Top 10 Things You Didn't Know About Chucky

Live from New York, it’s a murderous doll! While not the night’s celebrity host or musical guest, Chucky sure made his presence felt in a 1998 episode of NBC’s Saturday Night Live. During a promotional tour for Bride of Chucky, the demented doll crashed SNL’s Weekend Update with Colin Quinn to chime in on the Bill Clinton / Monica Lewinsky scandal. That was of course before he tried to stab Quinn with a butcher knife. Chucky didn’t get to inflict any damage, but he did unleash some pretty damning threats at the host. And as random and bizarre an appearance as this was, how many other horror icons can say they made it onto Studio 8H in Rockefeller Centre?

In one of the strangest celebrity feuds ever, Britney Spears had beef with Chucky and Co over a sequence in “Seed Of Chucky” that sees a Britney look-a-like meet a fiery roadside demise. The pop star and her camp made it clear that they wanted nothing to do with the film, and made the filmmakers add a disclaimer to TV ads stating that Spears doesn’t appear in the movie. Unsurprisingly, the songstress would later ignore a studio invite to screen the feature with Chucky himself. What is surprising though, is that a pop singer at the height of her career could have it in for a maniacal movie doll. Only in Hollywood.

We’ve all seen dolls that cry, crawl, and giggle right? Heck, there are even some that eat and, uh, go to the bathroom on their own. Well, as it turns out, in the original script Chucky’s line of Good Guys dolls were going to have an even more bizarre feature - bleeding when they got cut. Meaning, kids everywhere would have the good fortune of taking care of their dolls by applying bandages to their bloody abrasions. Fun stuff right? With the original working title at the time being “Bloody Boy”, Chucky would most certainly have gotten his Frankenstein-face makeover a lot sooner. As for all that blood, well, here’s hoping the bandages weren’t to be sold separately.

In a world where filmmakers use CGI for pretty much everything, it’s both surprising and impressive to know that the early Child’s Play movies required zero computer wizardry in bringing their cursed doll to life. Scenes featuring Chucky talking, moving, and (as was often the case) killing, were done by means of animatronics, puppetry, or in some instances, with real-life actors. In fact, one of Chucky’s early stand-ins was John Franklin, who’d starred in the equally creepy “Children Of The Corn” just a few years earlier. Can you imagine the horror movie cred he must have gotten for having “small town child murderer” AND “psychotic killer doll” on his acting resume?

With eight films to his name, Chucky has amassed a pretty significant kill count. However, his most shocking killing doesn’t take place on screen, but rather the page. In the official novelisation of “Child's Play 2”, author Matthew J. Costello wrote some bonus material that fleshed out Chucky’s backstory. One particularly shocking passage describes how he strangled his own mother. It's revealed that Chuck had a pretty awful upbringing thanks in part to a cruel mother. With Chucky relentlessly teased about his mother’s dwarfism, the future “Lakeshore Strangler” eventually found his first victim - in his own home. Yeah, our guess is Chucky was never big on the whole Mother’s Day thing growing up.

It’s often been stated that Chucky was inspired by the 1980’s phenomenon that was the Cabbage Patch Kids. But anyone who’s familiar with that other 80’s doll for boys, My Buddy, could see that there had to be some influence there too. Well, Child’s Play director Tom Holland would later say that the My Buddy doll did indeed serve as inspiration for Chucky’s appearance. Given the colourful striped shirt and overalls, we don’t know how anyone could not see the similarities. Plus, the 2019 Child’s Play reboot even re-named their line of dolls to be called “Buddi.” What more proof do we need – Chucky is our Buddy, errr, maybe not.

We all know Chucky as, well, Chucky. But, before he got cursed into doll form, Chucky roamed the streets of Chicago under his full name - Charles Lee Ray. These aren’t just random names however, as each one is inspired by a distinctly terrible murderer. His first name, Charles, refers to Charles Manson, the notorious cult leader who masterminded many murders in the late 60’s. His middle name, Lee, is influenced by Lee Harvey Oswald, responsible for the assassination of JFK. And lastly, Ray, comes from James Earl Ray, who infamously shot Civil Rights hero Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. So, when it comes to Shakespeare’s question “what’s in a name?,” for Chucky, the answer is: a lot!

Freddy fought Jason. Aliens battled Predators. Even Frankenstein’s monster faced off against The Wolfman. So why can’t Chucky get in on a slasher showdown? Well, turns out it is totally in the realm of possibility! For starters, the opening sequence in “The Bride Of Chucky” proves that the Chuckster indeed exists in the same universe as other iconic horror figures. The scene at the Lockport Police evidence depository briefly shows objects belonging to a who’s who of movie monsters, including Jason's hockey mask, Freddy's glove, Leatherface’s chainsaw, and Michael Myers' mask. Plus, “Child’s Play” writer Don Mancini has revealed that he has a concept that sees Chucky find his way to Elm Street and meet Freddy Krueger. Talk about a killer crossover!

Sorry, Mark Hamill, but for many, Brad Dourif is the quintessential voice of Chucky. And with 7 movies voicing the devious doll under his belt, it’s hard to imagine anyone else providing those acid tongue quips with such precision. But it was almost not to be, as John Lithgow, perhaps best known for his role on “3rd Rock From The Sun”, is said to have been considered for the part. Lithgow would of course go on to lend his voice to other characters, most notably Lord Farquaad in “Shrek”. But for all his work and accolades over the years, we’re still happy it was Dourif who got the chance to slay the role for as long as he did.

Who doesn’t like a good theme song? Ok, probably Chucky. Then it’s perhaps a good thing that the theme commissioned for the first “Child’s Play” film was ultimately axed. Created by Simon Stokes and Joe Renzetti, the song featured cheerleader vocals and all the 80’s keyboard audiences could handle. It was originally going to be played over the movie’s end credits. Luckily, the producers came to their senses and chose to ditch the song in fear that it made their stab-happy killer doll seem silly. You don’t say? But hey, if you ever wanted to hear Chucky bust out a rap, then have at it!