| “ | Hi, I'm Chucky. Wanna play? | „ |
| ~ Chucky |
Chucky is the central antagonist of the Child's Play series of films as well as associated media such as comic books, he is often called the "killer doll" and has become more comedic over the years but still mercilessly psychotic and quite proud of his murderous nature. He was portrayed and voiced by legendary actor Brad Douriff.
Originally, Chucky was the infamous serial killer known as the Lakeshore Strangler, Charles Lee Ray, who was shot to death and killed by the Chicago Police Department but managed to survive via his knowledge of voodoo, which he used to conjure his soul into the body of a Good Guy doll - which he learned from John Simonsen (aka Dr. Death) - however he soon learned that the longer he spent in the doll's body the more "human" the doll would become and in time he would be stuck as a doll forever. Chucky didn't wish for this to happen (at least not until "Seed of Chucky", when he finally embraced his status as a "killer doll") - and for most of the film series sought to take over the body of a young boy named Andy so as to fully cheat death.
Despite his small size and limited physical power, Chucky proved to be a diabolical opponent, driven by a mixture of determination and insanity, the doll terrorized Andy for much of his life and killed many people who either got in the way of his plans or who he simply took a dislike to (though Chucky also kills for the fun of it, as can be seen by his famous maniacal laughter).
Although virtually immortal, Chucky can die, his doll-body becoming more and more "human" in time and when injured he bleeds and even feels pain - yet as a doll he can tolerate such injuries extremely well and has traditionally been killed in very elaborate and gruesome ways due to him being so difficult to kill.
History
Child's Play
Charles Lee Ray aka The Lake Shore Strangler.
While being chased by Detective Mike Norris, Charles Lee Ray, a serial killer known as "The Lakeshore Strangler", is shot and mortally wounded. Before dying, Charles takes cover inside a toy store, finding boxes of "Good Guy" dolls and uses a voodoo ritual to transfer his soul into one of the dolls. The store is then struck by lightning and it burns to the ground.
Later that morning, 6-year-old Andy Barclay tells his widowed mother Karen Barclay that he wants a Good Guy doll for his birthday after watching a TV commercial for it. Unable to afford the full price, Karen buys a stolen doll from a street peddler, which is the same doll Charles Lee Ray had earlier transferred his soul into.
That night, as Andy is playing with the doll (who has introduced himself as "Chucky" through the talking feature of the doll), Karen's friend, Maggie Peterson, who is babysitting Andy, scolds him for turning on the evening news and placing Chucky in front of the TV. When Andy tries to tell Maggie that he did not put Chucky in front of the TV, she doesn't believe him. Maggie is then viciously struck with a toy hammer and falls out of the apartment window, falling several stories to her death. The killer's identity is left ambiguous. Andy, when questioned, insists that Chucky has revealed himself to be alive and that he killed Maggie, though he defends Chucky's decision by stating that Chucky told him that "Maggie was a real bitch" and that she "got what she deserved".
The next day, Andy, apparently upon Chucky's request, visits the house of Eddie Caputo, Charles Lee Ray's accomplice, who had betrayed him and led him to his death. Chucky is revealed as being alive. He sneaks into Eddie's house and blows out the pilot light on the stove and turns up the gas; Eddie, in panicked self-defense, fires his gun and the house explodes, killing him.
Later, authorities place Andy in a psychiatric ward after he is found near the crime scene. Karen believes the doll to be the culprit after she realizes that his batteries had never been put in and she threatens to throw him into the fireplace unless he reveals himself to her. Chucky comes alive in her hands, bites her and runs out of the apartment. She contacts Detective Norris, who is now investigating Maggie's death. Although he initially doubts her story, the homeless man who sold Karen the doll confirms that he retrieved it from the burnt down toy store where Charles Lee Ray was killed. Norris becomes a firm believer after he is attacked by Chucky in his car and survives only by shooting the doll.
Chucky later meets with John Simonsen, his voodoo instructor from years past, and asks why his gunshot wound bled. John, under torture via voodoo doll, informs him that his body is slowly conforming to that of a human's and that he will soon be trapped in the body if he does not transfer his soul into the body of the first person he revealed himself to, which is Andy. Offhandedly remarking that he will "get to be six years old again," Chucky stabs the voodoo doll in the chest and leaves John to die. Karen and Detective Norris, following leads from Charles Lee Ray's case file, find John as he lay dying and receive instructions on how to kill Chucky, although Chucky is a doll, his heart is fully human and vulnerable to fatal injury.
Chucky kills the head doctor, while Andy escapes from the psychiatric unit. The authorities believe Andy killed the doctor while escaping. Mike and Karen rush back to the apartment hoping that Andy is there. Chucky reaches the apartment where Andy is and knocks him unconscious with a baseball bat to steal his soul. After a prolonged struggle, Chucky is thrown into the fireplace by Karen and is lit on fire by Andy after he throws the match in the fireplace.
Andy and Karen, thinking Chucky is dead, go to help the injured Mike Norris. After Andy gets the first aid kit from under the sink, he discovers Chucky is gone. Very burnt but alive, Chucky chases after Andy and Karen, who barricade themselves in the bedroom; Karen shoots him several times, missing his heart, but scattering his head, an arm and a leg in the hallway. After Norris' partner, Jack Santos, arrives, the scattered doll parts attempt to attack at the instructions of Chucky's screaming, severed head. Karen, remembering John's last words, tells Mike to shoot Chucky in the heart. Norris does so and makes a direct hit, killing Chucky, again.
An ambulance arrives to take Mike to the hospital. Karen and Jack help Mike walk out the door, but Andy stays and looks over the remains of the burned Chucky. Karen returns and leads Andy out of the room and turns off the lights. Andy turns to look at Chucky one last time before leaving.
Child's Play 2
Two years after the events of the first film, Play Pals Toys repaired the burned Chucky doll, insisting that there was nothing wrong with it, while Andy is sent to foster care. When the workers at Play Pals rebuilt Chucky manually, the dreaded Lakeshore Strangler was revived.
Later that night, Chucky was being taken home by the CEO's assistant, not knowing that Chucky was truly alive. When he received a call from his girlfriend asking if he remembered the Vodka for their 2-week anniversary. He replied with a yes, hang up, and angrily drove to the liquor store. When he got out of the car, Chucky got the phone and called the orphanage and asked if Andy was there. They said no, but also asked who he was, which he replied "This is his uncle, Charles." When the man came back to the car, irritated that Gold Cards weren't accepted at the liquor store, he was attacked by Chucky. Chucky forced him to park the car, where he killed him with a plastic bag.
Chucky found his way to Andy's new home, owned by Phil and Joanne Simpson, and destroyed Andy's Tommy Good Guy Doll with Joanne's china figurine. The figurine was destroyed as well in the process, which resulted in Andy and his foster sister, Kyle, getting grounded.
That night, Chucky had successfully fooled Andy into making him think he was Tommy, which allowed Chucky into his bedroom. There, Chucky had tied Andy to the bed and literally put a sock in his mouth. He began the ritual to place his soul in Andy's body, but was interrupted when Kyle began to crawl in through the window after sneaking out for a date. She began to untie Andy, but didn't believe his story of Chucky. Andy, with his newly-freed hand, punches Chucky off of the bed. Joanne and Phil arrive, and Phil takes Chucky to the cellar.
The next day, Chucky followed Andy to school, where he wrote profanity on Andy's test paper. The teacher, Ms. Kettlewell, believed it was Andy who wrote it, and kept him at school for detention. There, Ms. Kettlewell had found Chucky and locked him in the closet. Andy, knowing where Chucky was, escaped through the window and made his way for home. Not long after, Ms. Kettlewell returned to the classroom, where she noticed Andy was missing. She heard a noise from the closet, and assumed that was where he was. She opened the door and searched everywhere, but was ambushed by Chucky and was beaten to death with a yard stick.
That night, Andy went into the cellar with a knife to kill Chucky. He searched everywhere, but was attacked by Chucky who began to bite his ear. Chucky was hit in the side of the head with the knife, and made an escape by hiding behind the stairs. Phil began to slowly walk downstairs, attempting to calm Andy. Unfortunately, Chucky found a harpoon and used it to dangle Phil from the stairs. He released Phil, who fell to his death.
About an hour later, Chucky had murdered Joanne in her bedroom and was now using Kyle to drive him to the orphanage, where Andy was living once again. Kyle had stepped on the breaks, making Chucky shatter the window and fall out of the car. He was on the hood, but Kyle stepped on it, making it harder for Chucky to hold on. She once again stepped on the breaks, forcing Chucky to fly off the car and hit a fence. She attempted to ram him, but got out of the way just in time. She got out of the car and found Chucky on her shoulders.
Kyle took Chucky to the orphanage, where he pulled the fire alarm. Kyle and Andy were taken to the matron's office, who was killed by Chucky. Kyle attempted to help Andy escape, but was taken away by Chucky instead. Chucky told Andy to get in the back of a truck, where he attempted the ritual a second time. He was once again stopped by Kyle, and Chucky forced Andy to flee to the Play Pals Toy Factory while Kyle was being harassed by the truck driver.
In the factory, Chucky attempted the ritual a third and final time, and finally finished it. Unfortunately, too much time had been wasted and he was trapped in the doll's body. He attacked, but was stopped by Kyle. In an epic battle, Chucky was killed when Kyle forced an air tube in his mouth, causing his head to explode.
Child's Play 3
Eight years had passed, and Play Pals, Inc. had finally healed from the bad publicity it had been dealing with. They used Chucky's corpse as a mold for the new line of Good Guy Dolls, which transferred his soul from the corpse to a brand new doll, bringing him back to life.
The company decided to give the CEO the first doll as a present, oblivious to the fact that Chucky had been revived. That night, the CEO placed the doll package on his couch while he played putt putt golf in his office. He then noticed weird things happening around the room, such as when the TV turned off by itself and the remote went missing. Eventually, Chucky attacked the man and choked him to death with a Yo-Yo. Chucky got on his computer and looked in the files, and found Andy's location - Kent Military School.
He sent himself to the military school via the mail, excepting the package to go to Andy. Instead, he was opened by an 8-year-old boy named Ronald Tyler. Realizing he had a new body, he told Ronald his secret, thus making Ronald eligible for the soul transfer. Chucky began the ritual, disguising it as a game called "Hide-the-Soul", but was interrupted when the head of the school, Colonel Cochran. Cochran, believing Chucky to be a simple doll, but him in the dumpster. The garbage man arrived, putting everything from the dumpster into his truck. Chucky yelled for assistance, and the garbage man went to the back of the truck to find him. Chucky, however, and snuck to the drivers seat and turned on the trash compacter, slowly killing the garbage man.
Ronald began a game of Hide and Seek, forcing Chucky to hunt him down. After a frustrating time trying to find him, he found Ronald in a closet, but the two were eventually found by two girls. They put lipstick on Chucky and the three kids made their escape when they heard Colonel Cochran coming. Chucky hid behind a corner and jumped out with a knife, which gave Cochran a heart attack and died.
Chucky slit the throat of the school's barber and replaced the paint balls for the War Games with real ammunition. That night, Chucky took a girl named Kristin DeSilva hostage, hoping that Andy would bring Ronald to him. The Red and Blue teams met and fired on each other. This resulted in the death of Lieutenant Colonel Shelton. Chucky tossed a grenade into the crowd, but one of the students, Whitehurst, made a noble sacrifice and jumped on top of the grenade, killing him instead. Ronald escaped to a nearby amusement park, but Chucky had gotten there first and forced Ronald into the Haunted House. Andy and Kristin followed them, and a battle began. Kristin was injured and Chucky began the soul transfer spell, and Andy killed him just in time by pushing him into a giant fan.
Bride of Chucky
Tiffany, a former lover and accomplice of serial killer Charles Lee Ray, acquires Chucky's remains (Chucky was chopped up at the end of Child's Play 3) after bribing and later murdering a police officer who removed the dismembered "Good Guy" doll parts from an evidence locker by slashing his throat. Believing Ray's soul to still be inhabiting the doll, Tiffany crudely stitches Chucky back together and reenacts the voodoo ritual which instilled Ray inside the doll a decade ago.
Though her chants initially fail to produce results, Chucky unexpectedly springs to life and kills Tiffany's goth-wannabe admirer, Damien, torturing him by ripping off his labret piercing while his hands and feet are cuffed, and suffocating him with a pillow while Tiffany watches with excitement. Tiffany and Chucky then get into an argument because Tiffany believed Chucky wished to marry her. Upon learning he had no intention of doing so, Tiffany throws him in a playpen she built for a nursery and locks him in it. She then later gives him another doll in a wedding dress with a real diamond ring to mock him. While Tiffany is watching TV while taking a bath, Chucky escapes by cutting through the wood of the play pen with the diamond part of the ring and kills her by pushing the TV into the bath. Then, using the same voodoo spell, Chucky gains further revenge against Tiffany by transferring her soul into a female doll so she could feel what Chucky went through as a living doll. Chucky, who is still intent on becoming human again, concocts a plan with Tiffany to retrieve an amulet that was buried with Ray's body and use the bodies of Tiffany's neighbor Jesse and his girlfriend Jade as a means to return to their normal lives.
Tiffany sends Jesse a message asking him to take the two dolls to New Jersey in exchange for cash. Jesse convinces Jade to go with him and helps her pack. Meanwhile, Jade's police-officer uncle Warren (John Ritter) breaks into Jesse's car and plants a bag of marijuana to frame Jesse, whom he dislikes. Afraid of him ruining their plans, Chucky and Tiffany kill him by setting up an airbag to launch nails into his face. After the dolls hide the body under the backseat, Jesse and Jade return and begin their trip.
Outside a convenience store, they are pulled over by Officer Norton, who asks to search Jesse's car for the planted drugs. After he finds it, he goes to his car to report to Warren. During this time, Chucky crawls over and shoves a cloth into Norton's gas tank and lights it. Norton is killed when his car explodes and, seeing the explosion, Jesse and Jade flee the scene. Soon, they stop at a wedding chapel/hotel and are married. During that time, Jade's uncle, still alive, tries to run away but is stabbed numerous times in the back by Chucky. While in the hotel, Jesse and Jade meet a con-artist couple Russ and Diane who steal Jesse's money. As the criminals have sex in their room, Tiffany, who had seen them take Jesse's money and said how the woman "doesn't deserve to wear that ring", takes their bottle of champagne and throws it into the mirrored ceiling, sending down shards of glass and killing the two con-artists. Impressed at what she just did, Chucky reveals his true feelings for Tiffany, and then proposes to her. After accepting and putting on the ring, both dolls begin to have sex.
The next morning, a maid finds the corpses of the couple and Jesse and Jade drive away with their best friend David, who knew about their plan to elope and heard about the recent murders. He reveals that Jesse and Jade have been pinned for all of the deaths and, while searching for the source of a foul smell, finds Warren's body and demands that Jesse pull over. While he is confronting them, the dolls come alive and hold them hostage with guns, demanding for them to keep driving. David turns and is accidentally broken by a truck that taxes speeding, horrifying Jade and Jesse. Jesse and Jade drive away with the dolls. They are then chased by police, which Chucky is able to shoot the cars and make them go off the road. During that time, the dolls reveal their plan to them and get Jesse to drive in a mobile home to keep the cops off them by using a different vehicle. While preparing Jade for the body-switch, Tiffany begins talking with Jade, who manages to turn Tiffany against Chucky. A fight between the two dolls ensues and Jade seizes an opportunity by kicking and locking Tiffany into the oven while Jesse pushes Chucky out the window. Chucky shoots at Jesse, causing the RV to run off the road and into a ditch.
Chucky finds Jade and forces her to take him to his grave site, while Jesse takes a weak Tiffany (burnt from the oven, but still alive) and follows them. While the medical examiner is digging, Chucky shoots him in the back of the head and orders Jade to open the casket and give him the amulet. After she breaks it off his skeleton's neck, she throws it out at him. Jesse then appears with Tiffany and they trade hostages. While Jesse and Jade embrace, Chucky is about to throw his knife at Jade until Jesse sees and turns her around; being stabbed in the back. After Jade pulls the knife out of his back and holds him, they are tied up for the ritual.
Before Chucky starts the body-switching chant, Tiffany distracts him by kissing him while she pulls the knife out of his pocket, stabbing him in his back. They fight until he stabs her in the heart, where she collapses to the ground. While distracted, Jesse knocks Chucky into his grave who demands to be let out. A private investigator arrives to see Jade pointing a gun into the hole. He sees Chucky and is clearly shocked by what he sees. The investigator then watches Jade shoot Chucky several times while he yells he'll come back as he always comes back. The investigator soon gets on the phone with the police, saying that Jesse and Jade are innocent of the murders and sends the couple away.
While stumbling upon and investigating Tiffany's doll body, Tiffany suddenly springs to life and gives birth to a doll child before finally dying. The baby seems to attack the investigator brutally.
Seed of Chucky
The film opens the night Jesse and Jade get married in Bride of Chucky as the second parody of Look Who's Talking in the Child's Play series where Chucky's sperm reach Tiffany's egg and a baby is conceived and grown over time. At the end of the scene, the baby passes through the birth canal as seen in the last moment in Bride of Chucky.
Six years after the events of Bride of Chucky, the film then shows Glen, the son of Chucky and Tiffany, point of view having a nightmare in which he slaughters a little girl's parents and living a life of embarrassment as a ventriloquist's dummy. Desperate to know his parents, Glen tracks them down to Hollywood. Chucky and Tiffany are first shown killing a man dressed as Santa Claus for a movie. Upon tracking down his parents, who are now dummies in one of Jennifer Tilly's films, Glen uses a voodoo amulet to bring them back to life. Shortly afterward, when Chucky (voice of Brad Dourif) finds out that Glen is his child, he faints. But as for Tiffany, she was very happy and hugs her child. Tiffany and Chucky have a dispute over whether Glen is male or female. Chucky decides to label him as a boy and Tiffany labels him as a girl, calling him "Glenda".
When a puppeteer, Tony Gardner begins taking Tiffany apart, she and Chucky cut his head off with a piano wire. Jennifer Tilly sees the beheaded body and calls the police. Glen/Glenda is horrified by this, and later asks them why they murder others, as he feels that violence is bad. Tiffany and Chucky then make an agreement to quit killing, although Chucky only pretends to agree.
Jennifer tries to get a role as the Virgin Mary in Redman's directorial debut, but after Redman says that Jennifer isn't right for the part, she invites him over to her house. Chucky and Tiffany make plans to transfer their souls into Redman and Jennifer. Jennifer and Redman start to have sex, only for Tiffany to knock them out. While they are unconscious, Tiffany inseminates Jennifer with Chucky's semen. Chucky leaves and takes Glen/Glenda with him. After driving Britney Spears' car off the road, killing her, they proceed to go to a photographer's darkroom. The photographer, Pete Peters, had taken pictures of Tilly having sex with Redman, and of Chucky masturbating. Glen/Glenda tries to warn Peters that Chucky will kill him, only for Peters to bump into a shelf, causing a jar of acid to fall and accidentally kill him. Chucky, overjoyed, believes Glen/Glenda did this on purpose and takes a picture to celebrate.
Jennifer awakens the next morning, realizes that she is pregnant and claims it is Redman's, though he states that this is impossible. In anger, Tiffany rips his intestines out. The next day, Jennifer is horrified to find herself with a fully pregnant belly. The voodoo magic that fuels the killer dolls has also accelerated the pregnancy. Jennifer is captured by Chucky and her chauffeur, Stan, serving as Chucky's replacement body due to Redman's death is also captured. Jennifer's assistant, Joan, tries to help her, but is brutally killed. It is then revealed that there were two souls in Glen: Glen and Glenda. Chucky also reveals that he killed 3 people and hid them in a closet like Tiffany did to Redman.
Jennifer gives birth to twins, a boy and a girl, and it is then that Chucky has an epiphany. After several years of being an infamous killer doll, Chucky finally accepts his circumstances. Disturbed, Tiffany rejects Chucky and resolves to take Glen with her. An enraged Chucky throws a knife at Jennifer, but Stan jumps in front and is stabbed in the neck, he tells Tilly that he loves her as he dies. Before Glen can decide which baby to possess, the police arrive, forcing the dolls to flee. Jennifer is rushed to the hospital by the cops, but claims she wants to see her babies. Tiffany drugs Jennifer and begins to possess her, but Chucky breaks in and kills Tiffany with an axe. Glen/Glenda becomes enraged by this, and attacks Chucky by cutting his limbs and his head. After suffering an emotional breakdown, Jennifer comforts her Glen.
Five years later, at Glen and Glenda's birthday party, a nanny quits her job because Jennifer's daughter, Glenda, stares at her with hatred and scares her. Jennifer lets her quit, only to kill her when she turns away, and Jennifer's eyes switch to Tiffany's, revealing that Tiffany was successful in possessing Jennifer's body. Glen has taken the body of the son, and receives a strange, unnamed present. When Glen opens the present, he sees that it's Chucky's right arm. Frightened, he wets his pants and turns around. Chucky's arm then grabs him, and he begins screaming as Chucky's laugh is heard, meaning he will return, one day.
Gallery
Trivia
- Chucky is based on Robert the Doll, a doll said to have attempted to kill its owner on several occasions. The doll is currently on display at Fort East Martello Museum.
- He is also based on the popular Cabbage Patch Kids toy line. Despite this, Chucky shares many similarities in looks with the "My Buddy" dolls - overalls, a striped shirt, and a very similar toy line name (My Buddy and Good Guy).
- Chucky shares a similarity to Dr. Mabuse: They both transfered their soul into a new body (Mabuse into a human one, Chucky into a doll) to continue their crimes