Line #1 YMMV/ChildsPlay


1	[[foldercontrol]]
2
3	!!Subpages by work:
4	[[index]]
5	* ''YMMV/ChildsPlay1988''
6	* ''YMMV/ChildsPlay2''
7	** ''YMMV/ChildsPlayInnovation''
8	* ''YMMV/ChildsPlay3''
9	* ''YMMV/BrideOfChucky''
10	* ''YMMV/SeedOfChucky''
11	* ''YMMV/CurseOfChucky''
12	* ''YMMV/CultOfChucky''
13	* ''{{YMMV/Chucky}}''
14	* ''YMMV/ChildsPlay2019''
15	[[/index]]
16	----
17	!!The whole franchise:
18	* BillingDisplacement: In spite of portraying the lead character, Creator/BradDourif has never received top billing in any of the films nor the TV series. Instead, he either gets an "[[AndStarring And]]" credit or is billed second to Creator/JenniferTilly.
19	* BrokenBase:
20	** Does the series work better as straight-faced horror or BlackComedy? Even among fans who like both approaches, there's no consensus on an ideal balance of the two.
21	** Does Chucky work better as a comedic, FauxAffablyEvil slasher, or a straightforward killer who happens to be a doll? Which interpretation a fan prefers tends to influence their favorite films too.
22	* CommonKnowledge: A popular anecdote some people still tend to pass around is that [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_(doll) Robert the Doll]] was the "real-life inspiration" of Chucky, ala UsefulNotes/EdGein inspiring [[Film/{{Psycho}} Norman Bates]], [[Franchise/TheTexasChainsawMassacre Leatherface]] and [[Film/TheSilenceOfTheLambs Buffalo Bill]], when Don Mancini and the other people that worked on the project have stated time and time again that Chucky's inspirations were Talky Tina from ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' and various '80s toy lines like Toys/CabbagePatchKids and more overtly the [[https://i.etsystatic.com/8391511/r/il/7f7a46/3886612613/il_fullxfull.3886612613_8eeu.jpg My Buddy Doll]], without ever mentioning Robert. On the contrary, since Robert was donated to his museum in 1994 and supernatural tourist attractions tend to suffer of [[UnreliableNarrator dubious sources]], it wouldn't be shocking if the people selling Robert took inspiration from the ''Chucky'' series to add Robert Eugene Otto behaving like Andy Barclay in its backstory and then pretend that inspired the franchise when it's the other way around.
23	* CompleteMonster:
24	** [[Characters/ChildsPlayChucky Charles Lee Ray]], later known as [[KillerDoll Chucky]], was a notorious SerialKiller when alive, and in death has used HollywoodVoodoo to possess a doll to [[ResurrectedMurderer escape his fate]]. Chucky proceeds to murder his owner's babysitter because she annoys him, and hunts down, tortures and murders his old voodoo teacher to get information on how to become human again before trying to tear out his ten year old owner's soul and possess him. Throughout the films, Chucky commits many more murders for his own amusement and replaces blanks with real ammo at a military camp war games training solely to enjoy the chaos. Even when the films briefly turned comedic, Chucky remained heartless as ever, murdering his own wife when she tried to leave him, with no remorse. When ''Film/CurseOfChucky'' brought the series back to horror, Chucky sends himself to unsuspecting families to destroy them and was revealed, as Charles Lee Ray, to have even stabbed a pregnant woman to cripple her unborn daughter after she rejected his advances. Despite his sense of humor, Chucky has always remained a sadistic, murderous monster and has only grown worse over time.
25	** ''Series/{{Chucky}}'': [[Characters/ChildsPlayChucky Charles Lee Ray]], [[EnfantTerrible as a boy]], [[{{Matricide}} killed his own mother]] to impress an active SerialKiller. Returning to Hackensack, Chucky falsely befriends Jake Wheeler and tries to corrupt him into murdering Lexi Cross, ultimately taking the matter into his own hands at the cost of inadvertently starting a house fire with several partygoers inside. Chucky murders Junior's mother and successfully perfects his Voodoo spell when he drove Junior to kill his father. He reveals his plan to massacre an audience at a charity event before distributing 72 possessed Good Guy Dolls nationwide with more bloodshed in mind, all to [[FameThroughInfamy immortalize his depraved legacy]] as the worst serial killer in US history.
26	* DracoInLeatherPants: Some viewers see Chucky as an AntiHero or AntiVillain. However, while several of his targets were AssholeVictims, he's still always been a sadistic SerialKiller who: has targeted innocent people (e.g. [[spoiler:''his [[{{Matricide}} own mother]] and he tried to do the same to [[OffingTheOffspring his own child]]'']]), ruined Andy and Nica's lives, etc.
27	* EvilIsCool: Chucky gets a lot of creative kills, funny one-liners, an unsettling makeover in ''Bride'', and an iconic performance by Creator/BradDourif. Tiffany and [[spoiler:Glenda]] also qualify for similar reasons.
28	* FanonDiscontinuity: ''Bride'' and ''Seed'' tend to be ignored by fans who prefer the original trilogy.
29	%%* FoeYayShipping: Although Chucky is old enough to be Andy's father, some of their scenes kinda drift into this territory.
30	* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: The series is wildly popular in UsefulNotes/{{Mexico}}, to the point where ''Cult'' released in Mexico first. Even a [[http://www.luchawiki.com/index.php?title=Chucky Mexican wrestler]] and a soccer player (Hirving "Chucky" Lozano) are named after the doll.
31	* IconicCharacterForgottenTitle: Most refer to the series as "Chucky" instead of "Child's Play." ''Bride of Chucky'' may have contributed to this, since Chucky was famous enough for the movies to bank on name recognition.
32	* JerksAreWorseThanVillains: In the franchise's WorldOfJerkass, all of Chucky's AssholeVictims are much more hated than Chucky (who's a CompleteMonster) himself, making their deaths either cathartic and indifferent for the audience.
33	* JerkassWoobie: To some people, Tiffany. Despite being as much of a SerialKiller as her husband, Tiff legitimately cares for him and their child, to the point where she tries to pull a HeelFaceTurn for the latter's sake. [[spoiler:Both of her deaths were on Chucky's hands, one after Tiff realizes that she's in a toxic relationship and another when she tries to save Glen(da)]]. Though, this reaction isn't universal as others instead view her as UnintentionallyUnsympathetic.
34	* LGBTFanbase: While the series [[BuryYourGays isn't perfect in terms of representation]], its numerous LGBTQ+ characters, several of them sympathetic, have attracted a sizeable LGBT+ fanbase. It helps that creator Don Mancini is gay himself and has steadily introduced more LGBT+ subtext into the films starting with ''Child's Play III''.
35	* LoveToHate: Who else but Chucky himself? Brad Dourif's bombastic yet sinister performance, coupled with his LaughablyEvil and badass traits and deceptively cute appearance definitely makes him stand out as a horror icon.
36	* {{Narm}}: Although the rules are unclear for what Chucky can survive throughout the series, sometimes the amount of punishment he can take gets downright ridiculous. It gets to the point where he [[spoiler: lives as a fully sentient arm in ''Seed.'']]
37	* NarmCharm: It's a horror franchise starring a toddler-sized ginger doll with a foul mouth who makes goofy expressions and spouts cheesy one-liners. Doesn't stop it from providing some genuinely terrifying moments and compelling stories.
38	* NightmareRetardant: Although the audience is supposed to find Chucky and Glenda scary as dolls (at least when they're doing [[BuffySpeak murderous-y and evil thingies]]), some people don't find them scary.
39	** Whenever he plays Chucky's original human form, Charles Lee Ray, Brad Dourif is styled in such a way that fans think bears a striking resemblance to Creator/TommyWiseau, which makes every scene he's in unintentionally funny for some people.
40	* PoorMansSubstitute: [[ThemeMusicAbandonment Despite borrowing almost no elements from each other]] (except the television show), compositions for ''2, Seed, Curse, Cult'', the remake and the television series emulate [[Music/DannyElfman Danny Elfman's work]] in their own ways.
41	* TheRedStapler: In the negative side of it. The Toys/MyBuddy doll line never recovered from the release of the first movie, the line having been released about three years earlier. The line was designed to create a companion doll that appealed to boys, a risky venture in itself; however, the dolls took off to the level of Toys/CabbagePatchKids at release in part due to a catchy EarWorm song. The writer Don Mancini claims that he was basing it on the Cabbage Patch Kids line and it was also themed by 80s consumerism, but later [[https://www.bustle.com/p/is-chucky-based-on-a-real-doll-the-childs-play-villain-has-roots-in-80s-consumerist-culture-18008375 admitted the connection]]; initially, Chucky was even named "Buddy." The doll seen in the movie bears virtually no resemblance to a Cabbage Patch Kid and a ''strong'' resemblance to a My Buddy doll with a name more similar to it -- namely "Good Guy" -- it's understandable where the "confusion" could occur. After the movies became popular, sales plummeted due to the very close resemblance and while a redesign of the doll attempted to get away from the association, the brand never recovered especially as movies continued to come out. My Buddy eventually was discontinued in the early 1990s.
42	* TooBleakStoppedCaring: The films' morbid violence, which generally gets BloodierAndGorier each movie, protagonists' suffering at the doll's hands, [[FlatEarthAtheist almost no one believing them]], and awful world where an evil god helps Chucky's murder spree makes it a CosmicHorrorStory that's off-putting to many.
43	* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Despite her having more sympathetic qualities than Chucky, Tiffany is viewed as this by some. Like Chucky, she kills innocent people and eventually did not give up killing when she had the chance.
44	* WheelchairWoobie: Nica has a BigSisterBully who tries to swindle her of her home out of greed and is born paraplegic [[spoiler:due to her mother getting her womb stabbed by Charles Lee Ray right before she was born]]. Then, [[spoiler:[[HeroWithBadPublicity she]] gets [[FrameUp framed of murdering her whole family]]]]. Things only get worse in the [[Film/CultOfChucky sequel]], where she [[spoiler:learns her beloved young niece Alice died, having been killed offscreen in between the events of both films, she herself ends up being harassed and possibly ''molested'' by the doctor in the asylum, witnesses everyone else but her and Andy die and then ultimately possessed by Chucky's spirit. In the [[Series/{{Chucky}} show]], it's revealed she's FightingFromTheInside and realized Chucky had used her body to commit more murders, while her explanation to a hostage fall upon deaf ears and gets knocked out when trying to free him, causing Chucky to regain control of her. Also, she gets kidnapped by Tiffany who's developed an obsessive “love” for her. The first season ends with her drugged by Tiffany, and ''[[AnArmAndALeg her limbs being removed]]'' so the fragment of Chucky’s soul within her can’t fight back against Tiffany. The poor girl is at the mercy of a {{Yandere}}, has had what minuscule chance she had of going back to a relatively normal life stripped from her, and she can’t do anything about it but ''scream'']].
45	* TheWoobie: Andy, oh so much. Not only does he lose his mother and have a killer doll trying to steal his body for 3 movies, no one believes him and ''[[HeroWithBadPublicity some even imply he's the killer]] - which makes everyone else wary or outright hostile to him''. It's shown in [[spoiler:''Cult of Chucky'' that he became a badass, but he's still plagued by people finding out about his past and lives a lonely, isolated life, failing to help Nica despite his best efforts and with only Chucky's decapitated head as company. The film ends with him trapped in an insane asylum where there have been numerous murders he might take the fall for (since he has a now empty pistol with him), and now two Chuckies (plus Tiffany) to worry about, including one Chucky still at the same insane asylum he's trapped in and presumably free to continue tormenting him]].
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Context YMMV / ChildsPlay