Changes: Ernest Scared Stupid

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Ernest Scared Stupid is a 1991 American fantasy horror comedy film directed by John R. Cherry III starring Jim Varney. It is the fifth film to feature the character Ernest P. Worrell. It has him accidentally unleashing an army of trolls upon a small town on Halloween and the plot involves him joining a few children in fighting back. It was shot in Nashville, Tennessee like its predecessors Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam, Ernest Goes to Camp, Ernest Saves Christmas, and Ernest Goes to Jail.

Due to its modest gross of $14,143,280 at the U.S. box office,^[2] it was the final Ernest film to be released under the Disney label Touchstone Pictures. All future ones were independently produced, and following the financial failure of the theatrical release Ernest Rides Again, they shifted to a straight-to-video market.

Its opening credits feature a montage of clips from various horror and science fiction films. It is highly likely that they were used more for their public domain status (making them free for the filmmakers to use) rather than their fame. Ones seen in the credits include Nosferatu (1922), White Zombie (1932), Phantom from Space (1953), The Brain from Planet Arous (1957), The Screaming Skull (1958), Missile to the Moon (1958), The Hideous Sun Demon (1959), The Giant Gila Monster (1959), The Killer Shrews (1959), Battle Beyond the Sun (1959), and The Little Shop of Horrors (1960).

Plot

Trantor, a demonic troll who turns children into wooden dolls to feast upon their energy, is captured by townspeople of Briarville and sealed under a giant oak tree in the 19th Century. One of the village elders, a direct ancestor of Ernest named Phineas Worrell, establishes the seal under the condition that Trantor can only be released on the night before Halloween and by the hands of a Worrell.

One hundred years later, Elizabeth narrates the result about Briarville's legend of Trantor and how descendants of Phineas Worrell (especially Ernest) will not be very smart whatsoever for an annual classroom report at school. Ernest, who works as a garbage collector, helps her, Kenny Binder, and Joey build a tree house on the exact branches that grow above Trantor. Old Lady Hackmore, a local superstitious hermit, finds them building it after Mike and Matt Murdock bullied Kenny by ruining his cardboard haunted house. Ernest tries to talk to her and is heard the story of Trantor. Skeptical, he tells the story to the kids. Ernest inadvertently releases him. He frightens Ernest and then goes after the children of Briarville. Joey is going home from the tree house and falls into a muddy hole. While trying to get out, he reaches his hand and Trantor grabs it. He first disguises his voice as Ernest's, and then transforms Joey into his first wooden doll.

Ernest attempts to mount a defense against Trantor, but the townspeople do not believe his story and refuse to provide assistance, but Tom and Bobby Tulip sell Ernest phony troll weapons. Ernest finds Ms. Hackmore and they try to figure out how to destroy Trantor. Kenny and Elizabeth come trying to find Ernest. They are followed by Trantor. As he tries to get them, he finds a boy on a skateboard. He grabs him and carries him over his shoulder to the tree house. He soon has his second victim.

Ernest and Kenny form a troll-fighting squad and set up traps around the neighborhood. At home, Elizabeth is sitting in bed and hears something from underneath. She looks and only finds a stuffed bear. She turns around to find Trantor sitting next to her. She becomes his third victim, meaning he only needs two more to unleash his army. While Kenny and his friend, Gregg, (who is dressed as a Native American) are walking, Trantor uses Elizabeth's voice to lure Kenny away, and then takes Gregg as his fourth victim.

Trantor later causes a disturbance at the school Halloween bash which culminates in a fight with Ernest. Mysteriously, he flees from the school after Ernest is covered in frozen yogurt. The townspeople, having seen Trantor with their own eyes, go to the tree house and attempt to defeat him. At the same time, several local children led by Kenny determine that he can be destroyed by being exposed to milk. They steal some from a convenience store and head to the tree house on their bikes.

Trantor reaches the tree house first, and having acquired the necessary number of dolls, begins to raise a troll army. The townspeople arrive and battle the now numerous trolls but are quickly overwhelmed. The children appear and begin attacking them with milk. Meanwhile, Trantor receives greater powers and becomes impervious to milk. The trolls is soon defeated, and everyone believes that they have won. However, Trantor appears and quickly transforms Kenny into his fifth victim.

Ernest initially believes that he can defeat Trantor with milk, but soon realizes that it was only effective against the other trolls because it symbolizes a mother's love for her child, and that the only way Trantor can be defeated is through love. He embraces him and begins dancing, overwhelming him with love and affection. He is destroyed, Old Lady Hackmore reunites with her family (Trantor's original four victims) including her sister and the dolls transform back into children (as does Ernest's dog, Rimshot).

Cast

Jim Varney as Ernest P. Worrell, Phineas Worrell, Bunny Worrell, Auntie Nelda, and others
Eartha Kitt as Francis "Old Lady" Hackmore
Austin Nagler as Kenny Binder
Shay Astar as Elizabeth
John Cadenhead as Tom Tulip
Bill Byrge as Bobby Tulip
Richard Woolf as Matt Murdock
Nick Victory as Mike Murdock
Alec Klapper as Joey
Steven Moriyon as Gregg
Jonas Moscartolo as Trantor
- Ernie Fosselius as the voice of Trantor
Daniel Butler as Cliff Binder
Esther Huston as Amanda Binder
Larry Black as Mayor Murdock
Denice Hicks as Elizabeth's mother

Reception

The film received mixed to generally negative reception in theaters.^[3] The film debuted at No. 4 at the box office.^[4]

DVD availability

The film had its first DVD release from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on September 3, 2002. Mill Creek Entertainment released it on DVD on January 18, 2011 as part of the Ernest Triple Feature along with Ernest Goes to Camp and Ernest Goes to Jail. Four months later, Mill Creek Entertainment re-released it as an individual one.

References

↑ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=ernestscaredstupid.htm
↑ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/franchises/chart/?id=ernest.htm
↑ "'Eartha Kitt Livens Up 'Ernest'", Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 6 October 2010.
↑ "House Party 2` Tops At Box Office", Chicago Tribune. Retrieved on 12 November 2010.

External links

Template:IMDb title
Ernest Scared Stupid at Box Office Mojo
Ernest Scared Stupid at Rotten Tomatoes

This page uses content from the English Wikipedia page Ernest Scared Stupid. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. Text from Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply.

[1] ttp://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=ernestscaredstupid.htm

[2] ttp://www.boxofficemojo.com/franchises/chart/?id=ernest.htm

[3] "'Eartha Kitt Livens Up 'Ernest'", Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 6 October 2010.

[4] "House Party 2` Tops At Box Office", Chicago Tribune. Retrieved on 12 November 2010.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 | music = Bruce Arntson<br>Kirby Shelstad
 | cinematography = Hanania Baer
-| editing = Craig Bassett
+| editor = Craig Bassett
 | studio = [[Touchstone Pictures]]<br />Emshell Producers
 | distributor = [[Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures|Buena Vista Pictures]]
-| released = [[October 11]], [[1991]] (Theatrical)
+| release = [[October 11]], [[1991]] (Theatrical)
 | time = 91 minutes
 | country = United States
@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 | budget =
 | gross =  $14,143,280<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=ernestscaredstupid.htm</ref>
+}}'''''Ernest Scared Stupid''''' is a [[1991]] American fantasy horror comedy film directed by John R. Cherry III starring [[Jim Varney]]. It is the fifth film to feature the character [[Ernest P. Worrell]]. It has him accidentally unleashing an army of trolls upon a small town on Halloween and the plot involves him joining a few children in fighting back. It was shot in Nashville, [[Tennessee]] like its predecessors ''Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam'', ''[[Ernest Goes to Camp]]'', ''[[Ernest Saves Christmas]]'', and ''[[Ernest Goes to Jail]]''.
-}}
-'''''Ernest Scared Stupid''''' is a [[1991]] American fantasy horror comedy film directed by John R. Cherry III and starring the late [[Jim Varney]]. It is the fifth film to feature the character [[Ernest P. Worrell]]. It has him accidentally unleashing an army of trolls upon a small town on Halloween and the plot involves him joining a few children in fighting back. It was shot in Nashville, [[Tennessee]] like its predecessors ''Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam'', ''[[Ernest Goes to Camp]]'', ''[[Ernest Saves Christmas]]'', and ''[[Ernest Goes to Jail]]''.
-Due to its modest gross of $14,143,280 at the U.S. box office,<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/franchises/chart/?id=ernest.htm</ref> it was the final Ernest film to be released under the [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]] label [[Touchstone Pictures]]. All future Ernest films were independently produced, and following the financial failure of the theatrical release ''Ernest Rides Again'', the Ernest films shifted to a straight-to-video market.
+Due to its modest gross of $14,143,280 at the U.S. box office,<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/franchises/chart/?id=ernest.htm</ref> it was the final Ernest film to be released under the [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]] label [[Touchstone Pictures]]. All future ones were independently produced, and following the financial failure of the theatrical release ''Ernest Rides Again'', they shifted to a straight-to-video market.
 Its opening credits feature a montage of clips from various horror and science fiction films. It is highly likely that they were used more for their public domain status (making them free for the filmmakers to use) rather than their fame. Ones seen in the credits include ''Nosferatu'' ([[1922]]), ''White Zombie'' ([[1932]]), ''Phantom from Space'' ([[1953]]), ''The Brain from Planet Arous'' ([[1957]]), ''The Screaming Skull'' ([[1958]]), ''Missile to the Moon'' (1958), ''The Hideous Sun Demon'' ([[1959]]), ''The Giant Gila Monster'' (1959), ''The Killer Shrews'' (1959), ''Battle Beyond the Sun'' (1959), and ''The Little Shop of Horrors'' ([[1960]]).
 ==Plot==
-Trantor - a demonic troll who turns children into wooden dolls to feast upon their energy - is captured by the 19th century townsfolk of [[Briarville]], Missouri and sealed under a giant oak tree. One of the village elders, an ancestor of Ernest, establishes the seal under the condition that Trantor can only be released on the night before Halloween and by the hands of a Worrell.
+[[Trantor]], a demonic troll who turns children into wooden dolls to feast upon their energy, is captured by townspeople of [[Briarville]] and sealed under a giant oak tree in the 19th Century. One of the village elders, a direct ancestor of Ernest named [[Phineas Worrell]], establishes the seal under the condition that Trantor can only be released on the night before Halloween and by the hands of a Worrell.
-In the present day, Ernest and a few of his middle school friends are meeting in a treehouse on the exact branches that grow above the dormant creature. Old Lady Hackmore, a local superstitious hermit, finds Ernest and the children building the treehouse after Mayor Murdock's two sons bullied Kenny, Elizabeth and Joey by ruining Kenny's cardboard haunted house. Ernest tries to talk to her and is heard the story of Trantor. Skeptical, Ernest tells the story to the kids. Ernest inadvertently releases the troll. Trantor frightens Ernest and then goes after the children of Briarville. One of the kids, Joey, is going home from the treehouse and falls into a muddy hole. While trying to get out, Joey reaches his hand and Trantor grabs it. Trantor first disguises his voice as Ernest's, then transforms Joey into his first wooden doll.
+One hundred years later, [[Elizabeth (Ernest Scared Stupid)|Elizabeth]] narrates the result about Briarville's legend of Trantor and how descendants of Phineas Worrell (especially Ernest) will not be very smart whatsoever for an annual classroom report at school. Ernest, who works as a garbage collector, helps her, [[Kenny Binder]], and [[Joey (Ernest Scared Stupid)|Joey]] build a tree house on the exact branches that grow above Trantor. [[Francis Hackmore|Old Lady Hackmore]], a local superstitious hermit, finds them building it after [[Mike Murdock|Mike]] and [[Matt Murdock]] bullied Kenny by ruining his cardboard haunted house. Ernest tries to talk to her and is heard the story of Trantor. Skeptical, he tells the story to the kids. Ernest inadvertently releases him. He frightens Ernest and then goes after the children of Briarville. Joey is going home from the tree house and falls into a muddy hole. While trying to get out, he reaches his hand and Trantor grabs it. He first disguises his voice as Ernest's, and then transforms Joey into his first wooden doll.
-Ernest attempts to mount a defense against Trantor, but the townspeople do not believe his story and refuse to provide assistance, but Tom and Bobby Tulip sell Ernest phony troll weapons. Ernest finds Ms. Hackmore and they try to figure out how to destroy Trantor. Two of the kids that were at the treehouse the previous night, Kenny and Elizabeth, come trying to find Ernest. Kenny and Elizabeth are followed by Trantor. As Trantor tries to get the two, he finds a boy on a skateboard. Trantor grabs the boy and carries him over the shoulder to the treehouse. He soon has his second victim.
+Ernest attempts to mount a defense against Trantor, but the townspeople do not believe his story and refuse to provide assistance, but [[Tom Tulip|Tom]] and [[Bobby (Hey Vern, It's Ernest!)|Bobby Tulip]] sell Ernest phony troll weapons. Ernest finds Ms. Hackmore and they try to figure out how to destroy Trantor. Kenny and Elizabeth come trying to find Ernest. They are followed by Trantor. As he tries to get them, he finds a boy on a skateboard. He grabs him and carries him over his shoulder to the tree house. He soon has his second victim.
-Ernest and Kenny form a troll-fighting squad and set up traps around the neighborhood. At home, Elizabeth is sitting in bed and hears something from underneath. She looks and only finds a stuffed bear. She turns around to find Trantor sitting next to her. She becomes the third victim, meaning Trantor only needs two more souls to unleash his army.
+Ernest and Kenny form a troll-fighting squad and set up traps around the neighborhood. At home, Elizabeth is sitting in bed and hears something from underneath. She looks and only finds a stuffed bear. She turns around to find Trantor sitting next to her. She becomes his third victim, meaning he only needs two more to unleash his army. While Kenny and his friend, [[Gregg]], (who is dressed as a Native American) are walking, Trantor uses Elizabeth's voice to lure Kenny away, and then takes Gregg as his fourth victim.
-Trantor later causes a disturbance at the school Halloween dance which culminates in a fight with Ernest. Mysteriously, the troll flees from the school after Ernest is covered in frozen yogurt. The townspeople, having seen Trantor with their own eyes, go to the treehouse and attempt to defeat the troll. At the same time, several local children led by Kenny (Austin Nagler) determine that the troll can be destroyed by being exposed to milk. They steal milk products from a convenience store and head to the treehouse on their bicycles.
+Trantor later causes a disturbance at the school Halloween bash which culminates in a fight with Ernest. Mysteriously, he flees from the school after Ernest is covered in frozen yogurt. The townspeople, having seen Trantor with their own eyes, go to the tree house and attempt to defeat him. At the same time, several local children led by Kenny determine that he can be destroyed by being exposed to milk. They steal some from a convenience store and head to the tree house on their bikes.
-Trantor reaches the treehouse first, and having acquired the necessary number of child figurines, begins to raise a troll army. The townspeople arrive and battle the now numerous trolls but are quickly overwhelmed. The children appear and begin attacking the trolls with milk. Meanwhile, Trantor receives greater powers and becomes impervious to milk. The troll army is soon defeated, and everyone believes that they have won. However, Trantor appears and quickly transforms Kenny into a wooden doll.
+Trantor reaches the tree house first, and having acquired the necessary number of dolls, begins to raise a troll army. The townspeople arrive and battle the now numerous trolls but are quickly overwhelmed. The children appear and begin attacking them with milk. Meanwhile, Trantor receives greater powers and becomes impervious to milk. The trolls is soon defeated, and everyone believes that they have won. However, Trantor appears and quickly transforms Kenny into his fifth victim.
-Ernest initially believes that he can defeat Trantor with milk, but soon realizes that milk was only effective against the other trolls because it symbolizes a mother's love for her child - and that the only way Trantor can be defeated is through love. He embraces Trantor and begins dancing, overwhelming the troll with love and affection. Trantor is destroyed, and the wooden figurines transform back into children (as does Ernest's dog, Rimshot).
+Ernest initially believes that he can defeat Trantor with milk, but soon realizes that it was only effective against the other trolls because it symbolizes a mother's love for her child, and that the only way Trantor can be defeated is through love. He embraces him and begins dancing, overwhelming him with love and affection. He is destroyed, Old Lady Hackmore reunites with her family (Trantor's original four victims) including her sister and the dolls transform back into children (as does Ernest's dog, [[Rimshot]]).
 ==Cast==
-*[[Jim Varney]] as [[Ernest P. Worrell]],[[ Bunny Worrell| ]] [[Bunny Worrell]] , [[Auntie Nelda]] , and others
+*[[Jim Varney]] as [[Ernest P. Worrell]], [[Phineas Worrell]], [[Bunny Worrell]], Auntie Nelda, and others
-*[[Eartha Kitt]] as [[Francis "Old Lady" Hackmore]]
+*[[Eartha Kitt]] as [[Francis Hackmore|Francis "Old Lady" Hackmore]]
-*Austin Nagler as [[Kenny]]
+*Austin Nagler as [[Kenny Binder]]
-*Shay Astar as Elizabeth
+*Shay Astar as [[Elizabeth (Ernest Scared Stupid)|Elizabeth]]
 *John Cadenhead as [[Tom Tulip]]
-*[[wikipedia:Bill Byrge|Bill Byrge]] as [[Bobby Tulip]]
+*Bill Byrge as [[Bobby (Hey Vern, It's Ernest!)|Bobby Tulip]]
 *Richard Woolf as [[Matt Murdock]]
 *Nick Victory as [[Mike Murdock]]
+*Alec Klapper as [[Joey (Ernest Scared Stupid)|Joey]]
+*Steven Moriyon as [[Gregg]]
 *Jonas Moscartolo as [[Trantor]]
-*Ernie Fosselius as [[Trantor]] (voice)
+**Ernie Fosselius as the voice of [[Trantor]]
+*Daniel Butler as [[Cliff Binder]]
+*Esther Huston as [[Amanda Binder]]
 *Larry Black as [[Mayor Murdock]]
+*Denice Hicks as [[Elizabeth's mother]]
 ==Reception==
-The movie received mixed to generally negative reception in theaters.<ref>{{cite news|title= 'Eartha Kitt Livens Up 'Ernest'|work= Los Angeles Times|date=|url= http://articles.latimes.com/1991-10-11/entertainment/ca-78_1_eartha-kitt|accessdate=2010-10-06}}</ref>
+The film received mixed to generally negative reception in theaters.<ref>{{cite news|title= 'Eartha Kitt Livens Up 'Ernest'|work= Los Angeles Times|date=|url= http://articles.latimes.com/1991-10-11/entertainment/ca-78_1_eartha-kitt|accessdate=2010-10-06}}</ref>
-The movie debuted at No. 4 at the box office.<ref>{{cite news|title= House Party 2` Tops At Box Office |work= Chicago Tribune|date=|url= http://articles.latimes.com/1991-10-29/entertainment/ca-481_1_house-party|accessdate=2010-11-12}}</ref>
+The film debuted at No. 4 at the box office.<ref>{{cite news|title= House Party 2` Tops At Box Office |work= Chicago Tribune|date=|url= http://articles.latimes.com/1991-10-29/entertainment/ca-481_1_house-party|accessdate=2010-11-12}}</ref>
 ==DVD availability==
-This comedy film had its first DVD release from [[Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment]] on [[September 3]], [[2002]]. Mill Creek Entertainment released this film on DVD on [[January 18]], [[2011]] as part of the '''Ernest Triple Feature''' along with [[Ernest Goes to Camp]] and [[Ernest Goes to Jail]]. Four months later, Mill Creek Entertainment re-released it as an individual film.
+The film had its first DVD release from [[Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment]] on [[September 3]], [[2002]]. Mill Creek Entertainment released it on DVD on [[January 18]], [[2011]] as part of the '''Ernest Triple Feature''' along with [[Ernest Goes to Camp|''Ernest Goes to Camp'']] and [[Ernest Goes to Jail|''Ernest Goes to Jail'']]. Four months later, Mill Creek Entertainment re-released it as an individual one.
 ==References==
@@ Line 68: / Line 72: @@
 *[http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=ernestscaredstupid.htm ''Ernest Scared Stupid''] at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box_Office_Mojo Box Office Mojo]
 *[http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ernest_scared_stupid/ ''Ernest Scared Stupid''] at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotten_Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes]
 {{Wikipedia}}
 [[Category:Touchstone Pictures films]]