Little Monsters facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Little Monsters
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Richard Alan Greenberg
Produced by	John Davis Jack Grossberg Andrew Licht Jeffrey A. Mueller
Written by	Terry Rossio Ted Elliott
Starring	Fred Savage Daniel Stern Margaret Whitton Frank Whaley Rick Ducommun Howie Mandel
Music by	David Newman
Cinematography	Dick Bush
Editing by	Patrick McMahon
Studio	Vestron Pictures
Distributed by	United Artists
Release date(s)	August 25, 1989 (1989-08-25)
Running time	101 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$7 million
Money made	$793,775

Little Monsters is a fun comedy film from 1989. It stars Fred Savage and Howie Mandel. The movie was directed by Richard Alan Greenberg. It's about a boy who finds a real "monster under his bed." He soon discovers a secret world where monsters live. These monsters sneak into kids' rooms at night to play pranks!

What the Movie is About

Brian Stevenson's family has just moved to a new suburb near Boston. Brian feels a bit lonely in his new home. One morning, he gets blamed for things he didn't do. He insists he's innocent. Brian blames his younger brother, Eric, who says he saw a monster the night before.

At school, Brian gets into a fight with a bully named Ronnie Coleman. That night, Brian decides to sleep in Eric's room. He made a bet with Eric. Brian finds the room messy. He sees the TV remote slide under the bed by itself! The next morning, Eric and his friend Todd tease Brian. They joke that Brian couldn't sleep in Eric's room. Brian bets Eric "double or nothing" to sleep there again. The next night, Brian sets traps. He also leaves Doritos as bait for the monster.

Brian successfully traps the monster! It's a blue-skinned creature named Maurice. Brian is scared at first. But he soon finds out that he and Maurice like the same things. They become good friends. Brian also learns that sunlight makes the monsters turn into piles of clothes.

Over several nights, Maurice shows Brian the amazing monster world. It's hidden beneath Eric's bed. This world is like every kid's dream! It has all the junk food and video games you could want. There are no adults to tell you what to do. This world also has many staircases. These stairs lead to the spaces under children's beds. From there, the monsters cause all their mischief. Maurice and Brian have a lot of fun playing pranks in other people's homes. Brian also becomes friends with a girl at his school named Kiersten.

One night, Maurice brings Brian and other monsters to a baby's bedroom. They plan to scare the baby. Brian thinks this is mean. He opens the bedroom door. This lets the hallway light shine into the baby's room. Brian then learns something scary. He is turning into a monster! His body parts shrink when light hits him. He quickly escapes the house. He walks through Todd's backyard. Todd is sleeping in a treehouse. Todd shines a flashlight on Brian. This makes Brian's arm shrink! Brian gets worried. He saws off the legs of all the beds in his house.

Maurice failed to turn Brian into a monster. Because of this, Eric gets kidnapped by Snik. Snik is another monster, and he is very cruel. Eric is taken through the couch bed in the living room. Brian asks Todd and Kiersten for help. They gather many bright lights. Then, they enter the monster world to find Eric. They "zap" many monsters along the way. They march to the main staircase. This is where Boy, the ruler of the monster world, lives.

Boy offers to let Eric and Brian's friends go. But only if Brian agrees to become a monster. Brian refuses. The bright lights they brought are destroyed. Brian and his friends are put in a locked dungeon-like room with Maurice. They escape by turning Maurice into a pile of clothing using an improvised light. They slide him through the door crack. They arm themselves with more powerful lights. They also get Ronnie, the bully, to help. They go back into the monster world. They return to Boy's area. They are able to defeat Boy. Maurice defeats Snik using a flamethrower.

Sadly, Brian and the others realize they cannot go home. The sun has already risen. They face turning into monsters if they don't return to the human world by sunrise. So, the children travel through the monster world. They go from the Eastern time zone to Malibu. The sun has not risen there yet. They manage to escape! Before entering the human world, Brian says a sad goodbye to Maurice. Maurice gives Brian his leather vest to remember him. He promises they will meet again someday. The kids run to a payphone. Brian calls home. He tells his parents that he and Eric are in Malibu. He starts to explain their amazing story.

Meet the Cast

• Fred Savage as Brian Stevenson, an 11-year-old boy
• Howie Mandel as Maurice, a monster who Brian befriends
• Ben Savage as Eric Stevenson, Brian's younger brother
• Daniel Stern as Glen Stevenson, Brian's hot-tempered father
• Margaret Whitton as Holly Stevenson, Brian's mother
• Frank Whaley as Boy, ruler of the monster world
• Rick Ducommun as Snik, Boy's right-hand man
• Amber Barretto as Kiersten, a girl Brian likes
• Devin Ratray as Ronnie Coleman, a bully who bothers Brian
• William Murray Weiss as Todd, Eric's best friend

Brian's father is played by Daniel Stern. He also worked on The Wonder Years. In that show, he was the voice of the older version of Fred Savage's character, Kevin Arnold. Fred and Ben Savage are real-life brothers. They play Brian and Eric in the movie. Their sister, Kala Savage, also plays a little monster.

Movie Music

The movie's soundtrack features the Talking Heads song "Road to Nowhere". This song plays during the end credits. Two new songs were written just for the movie. They were performed by Billie Hughes.

The people who chose the music for the movie were Gary Goetzman and Sharon Boyle.