Little Monsters: Kleine Monster

An astounding film like this should be in the top fantasy and family lists, and I'm shocked that it isn't. I first saw it actually about a year ago, but completely forgot about it after that until about a month ago. Since then I've probably watched it 7 or 8 times. It just plunges you into believing in magic. Kids movies are NOT made like this today...and I wasn't even alive in the 80's. But this movie has more substance, more of a story and reason to being made. It starts off showing what kind of life Brian has, but quickly picks up when Maurice enters the scene. And it all turns to fun and games. But just as quickly it turns serious, but I won't give that away. The sets are amazing, the acting is great, the costumes are fun and wild looking. The swearing caught me off guard, but it's nothing kids haven't heard already. Either this movie was rated by another system or the MPAA just overlooked it since it did have such a small release...sadly. This film has to be the most underrated film I have ever wathced...It has quickly become one of my favorites and probably will always be...

If you're a fan of quality movies then watch this one because it will blow you away.

Howie mandell plays a great job as maurice, the boogyman that lives under brians bed. His wacky and fun and really shows off his acting talents here. His makeup along with the design of the rest of the monsters is fun also. We also have Danial stern as brians father, who was fun but wish we saw more of him. The rest of the cast were good and this movie is just a big thrill ride. That is untill brians fun becomes a nightmare but even that is entertaining but also scary at the same time. Overall a good movie but not intended as a family viewing experiance.

Although I did enjoy this movie (and gave it a 7), I found the PG rating a major misstep by the MPAA. Cuss words, adult situations, more than cartoonish violence .. not that the movie is lessened because of it .. but at the beginning of the video I rented, there was an add for kids to call a 1-900 number and try to win prizes related to to the show - but this movie is in no way made with kids in mind. Howie Mandel hams it up, and an early movie appearance by Frank Whaley is five minutes of fabulous.

Little Monsters is a fun film for kids. Brian Stevenson (Fred Savage) seems to be getting blamed for everything these days. Leaving his bike out behind his dad's car. Making a mess out of the ice cream. But Brian insists that it isn't his fault.

One night, Brian discovers the cause to all his problems is a monster named Maurice (Howie Mandell), and shows Brian that under every kids bed, is the entrance to the underworld of childish monsters. And for Brian, it's the coolest thing and an excellent escape from his problems in the real world. It's great. There's no adult supervision. They can do whatever they want, whenever. And, the funniest part, is that Brian gets to join Maurice creating monster mischief to get little kids in trouble (peanut butter on the phone, seran wrap on the toilet seat, etc). It's a whole lot of fun for kids tired of rules.

But the monster life isn't all the treat it's cracked up to be. In the first place, there's an ugly looking fat monster who torments the monster kids that don't obey him. Maurice and his new friends have to destroy the evil monsters who have kidnapped Brian's little brother, Eric (played by Fred Savage's brother, Ben). And, Brian, Maurice, and some of their friends, have to get Eric back before they get stuck in the monster world forever. If they do, they'll turn into monsters too.

This is a great, creative kids movie, exploring the idea of monster life under the bed long before Monster's Inc. I still enjoy the sequence of Brian setting up his room to trap the monster and also the sequence where Brian and Maurice go around the neighboorhood to cause mischief and get the kids in trouble. And, despite it's age, I don't even think it's a dated adventure movie. Unfortuantely, it was also one of those movies where young Ben Savage was still the cute little kid that made you ignore the fact that he couldn't act.

Little Monsters will always be an absolute classic from my childhood. It's a movie I've seen many times, and it's just as entertaining now as it was then. The comedy is perfect for all ages, and it's the kind of movie you'll want to see more than once.

The story about two complete opposites becoming best friends wasn't exactly original, but throwing in the monster element, and the fantasy underworld setting definitely made it feel original. The characters/monsters were very creative along with the overall concept for the film, and the cast portrayed those characters great.

This is a great movie that I would recommend to anyone who hasn't seen it.