Tag Archives: Nightmare Nostalgia

Retro Toy Corner

The Downfall Of The My Buddy Doll Thanks To A Good Guy Named Chucky

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Without skipping a beat, 80s’ kids know that My Buddy jingle- and we also know without a doubt, THIS, without a doubt, is the true inspiration behind the Child’s Play franchise. Sure, the Cabbage Patch Kids as originally stated, served as some inspiration for good ol’ Chuck. But My Buddy was in itself, was inspired by the Xavier Roberts’ line. Also, looking at this pair side-by-side, it’s beyond obvious we know where he got his look from.

In the earlier part of the decade, Cabbage Patch Dolls rules the ugly doll market with a mighty fist; crushing any and all competitors that stood in their creepy, cabbage-dwelling way. Although considered non-gender specific, the dolls were mostly marketed towards little girls. The boys had their GI JOES and HE-MAN, and that seemed to be the way it just was. Up until Hasbro launched a market campaign with a doll, directly marketed to boys as, “A little boy’s special friend! Rough and tough, yet soft and cuddly.”

The My Buddy doll was officially stocked on store shelves in 1985 and actually sold fairly well – ranking in eighth place officially as the top-ten selling toys for that year. But it didn’t last long. And neither did his off-shoot Kid Sister either- which I TOTALLY HAD.

And intro the theme song that will probably be stuck in your head the rest of the day. In which case, was most certainly the biggest selling point of this doll.  It truly was the perfect combination for creating a memorable identity for a toy while cleverly referencing the doll’s name throughout the “earworm” so much so, all kids’ would remember the name My Buddy or Kid Sister when asking for an oversized bundle of plastic and stuffing with sewn-on clothing.

Then, 1988 happened and in comes Chucky to permanently bury that pussy My Buddy/ Kid Sister duo forever into the hallowed grounds of unwanted toys.

Now while, it has already been confirmed via Don Mancini himself that the Cabbage Patch Kids served as some sort of muse for Chucky, along with other things, (NOT that garbage Robert the Doll story that has been circulating for years); it wasn’t until fairly recently that Mancini himself admitted to there being an inspiration from My Buddy as well. This could be due to any possible lawsuits that could have come his way and towards the studios with such an admission. Which, of course, is fair enough. However, we all knew better anyway.

Hell, everything from the look itself, the fake toy box, all the way down to the commercials screamed this was a blatant killer copy-cat. Come on… Even in the original pitched script Chucky’s name was “Buddy”; which of course, was later actually utilized in the reboot of the franchise in 2019.

Now don’t get it twisted. I’m certainly not giving the guy (Mancini) any shit. I’m eternally grateful to have such a marvelous, witty, pint-sized horror maniac in the horror movie legends roster. But, let’s face facts. Chucky was directly inspired by My Buddy- who in turn, had a hand in the down-fall of the doll.

Just like with Freddy, every kid in the late 80s’ early 90s’ knew all about Chucky; and we closely associated the plastic terror with the My Buddy doll. My younger brother had a My Buddy doll prior to the movie coming out, as I did as well with his sister companion. However, shortly after seeing the movie, we got rid of those fuckin’ nightmare inducing wads of stuffing on the fact it resembled it TOO much; and it did give my brother several nightmares. He did NOT want that thing in his room anymore; and unfortunately, that same scenario rang true for many other kids as well. Whether it was the kids themselves, or parents making that association, the My Buddy toy line suffered. Hasbro subsidiary Playskool continued manufacturing the doll into the 1990s, while changing up his look a bit to distance the toy’s legacy away from the Child’s Play series. But, it didn’t have the effect the toymakers’ thought it would and My Buddy went completely off line in the 90s’ due to poor sales.

Prior to the upcoming Child’s Play series coming in October from SyFy, Chucky’s kill count sits at 74. Let’s just make it 75 because My Buddy deserves at least that.

News

Nia DaCosta’s “Candyman” Throwback to the 1992 Version

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There are three certainties in life: Death, taxes, and the absolute truth that no SANE kid from the 90s’ will actually say Candyman in the mirror five times without pissin’ their pants a little bit.

Candyman, based on a story by Clive Barker titled “The Forbidden”, is a cautionary tale of racism, betrayal, and revenge that formed both into a modern urban legend both on and off-screen. The 1992 film will all know so well that later spawned two sequels, stars the legendary Tony Todd as the “Candyman” and Virginia Madsen as Helen Lyle as his opposite and ultimate “victim”. Helen, a bright student investigating the Candyman lore in rural Detroit for her thesis, discovers the shocking and very real horrors behind the “legend” while also becoming a bit of one herself. In one of the earlier scenes in the film in particular where Helen and her associate Bernadette are nosing around Cabrini Green, Helen takes off by herself in a crawl space and finds an “offering” to what is obviously Candyman- a pile of candy, that has razor blades in it. Yet, another urban legend in itself that was used cleverly in the film, and may have possibly served as the inspiration for Nia DaCosta’s version of Candyman herself.

In this fresh, new take on the story that keeps caused a shit-ton of sleepless nights for me personally in the 90s’, Michael Hargrove takes on the role Todd made infamous, as Sherman Fields, aka Candyman. Fields, before being brutally murdered by police, was a one-handed man who used to give sweets to the children of Cabrini-Green; which actually seems really nice! However, he is later falsely accused of putting razor blades inside the candy, resulting in a death that, especially now, holds a lot horrific truths into our own reality even today in 2021.

While it definitely isn’t a case of foreshadowing here, it certainly feels like DaCosta got some inspiration for the Candyman’s origins from the 1992 film. Kind of gives a new and twisted meaning to “sweets to the sweet”, eh?

Now, a possible SPOLIER. I have NOT seen the film yet, but I have a theory, much like others, that may ruin it for those who haven’t connected these dots yet. So stop here if you’d rather be surprised.

In the 1992 film, Madsen comes across a woman named Anne Marie in Cabrini Green, who has an infant son named Anthony- who is later taken by Candyman and used as a pawn in his game with Helen. Helen essentially saves his life, while sealing her own fate.

In the new film, one of the main characters is Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Anthony McCoy; a visual artist who becomes obsessed with the Candyman legend. In several plot descriptions of the 2021 film, it has been repeated that he has a connection with Candyman himself. Is it possible that Anthony is in fact, Anne Marie’s child that was in the 1992 film?

It’s a completely plausible theory.

Are you excited to see Candyman this weekend? Drop your own thoughts, reviews, and theories below!

Home Video Releases

Dial M For Monsters! The “Little Monsters” VHS Retailer Promo!

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Regarding gateway horror, Little Monsters ranks right up there with the best of them introducing a slice of horror to a young generation in some subtle, and some not so subtle ways. I mean, if you’re gonna tell me BOY didn’t scare the piss out of your apple juice as a kid, you just might be a sociopath.

In August of 1989, Little Monsters was unleashed in limited capacity to select theaters due to the film’s financial distributer Vestron filing for bankruptcy. I can only assume because of this, many kids like myself, caught their first viewing of Fred Savage and Howie Mandal fucking with Ronnie’s lunch via a stint of showings on the new Disney channel (totally me), or by a rental via their local video store. And oh man, did the studios really sell this movie to mom and pop video retailers across the US as we were up to our horns in promos for this national nostalgic treasure!

The biggest promotion to coincide with the film’s release on VHS, was obviously the “Dial M For Monsters” campaign; which had consumers flocking to their rotary phones and potential ass-whoopings’ in an attempt to win a grand vacation to Hawaii, among other prizes like a sweet Little Monsters glow-in-the-dark t-shirt and a pin-ball machine. The visual promo, seen below, is a two-minute long rap that was featured on the VHS to get pumped up about the contest, along with spreads in several Teen- targeted magazines like SuperTeen and Loudmouth to get the word out. Not sure who, or if anyone actually won these things, but damn it would be nice to know who owns that Black Knight pinball machine now!

At only $89.95 per cassette purchased for a VHS store, the retailer kit included with said contract was pretty sweet, and clever for bringing kids into the store looking to win this contest as the Little Monsters stand-dees and displays provided much needed clues for the game. Mom and Pop shops themselves had a shot at winning the sweepstakes with a picture puzzle delivered directly to them along with their purchase, and if they solved it, were eligible for the grand-prize themselves.

While it was, a radical promotional hype for the movie indeed, the best promos for this movie at the end of the day were all the prank ideas we got from the film as kids. That being said, I absolutely stuck peanut butter to our rotary phone, and saran wrapped the top of our toilet bowl just to see if it would actually work. That being said, my dad hated that movie and still does to this day because he ended up being the victim in both of those scenarios.

Anyway, enjoy this extended VHS retailer VHS promo, and at this time, you can get the Blu-Ray from Amazon for only $7.50 if you wanna relive the fantastical world of monsters under your bed and cat-food sandwiches!