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It Was One Of The Biggest Toys, But No One Remembers The Crazy Movie That Started It All
There were a lot of toys in the 80s and 90s that spawned television shows, but one of the most popular was My Pet Monster.
The blue and pink beast came out in 1986, and by 1987 it was popular enough for a TV show to come out to flesh out the character's backstory.
The story of the monster was that he had handcuffs that turn him into a stuffed animal, but as soon as they are removed he would come to life. In the cartoon series, a boy named Max keeps Monster, using his handcuffs to help hide him from others.
Only two people know about Max's pet monster, his sister Jill, (who was voiced by Alyson Court AKA Loonette the Clown) and his best friend Chuckie.
In the show, the monster was given the name Monzie, but he wasn't the only monster that was out there. Beastur was a much bigger version of Monzie who was always chasing him down. Beastur wants to bring Monzie back into Monsterland but Max doesn't want that to happen.
The TV show only lasted one season, but the toy was still pretty popular. It's currently listed online for a fair amount of money. It's listed between $50 to $200 depending on the condition and whether or not it is complete with its handcuffs.
The TV show may not have lasted long, but it was enough to make the character memorable and lovable. The toy that was sold alongside of it was a huge hit and kids everywhere seemed to own one.
The thing is, a lot of people forget that it actually started with a direct-to-video movie...
The video was actually released with the toy, before it was turned into a cartoon. It was actually a live action movie where Max would actually turn into a monster!
They go to a museum and come across these monster statues but somehow Max turns into one of the monsters. He is joined by his sister, Melanie, who was still played by Alyson Court and together they are chased by a historian who wants to get the power for himself.
As with a lot of direct-to-video movies, it doesn't really make a whole lot of sense, but kids liked it enough to continue to buy the doll. Essentially what happens is the historian, Synder, chases down these children to try and get back the power.
The movie doesn't really resolve anything properly. It makes it seem like there are these huge issues with getting rid of the monster power, but all Max has to do is ask the statue to take the power back. Then it gives it to the historian so all is well...?
I guess we can't really expect much when the movie was literally created to help sell toys right? At least they gave the whole thing a different story when they turned it into the cartoon!