I remember watching this on TV when my family and I were on vacation on thanksgiving weekend 2 years ago. There wasn't anything else on (since it was about nine o'clock in the evening from where I was), so we flipped to this. I seriously thought that it would be something like that stupid rip-off "Minutemen", but I was completely wrong. It was actually good for a change. Erin Chambers did an amazing job as Frances, and so did Ty Hodges as Larry. Whenever he did something really outrageous I couldn't stop laughing (well, the puns got a little old throughout the movie). But the thing that really caught my eye was how well the Boogeyman's part was written. But I'm not going to spoil everything. Just go see it. You'll love it.
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julcltr20 March 2009
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SanteeFats7 October 2013I like this movie because it is simple, funny, and cute. The kids act very well, the script is well written, the special effects are good. Steve Valentine plays the boogeyman and does a good job. He gets a lot of supporting roles in quite a few movies and shows. I like him and would like to see him in a lead role at some time in the future. He is actually a fairly good magician. The pranks are pretty sophomoric but funny. Erin Chambers plays the lead, a sister framed for pranks that Valentine actually committed. She gets her brother to call up his not so imaginary friend to help her clear her of the charges. After some funny little scenes this gets done. All in all a nice movie with some good scenes.
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robertsays21829 November 2011I can see why this movie was pretty scary for the Disney channel. Those dolls are too creepy. The boogeyman is a bit silly but i can see how he's too scary for children. Trying to throw a kid off a cliff in a giant sock, jeez! I thought the photography is great as usual. Eric Ty Hodges is over the top, but thats because he's an imaginary friend. Erin Chambers was excellent. Her parents had a formulaic comic feel to them but i still like them anyway, you can't put a good Tobolowski down! The writing is awesome. The directing good. The imaginary world frigging' awesome. The visual effects are excellent for a Disney channel movie. the music excellent. But as a whole still an 8, hey nobody's perfect.
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Blaze-1724 October 2000This is actually a pretty good TV movie. It's both serious and comic. I saw this one night when I was bored and had nothing to do. At first, I thought it was just going to be stupid, immature movie, but I watched it all the way through, and I was pretty impressed. It's a good movie for the entire family.
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That_Beatles_Girl5 July 2005I have watched this movie repeatedly since it came out in 1999, so I can tell you a lot about it. The basic plot line was good, and the part where her imaginary friend is turning in to a bogeyman was a creative idea but carried out poorly. Too much of that gross-out humour in my opinion. It should have been scarier. Not too scary, because it is a kid's movie after all, but some of the costumes used were so fake now that I look at them And the bogeyjuice thing was kind of lame. But, it had a good message and a surprise ending, which is always good. I like how they brought in Francis' fear for being inadequate into a kids' movie. All in all it's an entertaining movie if you're babysitting and you don't want to watch Land Before Time.
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TheMysteriousReviewer19 October 2022Don't Look Under The Bed is rather a movie that intends to be a kid-friendly scary movie that can come out pretty fun. It's true we've seen Disney Channel do something like this before like Halloweentown, but this would have a different type of direction than that movie. Sure it can be rather silly with some of the revealing elements for the plot, but there have been ways to make the movie have a good amount of heart, some imaginative special effects, and great acting especially with the fact Ty Hodges would give a hilarious performance as Larry. This would be a movie kids will mostly have a good time with since they won't be old enough to watch horror movies. But if there is one thing besides Halloweentown you want to watch a spooky Disney Channel movie, this is for you. For a movie that's about boogie man and imaginary friends, it has some pretty good imagination.
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Eric 'Ty' Hodges II did a wonderful job portraying the part of an imaginary friend. His character Larry Houdini is a bundle of creativity that has you wanting to believe, once again, in childhood dreams. The eyecandy is worth it too. Eric Hodges is an extremely attractive young man whose career is going places. The movie in itself is fantastic. Its a little bit of Little Monsters tied with Halloween Town. It is a good movie to watch whenever you're down.
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ellaferrier-8569730 September 2021If I was a child when I watched this (buy the time I was old enough to watch Disney Channel they weren't playing this anymore because it was replaced with later content) I'm sure I would've been really scared of this movie and would add this to my halloween movie collection. However, being an adult, this movie didn't make me flinch once and was quite boring plot wise.
Mind you, it was the 90s so cinematography, especially for a kid's cable channel, is bound to be bad, but the plot wasn't horrible. I just wish it didn't take so long to move on with the story. There were definitely a lot of scenes that weren't needed and could've been shortened or completely scrapped.
In conclusion, one of the better Disney Channel Original Movies. -
chrishewittpiano28 December 2002This movie is not especially and intelligent movie with complex situations and in-depth background of the characters. It is more of a movie that deals with family situations and the doings of a teen-age girl. The plot of the story is actually quite silly, being about a boogie man, but there is a few parts in this movie that are all of funny and interesting. The only thing I find very awkward is how Erin Chambers looks to be the high schooler that she is supposed to play, but is really over 6 years older. She was twenty years old when she played the part of "Frances". So that just goes to show how weird Hollywood does things.
I think my favorite character in this would have to be Larry. The "Imaginary friend". He acts so unhuman like sometimes which is perfect for this type of kids show. This can be happily viewed by adults, but it would be much more enjoyed by even a child as young as four. The sets that they used in the movie must have taken them a long time to build at how elaborate they were. So since it was a sort of childish movie with not a lot of in depth proportion to it, I give it an 8.5 out of 10. But it was a pretty good film. -
RosanaBotafogo8 October 2022Very strange and apparently unexplained things start to take over the life of Frances Mccausland (14 years old), clocks go ahead, dogs on the roof, eggs rain, the water in the school pool turns to jelly, etc. And in all cases she is always the prime suspect. Everyone who knows her (and she too) begins to question her sanity, who seeks an answer to what has been happening. In fact, Frances told her little brother the "truth" about the existence of his imaginary friend, and every time an imaginary friend's "fantasy" is prematurely discredited, he becomes a bogeyman.
I expected more from the boogeyman and less from the best imaginable friend... "If a child stops believing in the imaginary friend too soon, he can become a boogeyman."... Even though it's a children's movie, the boogeyman could be more scary and having more appearances, I love bogeymen... A very cute children's movie... -
bkoganbing21 September 2015Erin Chambers and Ty Hodges star in this Disney feature film where young teen Chambers is haunted from her past by a childhood memory. Hodges is the boogeyman come to life.
According to Boogey legend an imaginary childhood friend should not be discarded so easily lest they become the feared boogeyman. So it was with Chambers's brother who lost his faith in the existence of imaginary friends during a serious illness. Now the friend has come to life and trying to reverse the curse.
Watching the film put me in mind of my niece when she was small. The elder of two sisters she had imaginary playmates, but she grew out of them after a fashion. Her younger sister never took up that particular fantasy though.
Chambers is way too old for the part she sure didn't look a convincing 14. That's the way it is, always casting people too old for teens in Hollywood. Still in her case she couldn't convince me she was a juvenile try as she may.
Don't Look Under The Bed is a charming fantasy which would have worked better with a real teen lead. -
rubyNrain170018 October 2007This is the BEST Disney channel movie you will ever see. In fact, this is the only Disney channel movie you should watch. Screw High School Musical. This movie has fantastic graphics, acting, it is just wonderful. Seriously, Disney channel should air this every Friday or Saturday night, because it is just an amazing movie. If you are ever lucky enough to catch this movie on t.v. don NOT just flip past it and go to something you think is better because there is a 94 percent chance it isn't. This movie is the PERFECT Halloween film. It has ever vital ingredient to entertain you for more than the hour and a half it is. Anyway, watch Don't Look Under the Bed, C'est super!
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jsmitty-050288 February 2020TY Hodges made this movie, I remember watching this movie at 10 and loving his characters antics.
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alexanderjgt19 October 2019I used to see this movie every year as a child and I would be scared for weeks. I saw it now as an adult and my memory was near perfect of it. Probably one of the best things Disney channel has ever made. Probably the worst thing is the dated visual effects.
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DawgShark29 November 2002Although this movie seems strange to me at times, it's still all good stuff. Kids like it a lot, and it seems to be one of the better original movies from Disney. Its fun and a good ride, and my sister did a good job as the logical thinking, Frances. Ty did a good job too. Hope I get to talk to him again. Over all though, I liked this movie, you should see it sometime.
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cricketbat8 November 2020I had a hard time with Don't Look Under the Bed. I know that this made-for-TV movie is supposed to be for children, but I don't know if my kids even liked it. It's just so goofy and drawn-out and it doesn't make a lot of sense. Plus, while the makeup on the Boogeyman looks good, the rest of the visual effects are really dated. I don't think this will become a Halloween season regular in our home.
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SusieSalmonLikeTheFish4 July 2014I despise Disney stuff. I think it is way too happy and commercialized. But this movie was an exception.
Francis is a high school girl whose little brother Darwin has just recovered from leukemia, which has left the whole family in fear, wondering if he'll be alright of if he'll ever get sick again. When bizarre things begin to happen at the high school and then all over town like gelatin being dumped in the school swimming pool and a teacher's car being egged, no one knows what to think. Soon the suspicion is aimed towards Francis and she blames a strange boy, Larry, who tells her he is an imaginary friend. Trying to prove he exists, she only makes a fool of herself in front of her peers and blames him for the strange events in town. He tells her it's not him, but the bogeyman, and she just remains skeptical. It isn't long before, as in most cases with imaginary friends, her parents decide she needs professional help, but she has more on her mind to worry about. As it turns out, Larry is Darwin's imaginary friend, and Francis convinced Darwin to stop believing in him, and any imaginary friend with a creator who drives them away becomes a bogeyman. Also, Francis drove away her own imaginary friend, Zoe, who is a British girl with blonde hair and a pink dress, now the bogeyman responsible for attacking the town as revenge against Francis for abandoning her.
This movie proves that you are never too old to have imaginary friends, and that to be smart and logical you don't have to stop being creative. It was sort of a combination of Drop Dead Fred and the Secret World of Alex Mack, and it was comedic without being crude or vulgar. My only issue with it is the common stereotype that if you aren't a little kid but still have an imaginary friend, you could be crazy. That is an outdated and unfair assumption to make, whether its a movie or not. Also the "fighting the bogeyman" scene towards the end stretched out a bit too long, it became annoying. In the end Francis learns that nothing, no one, has the right to take away your imaginary friend, and that her brother's cancer and school didn't have to stop her from being imaginative, and you can still be grown-up and have pretend friends. There are very sad and memorable parts, in the end Francis even has a romantic interest in Larry and when she reunites with Zoe it is an amazing scene. The acting was pretty good, especially the role of Larry. Definitely worth watching. -
calisparkz211 October 2021This movie could've been way better, Chambers does her best to save this but Hodges just makes it completely unwatchable!
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goolizap2 November 2015I've detailed in previous posts my feelings about the current state of children's television. And while the Disney Channel is the main culprit, I do long for 1999 again when Disney Channel Original Movies (DCOMs) were at their peak. Sure, they were cheesy and full of head-scratching character decisions, but we loved them anyway because the protagonists were just like us.
Don't Look Under the Bed follows Frances (Erin Chambers), a teenage girl living in a small town where, one day, strange things start happening. Dogs are on the roof, the high school's pool is filled with gelatin, and the letter "B" is spray painted all over town. Everyone is convinced that it's Frances who's pulling these pranks, but she befriends Larry Houdini (Ty Hodges)--an imaginary person who only she can see--who informs her that the Boogeyman is framing her. So she tries to figure out why he seems to have a bone to pick with her.
The film is full of twists and has some fun scenes that actually hold up fairly well considering the age of the movie and the target demographic.
Not that it's not without a little schmaltz, but believe it or not, compared to its counterparts, Don't Look Under the Bed isn't terribly cloying at all--possibly due to the fact that it's directed by Kenneth Johnson--the creator of The Bionic Woman and The Incredible Hulk TV series. Whatever the reason, if you saw this movie as a child, chances are it stuck with you.
It's Disney Channel's only PG-rated DCOM--and for a good reason. The scenes with the Boogeyman are seriously creepy. They still haunt me to this day. However, they never make the film lose its youthful essence. Rather, it may be more appealing since it fails to insult its young audience. There's a good enough balance between the macabre and the jovial to maintain its fun nature.
The issues it deals with may not be the deepest, but it's no Dude, Where's My Car either. The themes include deep-rooted denial and growing up too fast. It gets its point across without feeling overly preachy. And even older audiences will find the intrinsic emotions relatable and may cause them to conjure up fond memories of their own childhood--much in a Toy Story type of way.
In the last 15 minutes, the characters venture into Boogeyland, which is a real highlight to this movie. The world that the filmmakers create is so spooky and detailed that we feel like we're there too. We wait throughout the whole story to find out where the Boogeyman goes when he's not creating chaos, and the answer definitely lives up to our expectations.
The film's biggest pitfall is its lead actress. She's alright when she's just conversing with other characters, but as soon as she shows any kind of grand emotion, her conviction is nowhere to be found.
But the plot holes are scarce and mostly towards the beginning, so we grant it forgiveness during its final act--which may the single greatest ending to any DCOM. In Don't Look Under the Bed the characters have a lot to lose, and while so many others of its kind take the easy way out, this one really works for it.
Twizard Rating: 84 -
mzzmllzz14 November 2006I am a modern day grandmother and I watched "Don't Look Under the Bed", on Disney Channel during Halloween month. My grandkids ages 5, 7 and 9 Loved the movie and wanted to see it again but it did not show twice. I can say that we laughed through the whole movie! Especially, the imaginary friend! Hilarious! We're dying to buy/rent this movie so we can see it with my other 3 grands! The acting was great, the concept of the movie was clever and the special effects kept our eyes glued to the screen. I read a prior review that kinda downplayed the movie and I give it 8 stars and 2 thumbs up! The movie was magical and action packed..lots of fantasy and stuff that kids may believe in but adults should enjoy this one WITH the kids!.
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vickytammy1 November 2001A very cute little movie I really liked it, It had comedy and it not one of those stupid little movies that was boring. I highly recommend it for children between the ages of 8-14. And I know this has nothing to do with it, But I love Billy Gilman!
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brandi-ferrell14 November 2022I'm trying to watch all the old Disney channel original movies in order and this was up next. I almost decided to skip it because I really didn't think I'd enjoy watching it but I decided to give it a shot anyway. I will say it was not as bad as I thought it would be most of the time, but it was still pretty bad. The whole idea of the boogeyman was just kind of weird and over-the-top with silliness. I did enjoy watching the relationships unfold between Francis and Larry, and between Francis and her little brother, but that was about it. It's a simple story for the most part, and it had a few interesting surprises and meaningful dialogue between siblings. I would definitely not be interested in watching it again and I struggle between giving it a 4 or a 5, but here we are .
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koltonbrett20 January 2022There is someone (or something) pulling pranks in the neighborhood and making life complicated for a young girl who is able to see someone who no one else can see. This prankster may be more terrifying than she thought.
Many young children grow up with a fear of the boogeyman hiding under their bed. For many of these children, they have this movie to thank for that. This is the scariest of all the DCOMs. When I was a young child, I came across this movie and managed to get through about 5 minutes before having to change the channel. However, the damage was done. It terrified me and is a memory I can vividly still see in my mind. It goes without saying, I was excited to finally watch this movie that scared me so much as a child, and I really enjoyed it. There is a lot of great humor. Ty Hodges is fantastic. He's entertaining and funny throughout. There's a really interesting story here about imaginary friends and boogeymen and how it's all connected. -
lisafordeay23 October 2021Don't Look Under The Bed is a 1999 DCOM fantasy horror starring Erin Chambers,Ty Hodges,Stephen Chobosky and Stephen Valentine. A young woman gets help from her imaginary childhood friend from her childhood Larry to defeat the boogeyman. But when Larry slowly transforms into a boogeyman,will the young girl save her imaginary friend?
This film was barely not showing on the Disney Channel due to the dark themes and the scary scenes.
Silly but fun.