My Pet Monster
is a character that began as a
plush
doll first produced by
American Greetings
in 1986. It has horns, blue fur, a fanged smile, and wears breakaway orange plastic
handcuffs
.
The property was sold to
Saban Brands
in 2012. Then in 2018,
Hasbro
acquired the My Pet Monster brand from Saban Brands.
[1]
[2]
Plush
[
edit
]
The My Pet Monster character began as a
plush
doll
first produced by AM Toys, a subsidiary of
American Greetings
, in 1986.
[3]
As one of the few plush dolls marketed to
boys
at the time,
[
citation needed
]
My Pet Monster was popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The doll has blue fur, horns and a fanged smile, and is recognizable by its orange plastic
handcuffs
. The handcuffs could also be worn by children and came with a
breakaway
link so that the child could simulate breaking the chain. Several versions of the doll have been released in various sizes and other attributes. Other characters were also created with brightly colored fur and unorthodox names like Gwonk, Wogster and Rark. Their popularity allowed a wealth of
merchandise
including
coloring books
,
Golden Look-Look books
,
frame-tray puzzles
and various other items.
Toymax released a 22-inch tall talking My Pet Monster doll in 2001.
[3]
Media
[
edit
]
Canadian TV series or program
The character's popularity spawned a live-action
direct-to-video
film in 1986 about a boy named Max who becomes the Pet Monster after being exposed to a statue, changing when hungry.
[3]
Dr. Snyder, the scientist who originally discovered the statues and the legend behind them, wants to kidnap him for publicity purposes, while Max's sister helps him out of the crisis. A
pilot
for an unproduced series, it ends on a cliffhanger as Snyder is exposed to a statue of a much larger and more menacing monster and begins to transform.
My Pet Monster also spawned a children's
cartoon series
that ran for one season on
ABC
, produced by
Ellipse
(France),
Nelvana
(Canada), and
Hi-Tops Video
in association with Golden Books.
[4]
It gives a completely different origin for the creature than the live-action film.
[3]
The show follows Monster, who lives with a boy named Max. When Monster wears his handcuffs, they turn him into a stuffed animal. Max often puts the handcuffs on Monster to keep his existence secret from others. Max's sister, Jill, and his friend Chuckie, are the only ones that know this secret.
[5]
The two main adversaries in the show are Mr. Hinkle, a neighbor who always thinks Max is up to something, but is not quite sure what; and Beastur, a large monster who hates light and tries to bring Monster back to MonsterLand. Beastur, though immense and fierce, is incompetent. He can be stopped by the magic cuffs -? which reduce him to a smaller, though still "alive" monster -? or by his own bungling, and sent back through the warp portal to his own world. He wears dark
glasses
to protect his sensitive eyes, which he can use to see in the dark.
Beastur appears in nearly every episode as either a primary or secondary foe. On one occasion, he is scared back through the portal to Monsterland not by light or the cuffs, but by the affections of a smitten female
gorilla
. In the final episode, it is also shown that Beastur hates to be hugged, even more so than being exposed to light.
Despite a breakthrough failure, the show significantly boosted sales of the already popular plush toy.
[3]
Most of the voice cast of
My Pet Monster
reunited in 1989 for
Beetlejuice
, another cartoon show with a surreal theme and a supernatural world populated by fantastic monsters.
[3]
Reruns of all 13 half-hour episodes aired on
Teletoon Retro
in Canada from September 5, 2011.
[6]
Characters
[
edit
]
- "Monster" (voiced by Jeff McGibbon in TV series, portrayed by Mark Parr in special) - The Monster, Max's friend in series, as opposed to being Max in special
- Max Smith (portrayed by
Sunny Besen Thrasher
) - A boy who appears as a monster in the special and as a separate character in the series. When he wins the surfing competition he is referred to as Max Smith.
- Chuckie (voiced by
Stuart Stone
) - Max's best friend, despite being absent in the special.
- Jill Smith (voiced by
Alyson Court
) - Max's older sister who Monster clearly has a crush on. She appears in the series.
- Melanie (portrayed by
Alyson Court
) - Max's sister in special.
- Beastur (voiced by Dan Hennessey, briefly voiced by Jack Darley in commercial) - A giant monster in the series who pursues Monster with the intention of taking him back to Monsterland. Briefly mentioned at the end of the special as the name of one of the monsters represented by the statues.
[
citation needed
]
- Mr. Hinkle (voiced by
Colin Fox
) - A suspicious neighbor, aware of Monster's antics though never actually succeeds in proving Monster exists.
- Princess (voiced by
Tracey Moore
) - Hinkle's pet
poodle
.
- Dr. Snyder (portrayed by
Colin Fox
) - A mad scientist-turned-monster hunter who appeared in the special.
- Rod (portrayed by
Yannick Bisson
) - Max's older brother who appeared in the special, aware of Max's monster changing ability.
- Stephanie (portrayed by
Kelly Rowan
) - Rod's date who appeared in the special.
- Jenny - Hinkle's niece
- Wolfmen (musicians)
- Leo (school bully)
- Myron Peabody (student)
- Annie (voiced by
Tara Strong
) - A neighbour that Jill befriends.
- Jumbo Jim (ringer)
- Mrs. Smith (portrayed by
Jayne Eastwood
) - Max and Jill's mother who has a brief role at the beginning of the special. Actually, her first name is Julie.
- Rex Stalker (monster hunter)
- Blaine (portrayed by
Hadley Kay
) - Max's nemesis in Boogie Board Blues.
Episodes
[
edit
]
Direct-to-video special (1986)
[
edit
]
Series (1987)
[
edit
]
Home media
[
edit
]
- On October 28, 2008, KaBoom! Entertainment released
My Pet Monster- The Complete Series
, featuring all 13 episodes, on
DVD
exclusively in Canada.
[7]
- On October 6, 2009, Trinity Home Entertainment released
My Pet Monster- The Complete Series
on DVD in the USA.
[8]
- The live-action film was originally released on
VHS
. It has yet to be released on DVD,
Laserdisc
,
Video CD
, or
Blu-ray
.
Notes
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
First-run
animated series
| |
---|
First-run
live-action series
| |
---|
Rebroadcasts
| |
---|
Related
| |
---|
|
---|
Intellectual
properties
currently
managed
by Hasbro
| | |
---|
Distributed
worldwide
by Hasbro
| |
---|
Subsidiaries
and brands
| |
---|
Other media
| |
---|
Conventions
| |
---|
See also
| |
---|
- 1
(U.S. and Canada)
- 2
(except Japan and parts of Asia)
- 3
(except U.S., UK, France and Germany)
- 4
(except Japan)
- 5
(except Japan and parts of Asia)
|