- My Pet Monster
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My Pet Monster 
My Pet Monster plush doll from 2001Format Animated series Starring Sunny Besen Thrasher
Stuart Stone
Jeff McGibbon
Alyson Court
Dan HennesseyCountry of origin 
United States
CanadaNo. of seasons 1 No. of episodes 16 Production Running time 30 minutes per episode Broadcast Original channel ABC (USA)
CBC (Canada)Picture format NTSC Audio format Mono Original run September 12, 1987 – December 19, 1987 My Pet Monster is a plush doll first produced by American Greetings in 1986. As one of the few plush dolls marketed to boys at the time, My Pet Monster would prove popular throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. The doll has blue fur, horns, and a fanged smile and is recognizable by its orange handcuffs. Several versions of the doll have been released ranging in size and other attributes. Other characters were also created with brightly colored fur and unorthodox names like Gwonk, Wogster, and Rark. Their popularity allowed a wealth of merchandise including coloring books, Golden Look-Look books, frame-tray puzzles, and various other items.
The My Pet Monster franchise has offered a fond sense of nostalgia for many children of the '80s, and in commemoration of this, a 22" tall, talking My Pet Monster doll was released by Toymax in 2001.
It spawned a live-action direct to video film in 1986 about a boy who becomes the Pet Monster after being exposed to a statue and changes Incredible Hulk-style when hunger strikes, how a man tries to kidnap him for experimentation, and how his sister helps her brother out of this crisis.
Contents
Animated series
My Pet Monster also spawned a children's cartoon series that ran for one season (1986 – 1987) on ABC, produced by Ellipse (France), Nelvana (Canada), Hanna-Barbera, and Hi Tops Video in association with Golden Books. The show follows Monster who lives with a boy named Max. When Monster wears his handcuffs, they turn him into a stuffed animal. Max often does this as a way to maintain the secret of Monster’s existence from others. Max's sister, Jill (Alyson Court), and his friend, Chuckie, are the only ones that know this secret. The two main adversaries in the show are Mr. Hinkle, a neighbor who always thinks Max is up to something, but is not quite sure what, and Beastur, a large monster who hates light and wants to bring Monster back to Monster Land. Beastur, though immense and fierce, is sadly quite incompetent. He can be stopped by the magic cuffs—which reduce him to a smaller, though still "alive" monster—or by his own bungling, and sent back through the warp portal to his own world. He wears dark glasses to protect his sensitive eyes, which he can use to see in the dark. Beastur appears in nearly every episode as either a primary or secondary foe. On one notable occasion, he was scared back through the portal to Monsterland not by light or the cuffs, but by the affections of a smitten female gorilla. In the final episode, it is also shown that Beastur hates to be hugged, even more so than being exposed to light.
Much of the voice cast of My Pet Monster returned several years later for Beetlejuice, another cartoon show with a surreal theme and a supernatural world populated by fantastic monsters.
Reruns of all 13 half-hour episodes will air on Teletoon Retro in Canada starting September 5, 2011.[1]
Episodes
Direct-to-video special (1986)
Title Running time Directed by: Written by: Release date Studio "My Pet Monster" 60 minutes Timothy Bond J.D. Smith 1987 (Canada) A boy named Max (Sunny Besen Thrasher) and his sister Melanie (Alyson Court) go to a museum and see a monster-like statue that Dr. Snyder (Colin Fox) had brought back from the Middle East. After being exposed to the statue and sunlight simultaneously, Max finds himself turning into a furry blue monster whenever he gets hungry. Dr. Snyder tries to hold him captive, but Max escapes and eludes him. Series (1987)
№ Title Airdate Prod. code 1 "Goodbye Cuffs, Goodbye Monster" September 12, 1987 001 Max purchases Monster and brings him home, only to discover that once his shackles are removed, he comes to life! Unfortunately for Monster, Beastur has escaped from Monsterland and is determined to find Monster and bring him back with him. 2 "The Wolfmen Are Coming!" September 19, 1987 002 When the hard rock group The Wolfmen hold a concert in town, Jill's costumes for her fan club members make Mr. Hinkle accidentally believe there are real wolfmen lurking in the neighborhood. Meanwhile, Max's attempts to find tickets for the concert lead to Monster becoming the guest singer. 3 "Boogie Board Blues" September 26, 1987 003 Max is psyched about the Junior Boogie Board Competition, but a snooty competitor and a bad wipeout may make him lose all hope unless his friends can help. 4 "Rock-a-Bye Babysitters / Monster Cookie Mix-Up!" October 2, 1987 004 Rock-a-Bye Babysitters: Max, Chuckie and an enthusiastic Monster have a rather stressful afternoon looking after Mr. Hinkle's infant niece.
Monster Cookie Mix-Up!: Monster discovers the cookies that Jill has baked for a charity drive and proceeds to devour them. The gang attempts to make a new batch which may be more diastrous than it looks.5 "The Masked Muncher!" October 17, 1987 005 Leo, the school bully, puts Monster's fate at stake in the upcoming pie-eating contest, so the gang enters Monster, as "The Masked Muncher", in the competition against Leo's ringer, Jumbo Jim, the "supermarket terminator." 6 "Runaway Monster" October 24, 1987 006 It is Monster's birthday and apparently his close friends have not remembered his special day. Feeling lonely and forgotten, Monster decides to run away. 7 "Finders Keepers / My Poet Monster" October 31, 1987 007 Finders Keepers: Monster stumbles onto a stash of stolen jewels and decides to keep them for himself. Soon after he takes them, the thieves, police, Max and Chuckie all set off in search of him.
My Poet Monster: A well-meaning Monster forges Mrs. Smith's signature on a failed assignment, leading to a manic encounter with Beastur at the post office as Max and his friends try to get it back.8 "Escape from Monsterland!" November 7, 1987 008 Max, Monster and the rest of the gang are trapped in Monsterland and must find a way to escape the dangerous and frightening place. 9 "Little Bigfoot" November 14, 1987 009 Max, Monster and the gang join Mr. Hinkle on a camping trip, pursuing the legend and mystery of Bigfoot. 10 "Monster Makes the Grade!" November 21, 1987 010 School elections are coming up, and Monster is intrigued by this process. Monster decides to pose undercover as an exchange student in order to liven up the political process. 11 "Monster Movie Mayhem! / Superhero for Hire!" December 5, 1987 011 Monster Movie Mayhem!: A videotape of Monster is accidentally switched with that of a show dog, and Max and the gang journey in search of it before it's viewed and Monster's secret existence is revealed.
Superhero for Hire: Monster (as Garbageman), with his friends as his sidekicks, hire out their services for a fee, leading to them foiling a bank robbery.12 "Gorill'a My Dreams" December 12, 1987 012 While enjoying a trip to the zoo, Monster and the gang encounter a lonely gorilla. Through Beastur's meddling, more than just a few hearts may end up broken. 13 "The Monster Hunter!" December 19, 1987 013 A Monster Hunter called Rex Stalker appears in search of Monster. Beastur makes one last attempt to drag him back into Monsterland but chaos soon ensues. DVD releases
On October 28, 2008, KaBoom! Entertainment released My Pet Monster- The Complete Series, featuring all 16 episodes, on DVD exclusively in Canada.[2]
On October 6, 2009, Phase 4 Films released My Pet Monster- The Complete Series on DVD in the USA.[3]
The live-action film has yet to be released on DVD.
References
- ^ "TELETOON Retro Fall 2011 - New & Returning Series". http://www.teletoon.com/media/fall2011/english/retro/new_series.html. Retrieved 2011-07-25. "Premieres Monday, September 5 at 2 p.m. ET ... 13 x 30 mins"
- ^ News item (2008-9-30) on TV Shows on DVD.com
- ^ DVD set info at TV Shows on DVD.com
External links
- My Pet Monster at TV.com
- My Pet Monster page at Toonopedia
- My Pet Monster (Series) at the Internet Movie Database
- My Pet Monster (Direct-to-video special) at the Internet Movie Database
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