Taglines: He’s armed… He’s adorable… And he’s out of school for the entire summer.
Dennis the Menace movie storyline. Dennis Mitchell is a five-year-old boy who lives with his parents Henry and Alice, and is the bane of next door neighbor George Wilson’s existence. Because of his trouble-making but unintentional behavior, his parents often struggle to find suitable babysitters to deal with him.
On one night, they manage to get one named Polly and her boyfriend Mickey to babysit him, but repeated doorbell pranks from him push the two too far (not knowing he is behind this), and they end up pulling a prank on George when he rings the doorbell to scold Dennis after finding paint and wood in his food in an earlier incident. While all of this and the rest of the events in town go on, a burglar named Switchblade Sam (said name not mentioned in the film, only in the end credits) arrives in town and begins robbing houses, as well as striking fear into the children that he meets.
Dennis’ parents are both called away on business trips at the same time, and when everyone they know refuses to look after him, they turn to George and his wife Martha (who loves Dennis and sees him as a surrogate grandson) to look after him. George is further irritated by him spilling bath water on the bathroom floor, swapping chemicals, and bringing his pet dog, Ruff, into the house for a while.
All of this is happening around the time the Summer Floraganza, a long-awaited event, is scheduled to happen. As a longtime member of the local garden club, George is chosen to host it. He is excited to have this honor, as he has been growing and nurturing a rare plant for forty years. After growing for the said length of time, its flower finally blooms, only to die several seconds later.
Dennis the Menace (released in the United Kingdom as Dennis to avoid confusion with an identically named comic strip character) is a 1993 American family comedy film based on the Hank Ketcham comic strip of the same name. It was directed by Nick Castle and written and coproduced by John Hughes, and distributed by Warner Bros. under their Family Entertainment label.
It concerns the misadventures of a mischievous child (Mason Gamble) who wreaks havoc on his next door neighbor, George Wilson (Walter Matthau), usually hangs out with his friends, Joey McDonald (Kellen Hathaway) and Margaret Wade (Amy Sakasitz), and is followed everywhere by his dog, Ruff. It also features a cameo appearance by Jeannie Russell, who played Margaret on the original 1959 TV series.
Released on June 25, 1993, the film was a commercial success, grossing $117.2 million on a $35 million budget despite receiving negative reviews from critics. A direct-to-video sequel called Dennis the Menace Strikes Again was later released in 1998 without the cast from this film. A second one called A Dennis the Menace Christmas was released in 2007 with a different cast from both this film and the second one.
Dennis the Menace (1993)
Directed by: Nick Castle
Starring: Walter Matthau, Mason Gamble, Joan Plowright, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Robert Stanton, Natasha Lyonne, Amy Sakasitz, Kellen Hathaway, Melinda Mullins
Screenplay by: John Hughes
Production Design by: James D. Bissell
Cinematography by: Thomas E. Ackerman
Film Editing by: Alan Heim
Costume Design by: Bridget Kelly, Ann Roth
Set Decoration by: Eve Cauley
Art Direction by: Michael Baugh, Steven Wolff
Music by: Jerry Goldsmith
MPAA Rating: PG for comedic mischief.
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: June 25, 1993
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