Slappy The Dummy

Slappy the Dummy is a fictional character and major antagonist'' children's horror novel series by R. L. Stine. He is the main antagonist of the ''Night of the Living Dummy'' series and one of the series' most popular villains, as well as its mascot. He is also the main antagonist of the franchise's film adaptation and its sequel, described by their interpretation of Stine as having a "serious Napoleonic complex" in the former. He comes alive when the words, "Karru Marri Odonna Loma Molonu Karrano," which roughly translates to "You and I are one now" (meaning he and whoever brings him to life will become inseparable) and can be found on a sheet of paper in the coat pocket of Slappy's jacket, are read aloud. After being brought to life, Slappy will try to make the person who did so serve him as a slave, to the point of framing them for his misdeeds.

Inspiration

According to R. L. Stine, Slappy took inspiration from Carlo Collodi's ''The Adventures of Pinocchio''. He liked the book's idea of a wooden puppet coming to life, so he created Slappy.

''Magic'', a 1978 horror film where a dummy is thought to commit evil acts, was another one of R. L. Stine's inspirations for Slappy. In the television adaptation of the books, Slappy has the same sounding voice as Fats, the dummy from ''Magic'' with the voice of Anthony Hopkins.

Notable appearances in novels

He also appears in his own series '' Goosebumps SlappyWorld'', where he serves as the narrator.

Appearances beyond the books

Slappy has also been made into an actual ventriloquist doll available from major retailers. He was first manufactured by Goldberger Doll corporation after a nine-year-old boy from Long Island sent them a letter suggesting the idea in 1998. There is also a mask and a full costume available for sale. ''Night of the Living Dummy III'' and ''Bride of the Living Dummy'' have also been adapted for VHS and DVD; the second on DVD includes ''Bride of the Living Dummy''.

Authors Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child posted an announcement via their Facebook status:

This was published on September 30, 2014, as ''Gaslighted: Slappy the Ventriloquist Dummy vs. Aloysius Pendergast'' in the anthology ''Face Off'' edited by David Baldacci.

In other media

Television

* Cal Dodd (Cathal J. Dodd) was the voice of Slappy in the original television series. Cal voiced the theme song for the series as well as on several DVDs. Slappy was performed on set and voiced by puppeteer Ron Stefaniuk, who appeared in four episodes ("Night of the Living Dummy II", "Night of the Living Dummy III Part I", "Night of the Living Dummy III Part II", and "Bride of the Living Dummy"). The original ''Night of the Living Dummy'' story was never adapted to television, nor were the six post-''Bride'' stories.
* Kanduu, better known as Slappy, appears as the main antagonist in the 2023 ''Goosebumps'' series on Disney+, voiced by Chris Geere. In "Night of the Living Dummy", Slappy was bought in a magic shop by Ephraim, in an effort to revitalize his failed career as a magician. Ephraim found a spell in Slappy's pocket that gave him life, and with its help, he became a successful ventriloquist, but at the cost being left by his family for only focusing on the puppet. Eventually, Slappy had Ephraim retrieve the coffin of someone named Kanduu and urged him to read the spell hidden inside. However Ephraim had a vision of people dying in a large burning tower and rejected the doll's influence and locked him in a briefcase, Ephraim buys a house in Port Lawrence and hid Slappy behind a wall in the basement. In 1993, ten years after Ephraim's death, his estranged descendants, the Biddles, inherited the house. Slappy was found by Ephraim's great-grandson Harold, who was bullied at his previous school, having a hard time adjusting to the new town. He had complete influence over Harold, further isolating him and causing him to get rid of his parents by turning them into wooden puppets. After Slappy and Harold humiliate Sarah and her friends Ben, Victoria, Eliza and Nora, at a school show, Nora finds out about Slappy acting alone, and she convinced the others to take him away from Harold, in going to his house that night and stole Slappy. After Harold's death in his basement fire, Slappy is broken into pieces by Ben, who along with his friends hide his remains and keep the events of that night a secret. In present day, Harold Biddle returns from the afterlife and possessed the school teacher Nathan Bratt in order to search for Slappy and get revenge on his supposed murderers' children through the use of his personal possessions. In "You Can't Scare Me", Slappy's remains are taken by Nora to a snowy mountain until recovered by Bratt/Biddle. Slappy and Harold trying to get rid of Isaiah, the friends and parents tell Harold the whole truth, he saves Isaiah and throws Slappy off the cliff, and by forgiving them, he reunites with his parents in the afterlife. Down the cliff, Slappy, though broken again, opens his eyes. In "Night of the Living Dummy Part 2", Slappy is found again now by Mr. Bratt, who has writer's block and under pressure from his financial problems, he is resurrected, as is Bratt's deceased pet, Fifi, now as a vampire poodle. After Bratt finds Kanduu's coffin and reads the spell hidden inside, Slappy's spirit is released and restores his human body, and turns Ben into a puppet. In "Welcome to Horrorland", Kanduu's story sees how his soul was transferred to the Slappy doll by Mahar, a puppet maker. He was a soldier who was wounded while fighting in trenches during an unknown war. Under the trenches he found a hidden temple filled with magic spells, which he used to heal himself. He eventually became a famous magician using the spells he learned. Mahar, the owner of the circus he worked for learned he intended to sacrifice a thousand people to unleash hordes of monsters on humanity, so they would stop fighting petty wars and unite against a common enemy. His plan failed as Mahar trapped his soul in the Slappy dummy.

Film

* Slappy is the main antagonist of the ''Goosebumps'' film adaptation, in which he is voiced by Jack Black, who also plays R.L. Stine and the Invisible Boy from ''My Best Friend Is Invisible'', with Avery Lee Jones doing the puppetry of the character (Jones also did the voice of Slappy for promotional material for the film), assisted by Ironhead Studio's Jake McKinnon.Comic-Con: Director Rob Letterman Talks GOOSEBUMPS
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* Slappy is voiced by actor Mick Wingert and returns as the main antagonist of the film's sequel, ''Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween'', with Jones once again puppeteering him (this time assisted by technicians from Legacy Effects) and voicing him for promotional material, as well as for a few lines of dialogue and all of his laughs in the final film.

Video games

* Slappy appears in the '' Goosebumps: Horror Town'' video game.

Print media

* Slappy appears in the comic book series made by IDW and the ''Goosebumps'' graphix.
* The Bensons, a group of nonverbal ventriloquist's dummies who serve as the henchmen of Gabby Gabby in ''Toy Story 4'', were inspired by Slappy.

See also

*"The Rival Dummy", a 1928 short story by Ben Hecht
*''The Great Gabbo'', a 1929 film inspired by "The Rival Dummy"
*''Dead of Night'', a 1948 horror film with a ventriloquist's dummy sequence
*'' Studio One'' episode 22 (season 2 episode 2) adapted "The Rival Dummy" on 19 September 1949
*"The Dummy", a 1962 episode of ''The Twilight Zone''
*"Caesar and Me", a 1963 episode of ''The Twilight Zone'' about an evil ventriloquist dummy who can speak and walk on his own
* Arnold Wesker a.k.a. the Ventriloquist, a comic book supervillain who unconsciously expresses aggression through his ventriloquist's dummy, Scarface
* ''Magic'', a 1978 psychological horror movie starring Anthony Hopkins as a ventriloquist.
*Toy Story 4, a 2019 American animated comedy-drama film, in which a group of ventriloquist dummies appear as supporting antagonists.

References

External links

Slappy the Dummy
- Official Site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slappy The Dummy
Fictional dolls and dummies
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Fictional characters with superhuman strength
Literary characters introduced in 1993
Male literary villains
Fictional characters who can teleport
Fictional characters who use magic
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Horror film villains
Male horror film villains
Male characters in film
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