Don't Look Under the Bed
A Disney Channel film that scared children and sparked controversy.
Last updated
The film scared children and parents so much that some parents asked Disney to stop airing it.[1] The Disney Channel Original Movie Don't Look Under the Bed first aired on October 9, 1999.[2] Because of its frightening content, this film was the second DCOM to be assigned a TV-PG rating.[2]
Making and release
Johnson suggested making the character more Victorian and giving him limerick-like dialogue to lighten the tone.[3] Eric "Ty" Hodges II, a black actor, portrayed Larry, a role not written as black in the script.[3] Johnson fought for the kiss scene, and Disney ultimately allowed it to remain exactly as he intended.[3] The original script ended with Frances and Larry using the tetra-fuse to defeat the Boogeyman, but Johnson changed the ending so Frances defeated him herself.[3]
Disney Channel ceased annual rebroadcasts of the film during October after 2006 due to these complaints.[4] Utah served as the filming location in 1999; the Boogeyman's realm was constructed on a specially designed set in Salt Lake City, while the school sequences were filmed at Ogden High School.[5] Director Kenneth Johnson noted that early concept art made the Boogeyman appear more frightening, describing the initial version as "really dark and quills sticking out."[3] Johnson stated that Disney expressed unease about "having a black boy kiss a white girl" in the movie's final scene.[3]
Johnson aimed for the finale to mirror the moment in Walt Disney's Dumbo (1941) where the main character's bravery originates internally.[3]
What the cited sources add
Page noted the film uses the actual Boogeyman as antagonist rather than friendly monsters, featuring jump scares, creepy dolls, and a lesson about abandoned imaginary friends.[6] Complex's 2012 list of the top 25 DCOMs put the film at number 19.[7] Entertainment Weekly's May 2016 ranking of the 30 best DCOMs placed it at number 27.[7] Streaming access to the film is currently available on Disney+.[4]
References
- Topel, "31 Classic Halloween TV Specials", Rotten Tomatoes, October 16, 2018. facts only, no text reused. editorial.rottentomatoes.com
- Wikipedia, "Don't Look Under the Bed" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Yourgrau, "Bitten by the Occasional Acting Bug", The New York Times, October 3, 1999; Aquino, "The 25 Best Disney Channel Original Movies", December 6, 2012; Highfill, "4 things you never knew about 'Don't Look Under the Bed,' the scariest kids' TV movie ever", October 17, 2017 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Don't Look Under the Bed" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Highfill, "4 things you never knew about 'Don't Look Under the Bed,' the scariest kids' TV movie ever", October 17, 2017 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Don't Look Under the Bed" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Highfill, "4 things you never knew about 'Don't Look Under the Bed,' the scariest kids' TV movie ever", October 17, 2017; Topel, "31 Classic Halloween TV Specials", Rotten Tomatoes, October 16, 2018 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Don't Look Under the Bed" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Vice, "Making of feature films in Utah at all-time high", Deseret News, July 16, 1999; Yourgrau, "Bitten by the Occasional Acting Bug", The New York Times, October 3, 1999 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Page, "Every Disney Channel Original Movie, Ranked", Collider, May 26, 2016. facts only, no text reused. collider.com
- Wikipedia, "Don't Look Under the Bed" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Aquino, "The 25 Best Disney Channel Original Movies", December 6, 2012; Page, "Every Disney Channel Original Movie, Ranked", Collider, May 26, 2016; "30 Disney Channel Original Movies, Ranked", May 27, 2016 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Don't Look Under the Bed (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Children's horror films
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Don't Look Under the Bed (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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