My Pet Monster facts for kids
My Pet Monster is a fun character that started as a plush toy in 1986. This friendly monster has blue fur, horns, and a big fanged smile. He also wears cool orange plastic handcuffs that can break apart.
In 2018, the company Hasbro bought the My Pet Monster brand.
Contents
The Plush Toy
The My Pet Monster toy was first made by AM Toys in 1986. It was one of the few soft toys made for boys back then. This made it very popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The toy has bright blue fur, horns, and a fanged smile. Its most famous feature is the orange plastic handcuffs. Kids could wear these handcuffs too! They had a special link that could break apart. This let kids pretend to break free, just like a strong monster.
Many different versions of the doll were made. They came in various sizes. Other colorful monster characters were also created. Their names were unique, like Gwonk, Wogster, and Rark. Because the toys were so popular, lots of other items were sold. These included coloring books, puzzles, and more.
In 2001, Toymax released a bigger My Pet Monster doll. This one was 22 inches tall and could even talk!
My Pet Monster in Movies and TV
Quick facts for kids My Pet Monster |
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| Developed by | Peter Sauder |
| Directed by | Laura Shepherd |
| Starring | Sunny Besen Thrasher Stuart Stone Jeff McGibbon Alyson Court Dan Hennessey |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 22 minutes per episode |
| Production company(s) | Nelvana Those Characters From Cleveland Telefilm Canada |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Picture format | NTSC |
| Audio format | Mono |
| Original release | September 12 – December 19, 1987 |
The popular character also appeared in a live-action film in 1986. This movie was made to be watched at home. It was about a boy named Max who turned into the Pet Monster. This happened when he touched a special statue and got hungry. A scientist named Dr. Snyder wanted to catch Max for his own fame. Max's sister helped him escape. The movie ended with a cliffhanger. Dr. Snyder touched a statue of a huge monster and started to change too!
My Pet Monster also became a children's cartoon show. It ran for one season on ABC. This cartoon told a different story about how Monster came to be. In the show, Monster lives with a boy named Max. When Monster wears his special handcuffs, he turns into a stuffed animal. Max often uses the handcuffs to keep Monster's secret safe. Only Max's sister, Jill, and his friend Chuckie know about Monster.
The cartoon had two main bad guys. One was Mr. Hinkle, a neighbor who always suspected Max was hiding something. The other was Beastur, a huge monster who hated light. Beastur tried to bring Monster back to MonsterLand. Even though Beastur was big and scary, he was also clumsy. The magic cuffs could shrink him. He could also be sent back to his world by his own mistakes. Beastur wore dark glasses to protect his sensitive eyes. These glasses also helped him see in the dark.
Beastur appeared in almost every episode. Sometimes he was the main enemy, sometimes a smaller one. Once, he was scared away by a female gorilla who liked him! In the last episode, it was shown that Beastur hated hugs even more than light.
The cartoon show helped sell even more My Pet Monster toys. Many of the voice actors from My Pet Monster later worked together again. They voiced characters in the 1989 Beetlejuice cartoon. That show also had a strange theme and cool monsters.
All 13 episodes of the cartoon were shown again in Canada. They aired on Teletoon Retro starting in September 2011.
Main Characters
- Monster (voiced by Jeff McGibbon in the TV series, played by Mark Parr in the movie) - Max's monster friend in the TV show. In the movie, Max himself becomes the monster.
- Max (played by Sunny Besen Thrasher) - He turns into a monster in the movie. In the TV show, he is a separate character who is Monster's best friend.
- Chuckie (voiced by Stuart Stone) - Max's best friend in the TV series. He does not appear in the movie.
- Jill Smith (voiced by Alyson Court) - Max's older sister in the TV series. Monster seems to like her a lot.
- Melanie (played by Alyson Court) - Max's sister in the movie.
- Beastur (voiced by Dan Hennessey) - A giant monster in the TV series. He tries to take Monster back to Monsterland.
- Mr. Hinkle (voiced by Colin Fox) - The suspicious neighbor in the TV series. He knows Monster is up to something but can never prove it.
- Dr. Snyder (played by Colin Fox) - A scientist and monster hunter in the movie.
Episode Guide
The 1986 Movie
| Title | Running time | Directed by | Written by | Release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "My Pet Monster" | 60 minutes | Timothy Bond | J.D. Smith | 1986 | |
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A boy named Max turns into a furry blue monster when he gets hungry. A scientist tries to catch him, but Max escapes.
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The 1987 TV Series
| No. | Title | Written by | Airdate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Goodbye Cuffs, Goodbye Monster" | Peter Sauder J.D. Smith |
September 12, 1987 | |
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Beastur gets Monster's magic cuffs. Monster, Max, and Chuckie must get them back.
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| 2 | "The Wolfmen Are Coming!" | Mike Silvani | September 19, 1987 | |
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Mr. Hinkle thinks there are real wolfmen in the neighborhood. Monster becomes a guest singer at a concert.
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| 3 | "Boogie Board Blues" | J.D. Smith | September 26, 1987 | |
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Max is excited for a surfing contest. A tough competitor and a bad fall make him lose hope.
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| 4 | "Rock-a-bye Babysitters / Monster Cookie Mix-Up!" | J.D. Smith | October 2, 1987 | |
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Monster eats all of Jill's charity cookies. The friends try to bake new ones, but it's a disaster.
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| 5 | "The Masked Muncher!" | J.D. Smith | October 17, 1987 | |
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The school bully challenges Monster to a pie-eating contest. Monster enters as "The Masked Muncher."
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| 6 | "Runaway Monster" | Mike Silvani | October 24, 1987 | |
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Monster thinks his friends forgot his birthday. He runs away, not knowing they planned a surprise party.
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| 7 | "Finders Keepers / My Poet Monster" | Steve Wright (Finders Keepers) Mike Silvani (My Poet Monster) |
October 31, 1987 | |
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Monster finds stolen jewels and keeps them. Thieves, police, Max, and Chuckie all search for him.
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| 8 | "Escape from Monsterland!" | J.D. Smith | November 7, 1987 | |
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Max, Monster, and their friends get trapped in Monsterland. They must find a way to escape.
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| 9 | "Little Bigfoot" | Alan Swayze | November 14, 1987 | |
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Max, Monster, and friends go camping with Mr. Hinkle. They look for the legendary Bigfoot.
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| 10 | "Monster Makes the Grade!" | Peter Sauder | November 21, 1987 | |
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Monster is curious about school elections. He pretends to be an exchange student to liven things up.
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| 11 | "Monster Movie Mayhem! / Superhero for Hire!" | Steven Rauchman (Monster Movie Mayhem!) Steve Wright (Superhero for Hire!) |
December 5, 1987 | |
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A video of Monster gets swapped with a show dog's tape. Monster dresses as a superhero to fight crime.
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| 12 | "Gorill'a My Dreams" | J.D. Smith | December 12, 1987 | |
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Monster and friends visit the zoo and meet a lonely gorilla. Beastur shows up.
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| 13 | "The Monster Hunter" | John de Klein | December 19, 1987 | |
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A monster hunter named Rex Stalker appears. Beastur tries one last time to take Monster back to Monsterland.
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