“Little Monsters” is the story of Brian (Fred Savage), a sixth-grader who’s recently moved to a new town and made friends with Maurice (Howie Mandel) — the monster who lives under Brian’s bed! Maurice introduces Brian to the world of monsters, where junk food rules, adults aren’t allowed, and the fun and games never end. But when Brian’s brother is kidnapped, it’s time for Brian to get serious and fight the monsters on their turf in this zany cult favorite.
Brian (Fred Savage) is a bullied kid at school who finds out that monsters are, in fact, real and manages to capture one. Maurice (Howie Mandel), a blue-skinned monster grows affectionate towards Brain and takes him to meet other monsters. They cause mischief together, especially for the other kids at Brian’s school. But once Brian’s little brother is kidnapped by monsters, it is up to Brian and his friends to rescue him.
I am not a huge fan of ’80s kids movies. The films that my parents loved as kids, just do not hold up for me. In fact, I hate “The Goonies” mostly due to how irritating its characters are, and unfortunately, it’s the same situation in “Little Monsters.” But while “The Goonies” uses a scavenger hunt as its plot, the “Little Monsters” plot is just full of lame pranks.
Brian is a bratty kid who acts out because his parents do not get along. However, he does not seem to have any problem with that, unlike his little brother, who thinks their fighting is his fault while the monster, Maurice, is incredibly annoying. He is supposed to be the comedic relief character in the film but often resorts to childish humor and uninventive one-liners. I did not even realize that Howie Mandel played Maurice in this film until I looked up the cast list. And while I usually enjoy young Fred Savage, it feels his heart was not fully into this picture either as his performance lacked its usual charisma.
Maurice and Brian did have a nice camaraderie on screen together. Their friendship felt authentic enough, though Maurice was not a good influence for Brian at first. Brian’s little brother is played by his real-life brother, Ben Savage, so if you are a fan of either of them, you get to see them together in this film.
I would say that Maurice is reminiscent of the character Beetlejuice, but not quite as scummy. Mandel is over the top in his performance here and it can be hard to swallow at times, especially since Savage is a calm kid and not a hyperactive one. He is a monster, but he lacks the usual creepiness and horror that are associated with them. The monsters did have good makeup and costuming in the film, but I never found them to be threatening or scary. You also never really know what their purpose is, Maurice seems to be one of the only pranksters in the monster world. I would guess that the other monsters are there to scare kids, but you do not see them do that until they kidnap Brian’s brother.
Overall, “Little Monsters” is a bore. Watching a kid and a blue monster do childish pranks together is not a very investing film for me. I can see how kids could enjoy this movie but for the older crowd, it lacks the charm that films like “Hocus Pocus” or “Beetlejuice” have. If you are looking for a Halloween movie to watch this month, you are better off checking out something else. There are no real scares in the film, and the pranking done in the film is mild at best.
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