslan) co-starred alongside the original Karen Barclay (Catherine Hicks), years prior in the short-lived 1982 television series, 'Tucker's Witch'.
15. There is a 'Killer Klowns From Outer Space' movie poster on the wall in Andy's room. That film was released in 1988, the same year as the original Child's Play.
16. MastersFX built seven animatronic puppets with interchangeable arms, legs, and heads so that they could mix and match as the scene called for. Several of the puppets would be capable of multiple fuctions. They would also construct a few replacement heads, so that if one head went down, it was easy to make a quick swap so production wouldn't be held up while repairs were being made. The interchangeable features also paid off when the puppets would be configured for different continuities and need to be switched out quickly.
16. To bring life to his fully articulated hands, Chucky's little fingers were threaded with tiny cables that would lead back through a rod and out the elbow to a finger control mechanism operated by the puppeteers. MastersFX mechanics would also create self-contained radio-controlled hands that were capable of a bit less articulation for wider shots that didn't require as much finger movement.
17. For the gross body movements or for taking a step or two, the Chucky dolls were simply Bunraku rod puppets. The bodies of the hero puppets all had multiple mounting points for the control rods. Puppeteer Jason Ward would wear a shoulder and waist harness that would support the doll and then guide it as needed. Usually, the legs of the puppets could be left loose or the joints could be locked down when being controlled by rods. Major walking or running scenes would be achieved with CGI as would some of the eye movements and color changes.
18. In one sequence, an interior of Chucky's chest was built for a chest-opening scene, which Todd remembers as, "really cool". MastersFX would also contribute gore and other makeup effects to the production.
19. MastersFX also built a large amount of the 'Buddi' line of dolls, the product that would appear on the store shelves. However, the dolls inside the boxes were simply empty shells that were not required to do anything. Master's team would also construct the boxes and packaging for the dolls. They built "a zillion of those things," Masters recalls.
20. One version of the Chucky puppet, which was referred to as 'Robo-Chucky,' was entirely self-contained. The body was filled with servos to control the various body parts and the head was also completely remote controlled. Two of the 'Robo-Chucky' puppets were built. They, too, had the interchangeable features of the other puppets.
21. Chucky's facial features were radio-controlled, with arms, legs and body puppeteered by rods.
22. Todd Masters clearly enjoyed his time with Chucky. When the original film was made, digital effects were just beginning. Now, they are a regular film making tool. Masters likes that filmmakers are learning to use all of the tools available to them. Or, as he says, "practical for what it's best for and digital for what it's best for". Masters would say that artists in the makeup effects field are fortunate to, "kind of be these mad scientists, [and] inventors". And about practical effects, he would say it's about, "reinventing and reinventing, reinventing and continuing to develop the art form".
23. Todd Masters loved the script, and knew that to make the actions called for in the story happen, he would have to build a number of different dolls. To get started, Masters studied what Kevin Yagher had done with the original Chucky movies. Like those films, "we really wanted it to be a practical, physical, touch the doll kind of movie," Todd said. "The benefit to using practical effects was obvious". So, an army of Chucky dolls and puppets were built.
24. Early on, the artists at MastersFX created some of the initial designs for the new Chucky. However, once director Lars Klevberg came onboard the production, he brought new doll designs by artist Einar Martinsen. The Martinsen designs ended up being a big influence on the new Chucky's look, according to Masters. "He was sending us concepts that were beautiful," he said. Because of the 3-D design program that Martinsen was using, Masters' team was able to immediately take that data, drop it into the MastersFX studio pipeline, and begin making puppets. It was hardcore puppet building just like in the 80s, but with some assistance from modern tech," including the digital sculptures, some 3-D printed animatronic parts to go with traditional mechanical parts, and even some 3D printed molds".
25. At one point, there was a plan for the Chucky dolls to have digital monitors built into their eyes. The little monitors would be programmed with animation and would have been able to look left, look right, change colors, and dilate. However, as they would have to be puppeteered on set, the monitor eyes would have added another puppeteer and potentially more shooting time to an already short production schedule, so the producers decided to animate Chucky's eyes digitally. Still, Todd Masters was excited about the potential for incorporating monitor eyes into an otherwise fully mechanical puppet and would love to use the technology for another character in the future.
26. Another difference between the 1980's and today was the build schedule. "They don't give you the time that we used to have in the 80's. They want it almost like a TV schedule," Todd Masters said. While Kevin Yagher and his team had almost a year to build the Chucky dolls for the original film, the crew at MastersFX would have only nine weeks In order to meet this tight schedule. Masters had all three of his shops (Vancouver, Toronto and Los Angeles) working on it at the same time with rotating crews and weekend shift to meet the deadline. "We knew it was going to be quite the overwhelming onslaught," he said. "It was crazy".
27. Because Universal Pictures retained the rights to the Chucky sequels, most of this film's deaths could not closely resemble any of the deaths from the original sequels too closely.
28. Early in the film, Karen jokingly mimes multiple deaths, including pretending to hang herself. This foreshadowed Chucky's later attempt to kill her via hanging.
29. Chucky is said to be a technologically advanced smart toy whose A.I. is programmed to have no limitations to learning or violence.
Know any assorted facts that we don't have here? E-mail them to us at: lairofhorror@yahoo.com and you will get credit for them.
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