About the film
- Directed by
- Rod Amateau
- Released
- August 22, 1987
- Certification
- PG
- Country
- United States of America
- Starring
- Anthony Newley, Mackenzie Astin, Katie Barberi, Phil Fondacaro, Ron MacLachlan
More credits
- Language
- English
- Origin
- US
- Studios
- Topps Chewing Gum, Atlantic Entertainment Group
- Written by
- Rod Amateau, Linda Palmer
- Produced by
- Rod Amateau, Thomas Coleman, Michael Rosenblatt
- Cinematography
- Harvey Genkins
- Music
- Michael Lloyd
- Also starring
- J.P. Amateau, Marjory Graue, Debbie Lee Carrington, Kevin Thompson, Bobby Bell
- Budget
- $1,000,000
- Box office
- $1,576,615
He was handed a minimal budget and the task of building seven animatronic mutant children who had to emote while vomiting, urinating, and breaking into musical numbers about being yourself.
THE GARBAGE PAIL KIDS MOVIE (1987) was directed by Rod Amateau, a television veteran whose credits stretched back to The Burns and Allen Show.
The animatronics were built by MacKinnon and Saunders, who would later go on to far more dignified work on Tim Burton's Corpse Bride and Mars Attacks!
The plot involves a bullied teenager, a magic garbage can, an antique shop, and a fashion designer villain who wants to skin the Kids for their hides. There is a song called "We Can Do Anything" performed in a nightclub. There is a sequence in a State Home for the Ugly. There is a character named Valerie Vomit.
The film was marketed to children. It was rated PG. Parents who took their kids were, by most accounts, horrified.
Topps had produced thirteen episodes of a Saturday morning cartoon as a tie-in. Parent advocacy groups pressured CBS into cancelling it before it even aired.
The film was pulled from theaters quickly and savaged by critics. Siskel and Ebert devoted an entire segment of their show to it, with Ebert calling it one of the worst films he had ever seen.
How to see The Garbage Pail Kids Movie (1987)
Streaming
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Source: JustWatch
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This movie was great
There are 13 episodes of this somewhere?!
Justin McClain https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2n8bmHi-YTs&list=PL_-5h0wTnyOBQ2GCc3Gyr6EpPu3z2JSQS
Please have this available to watch. My child would love to see this.
I want a sequel!!!!
It was gross but definitely memorable.
It was a terrible movie, but it didnt actually contain anything you’d call horrible now.
That tv show is lost or exist somewhere?
I had a bootleg DVD of this in late 90’s and it was awful but, funny because it was so awful.
Have it on Betamax, VHS and dvd/Blu-ray combo.
It was honestly terrible. I remember being so excited when my parents rented it for me as a kid but it was so bad I lost interest. But now as I’ve gotten much older it’s reached the nostalgia phase and I have it simply for that. I think they should try to do it again but make it more in the Shrek style with some pop culture references.
Love this cheesey film classic
Own the DVD
Ran to Amazon and found the unreleased show on DVD!!! https://amzn.to/4u321NO
It was one of my favorite movies as a kid.
The animatronics were built by John Carl Beuchler and his crew. Mechanical ace John Criswell mechanized them.
It’s one of my guilty pleasures along with the original Masters of the universe and the original Mario Brothers movie and the only double dragon movie LOL
Stephanie Brinson
This movie is something else
Maggie Giordano
Angelica Medina
Orlando Medina
Creepy
My parents bought me the movie when I was around 8. I wanted to be a fashion designer so tangerine was cool
That’s crazy, this is my favorite movie
Nakia Reynoso I want to watch this again!
Can anyone lend me their copy? Lol