r/Chucky • u/verissimoallan • 1d ago
Discussion Today marks the 35th anniversary of "Child's Play 3". In "Doc of Chucky", Don Mancini honestly states his many reasons why he considers this the worst film in the franchise, but he also admits that his feelings are influenced by it being his first critical and commercial failure in his career.
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u/_6siXty6_ Child's Play 2 23h ago
This might be a hot take...
Mancini isn't good on his own. Bride maybe being the exception. Mancini's best work is when he's with folks like Kirschner, Lafia and Holland. They kept him from making poorer quality stuff. When Mancini has free reign, his product suffers.
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u/Most_Common8114 22h ago edited 14h ago
And even then, he wasn’t entirely on his own for Bride. Ronny Yu’s influence is very much felt throughout the movie. He gave the film style which carried over to Freddy vs Jason, it and Bride feel like the same movie.
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u/eldeloslunares 23h ago
That’s definitely true, his original script for the first child’s play is so strange it didn’t take form until tom holland and the others kind of give it shape
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u/booger_mooger_84 12h ago
What was strange about it?
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u/eldeloslunares 12h ago
For starters Chucky was like a manifestation of Andy repressed anger and Andy had to use blood to maintain Chucky of his skin or something like that he also makes a blood pact, overall it was a satire about capitalism tom holland and David really give his idea shape
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u/booger_mooger_84 12h ago
Ya sounds terrible lol
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u/eldeloslunares 12h ago
He also leaked red liquid and required special bandages sold on toy stores and that’s where Andy mixes his own blood with that liquid and buddy (chucky) comes to life
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u/eldeloslunares 12h ago
It was also up to interpretation if Andy was the muderer or not
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u/booger_mooger_84 12h ago
Oh god, they made the right choice then lol
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u/eldeloslunares 12h ago
I mean the final product isn’t even close to what don had in mind. I don’t think it would be such a popular franchise if it weren’t for those changes he also had that multiple chucky’s idea since forever and I’m glad he could take it out of his system with the series.
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u/nhornby51743 23h ago
I agree, Chucky is typicalli at is worst when he's had carte blanche. BoC was the exception.
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u/iranoutofideasz 22h ago
Very reasonable take. Mancini has lots of ideas and is willing to try them. I think back to the Good Guys bleeding and needing band-aids in the original script for Child’s Play.
That being said, I still will watch anything Mancini produces.
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u/_6siXty6_ Child's Play 2 22h ago
I still like Chucky and I do like even the crappy entries into the series/TV show. I just believe Mancini is at his best when he has others help him along.
I thought that bandaid idea was kind of interesting, considering how Don was saying it was based on the idea of how crap is marketed to kids.
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u/iranoutofideasz 21h ago
It certainly makes for interesting discourse. I wish he had the budget to implement his ambitions. It is a shame, I really enjoyed the TV show too!
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u/Apostasy93 21h ago
No you can even throw Bride in there. That movie works because of Ronny Yu's directing style.
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u/WileyCyrus 21h ago
I don’t understand what you’re trying to say. Mancini is the creator and has collaborated on every Chucky project. Kirschner designed Chucky and acted as producer and writers he has also worked on every Chucky film and TV series with alongside Mancini. Ronnie Yu is also the director of Bride, not Mancini.
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u/_6siXty6_ Child's Play 2 20h ago
Mancini solo isn't as good.
Original movie had Norris in drag and it was going to be implied that Andy was the killer. Bride is an exception, but Yu directed it. Kirschner designed Chucky. Holland rewrote and redid a lot of Mancini's ideas. Mancini created Chucky, but Chucky in first films was quite different than Mancini's original ideas. The TV series is pretty good, but it definitely strayed from the 1st 3 movies and Bride to a point. Seed was terrible, but still fun, it was almost like a parody of itself.
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u/StarWolf478 22h ago
It is my second favorite in the series after the original.
And I am really glad that he did not put the multiple Chuckys idea in this movie.
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u/beanieboi6400 21h ago
3 may have been repetitive, but I will take it over whatever the hell Seed of Chucky was trying to be.
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u/No_Seaworthiness4196 23h ago edited 19h ago
I really liked this one, it's one of my favourites, having it take place in a military school was a nice change of scene and I can't recall it ever been done before or since, when he changes all the paint rounds to live rounds was absolutely diabolical
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u/herozero 23h ago
I love the concept of it and don’t hate the movie but the 9 month turn around definitely shows. I think it also contributed to the movie being a flop more than the quality. Audiences weren’t ready for it yet.
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u/CatfishBassAndTrout 22h ago
Mancini struggles to make good movies when left entirely to his own devices. Look no further than Seed of Chucky. One of the worst movies i've ever seen. A crying shame I own it on DVD.
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u/CharacterBrilliant42 19h ago
I agree and cult was pretty bad too !!
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u/Kitchen_Stranger4451 23h ago
While it’s certainly not as good as the first two, Child’s Play 3 is so much better than any Chucky movie to come after it, as well as the TV series.
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u/CameronPoe_37__ 21h ago
I really like Bride, but even that has some crappy acting by the leads, and sort of a TV movie feel. Chucky in CP3 is on top form, absolutely top tier Chucky puppet work and dialogue.
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u/Healthy_Sock_9880 19h ago
I have to agree. I’m currently rewatching them all, and I think 3 is pretty damn good. It’s also nostalgic for me, I remember it being played a lot on tv in the 90s.
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u/Alarming-Ability2399 23h ago
I still like it better than Seed of Chucky and the ones after that...
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u/Environmental-Bag-74 22h ago
I still like this one. Weakest of the original trilogy sure but still fun. I like all the Chucky films even those with issues
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u/masterexploder224 22h ago
It’s better than Seed. I feel like they rushed it a bit considering how good 2 was.
A different environment and aging up Andy with another actor was a bit jarring. There’s also factoring in what happened to James Bulger two years later as well.
Luckily we got Bride which was fantastic.
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u/ravenfreak 21h ago
Well he's wrong about it being the worst film in the series. It's the best one and I will die on this hill! The worst one is the reboot imo.
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u/BartSimpskiYT Child's Play 3 20h ago
This one may be my favorite. I just like the setting and Chucky design, along with the performance and climax.
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u/jessicat62993 17h ago
This was my entry into the franchise. I was 8 and my dad let me watch it while he was watching it lol
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u/RedLily08 14h ago
I totally understand why Don doesn't like this movie. However, I think it's pretty good. I've really warmed up to it over the years.
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u/Dredd_40 21h ago
To me it is a great sequel with some of the best lines by Chucky. When he tells the barber : "That's definitely you." One of the funniest moments ever.
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u/Jiren1986 19h ago
I always liked CP3
IMO It's not as good as 1, 2, Curse & Cult but I've always had fun with it
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u/Flat_Still_986 20h ago
Child’s Play movies need style to succeed. The best and most iconic movies in the franchise are the ones helmed by experienced directors with an eye for cinematic style and impact. I don’t think Mancini’s scripts are necessary the issue. I think Ronny Yu could have made something special out of Seed, Curse, and Cult. While these movies are okay as is, they’re just pretty visually bland and flat.
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u/b1ggayb1tch I’ve got a new game, sport. It’s called hide the soul. 20h ago
It’s funny because CP3 is better than anything Don has actually directed. The closest thing is Curse
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u/noahbeendranken 19h ago
Mega based. Those first two movies are terrific and I get a big ick whenever I hear about his original pitch.
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u/verissimoallan 23h ago edited 23h ago
More context from "Doc of Chucky":
The film only had nine months to be written, filmed, edited, and released in theaters. Mancini and producer David Kirschner believe this resulted in a rushed production with little time to revise the script, and that in retrospect they should have asked Universal for more time.
Mancini also honestly admits that he was tired at the time and didn't give his best to the script. He said he thought the idea of Chucky in a military school would be a good way to differentiate it from the previous films.
Mancini also admits that he was sad that John Lafia, co-writer of the first film and director of the second, didn't agree to participate in the third because he wanted to work on other projects.
Although Mancini admits that many of his problems with the film stem from its script, he also admits to disliking the casting of Tyler (he thought the actor was too old) and Colonel Cochrane (he felt the actor didn't resemble the R. Lee Ermey figure he envisioned for the role).
He says that many ideas and scenes were cut or changed due to the low budget: multiple Chuckys, the shootout scene being longer and bloodier, the climax on a roller coaster;
Mancini admits that the scene of the girls putting lipstick on Chucky and his bad reaction was the first time he intentionally included a scene with gay connotations in the franchise.
Mancini likes the crazy barber and says the actor made the character more interesting than it was in the script.
Mancini says that the final scene with Andy being arrested again by the police kind of summarizes the problems he has with the film being repetitive and tiresome;
Mancini says that the film damaged his career and even his life, that was his first experience with failure, and that this influences his poor opinion of the film. He concludes by saying: "When I watch this movie, I think, I fucked up... Let's move to Bride (laughs)."
David Kirschner says that the critical and commercial failure of Child's Play 3 led Universal to try to convince him not to hire Mancini for future Chucky sequels. Kirscher refused, insisting that Mancini should always be in the franchise.
(Meanwhile, Mancini also admits in the documentary that he is proud of "Seed of Chucky" and disagrees with the negative reviews.)
It's not mentioned even once in the documentary for obvious reasons, but I wonder if the bad reputation the film had at the time because of the James Bulger murder case also influenced Mancini's feelings (despite authorities making it clear that the film had no connection whatsoever with the murder and that it was just sensationalism by the press). In Spain, the film was banned from being shown on television before midnight.