Dennis the Menace
Tags: prank

Plot synopsis:
Dennis Mitchell (Mason Gamble) is a five-year-old boy who lives with his parents in Evanston, Illinois. Henry (Robert Stanton) and Alice (Lea Thompson), and is the bane of next door neighbor, George Wilson (Walter Matthau). One morning, Mr. Wilson pretends to be asleep in order to avoid dealing with Dennis. Dennis enters his bedroom, only to find him asleep with by his prescription medication on his night stand, and assumes he's sick. To make him feel better, Dennis flings an aspirin into his mouth with a slingshot which causes him to gag and spit it out, as Dennis flees home.
When Dennis arrives home, his parents learn of the incident he had caused to Mr. Wilson and are both angered, but because they are both working, Alice has to take him to stay at Margaret Wade's house for the day. He isn't too happy about this, because she is mean to him. When he arrives, he and Margaret, along with his best friend, Joey, venture into the woods to an abandoned tree house and intend to fix it up. Later, while getting paint from a high shelf in the garage, Dennis tries to grab his slingshot, which was taken away from him by Henry, and accidentally spills the paint on the floor. He then fervently attempts to vacuum it up, but ends up spilling a glob of it which splinters onto Mr. Wilson's barbecue grill, while he's cooking chicken, and he tastes the paint and wood splinters as he eats it. That night, Dennis has a set of babysitters; Polly and her boyfriend, Mickey. He plays doorbell pranks on them and they retaliate by sticking a thumbtack on the doorbell and preparing water and flour to dump on the prankster. However, Mr. Wilson goes over there to prove that Dennis was responsible for the paint on his chicken, against the wishes of his wife, Martha (Joan Plowright), only to ring the doorbell, stick his thumb, and get water and flour dumped on him, much to Martha's amusement. The next morning, Dennis goes over to the Wilsons' house to apologize for the events of the previous evening, but finds himself playing with Mr. Wilson's dentures, losing the two front teeth down the drain, and replacing them with Chiclets in the process. This gets noticed when Mr. Wilson gets his picture taken for the newspaper. Meanwhile, a burglar named Switchblade Sam (Christopher Lloyd) arrives in town and begins robbing people's houses, as well as stealing things outdoors and striking fear into children he meets.
Unfortunately for Henry and Alice, they have a difficult time getting people to watch Dennis while they both work. Unfortunately for Mr. Wilson, he and Martha are being charged with the task of doing so, as both Henry and Alice are being called away on business trips on the same weekend. Martha loves him as if he were her own grandson, as she and Mr. Wilson never had children, and she enjoys telling Dennis a bedtime poem that her mother told her. Alternatively, Mr. Wilson is further irritated by him for spilling bath water on the bathroom floor, replacing his nasal spray with mouthwash, and his mouthwash with toilet cleanser, and even bringing his pet dog, Ruff, into the house for a while.
Fortunately for Mr. Wilson he's been selected to host the Summer Floraganza, a long awaited summer event. He has been growing and nurturing a rare night-blooming orchid for about forty years especially for it. Despite the investment, the flower dies shortly after it blooms. Alice’s flight is delayed due to a thunderstorm forcing Dennis to stay at the Wilsons for the night of the party. Martha is understanding, but Mr. Wilson is deeply dismayed about this. But, at her insistence, he eventually agrees to let Dennis stay outside for the party only with a firm warning to behave himself. He does not enjoy it much because the guests pinch his cheeks, and distances himself from them. However, in his curiosity, he finds himself pushing the garage door button, causing it to open, knock over the dessert table, and make a huge mess. Mr. Wilson sees it and angrily bans Dennis from the party. From inside, he hears Switchblade Sam robbing the house, goes downstairs, and finds Mr. Wilson's gold coins missing from the safe. Just as the flower is about to bloom, he alerts Mr. Wilson of the robbery, distracting everyone just long enough to miss the flower's brief blooming span. Furious about his forty year investment gone to waste and the constant mishaps Dennis has caused (as well as not believing that he was robbed), Mr. Wilson uproots the plant and severely scolds Dennis by saying that he has no use for him, that he does not want to see or know him anymore, and to get out of his way before telling the guests to leave. Heartbroken, Dennis flees on his bike, and rides off into the night. He then heads into the park, where he eventually bumps into Sam, who abducts him, intending to use him as a hostage.
Henry and Alice arrive home soon after only to learn of Dennis' disappearance. They then contact the authorities and his friends to begin searching for him. Mr. Wilson, now feeling intense guilt and remorse about what he had said, especially since he really had been robbed, joins in the search in his car, and everyone ends up searching for him all night. Meanwhile, Dennis unintentionally but effectively defeats Sam by tying him up with a rope, setting him on fire twice, accidentally bludgeoning him several times, handcuffing him, and losing the key in a pot of baked beans amongst other things. He then returns to the Wilsons' house the next morning with an injured Sam in the wagon attached to his bike, having also recovered Mr. Wilson's gold coins. Sam is then taken into police custody by an amused sheriff who had advised him earlier to leave town. Dennis and Mr. Wilson make amends, and both the Mitchells and the Wilsons become close friends on better terms. That night, Alice told the Wilsons that she does not have to travel out of town anymore and will stay to work on local projects and Dennis can come to work with her since they have a day care center. Mr. Wilson scoffs at this saying he and Martha will be happy to continue watching him, explaining that he's learned some things about children by saying to both Henry and Alice that kids are kids and they have to play by their rules, roll with the punches, and expect the unexpected. Around the same time, just as Dennis is still trying to get the flame out of his marshmallow, it lands on Mr. Wilson's forehead.
As the closing credits begin to roll, Andrea, Alice's egotistical coworker, finds Dennis sitting near the copy machine as she comes in to use it. He asks to push the button on it, but she arrogantly tells him that he doesn't know what one to push. Sure enough, he pushes the "PRINT" one and runs off with other workers, including Alice, looking on. The paper feeder sucks up Andrea's scarf, her head gets pinned face down on the scanner bed, and the machine relentlessly flashes its blinding light in her eyes, repeatedly copies her face, and spews out page after page of black and white photos showing her various agonized facial expressions as she screams and cries on the scanner bed, eventually getting herself free.

Review: Dennis is wide-eyed and innocent and the slap-stick scenarios are 'accidental' rather than contrived as in "Home Alone."This is a movie that elderly parents can watch and be guaranteed to have a good time.
There are some things that went wrong with this film and I never read the comic strip, but I don't think it's as bad as everyone says it is.
Walter Matthau did a good job as Mr. Wilson as did Robert Stanton, Lea Thompson and Joan Plowright, but I think that Mason Gamble steals the show as the most likable title character who got the personality and characterization right.
Some of the humor gave me some chuckles (Dennis causing some trouble to Mr. Wilson and the baked beans farting scene), but some of them lacked wit and the pacing was very mediocre.Overall, uneven with it's story and pacing, but not as bad as some say it is.
Amy Sakasitz as Margaret Wade is rather annoying and the usually excellent Christopher Lloyd is sadly over-the-top and distracting as Switchblade Sam complete with a subplot that was a little too violent and doesn't fit with the overall tone of the movie.
However, Dennis the Menace despite what its reputation and rating suggests is actually very entertaining and does a pretty good job with the transition from comic to movie.
Mason Gamble thankfully isn't the annoying brat I was expecting prior to seeing this film, instead he is cute and funny as the mischievous yet well-meaning Dennis, while Walter Matthau from the facial expressions to the delivery of the dialogue is brilliant as Mr Wilson.
This film had a very good point : it stands on something solid, like the old TV serie and the comic strip.
Like everyone else my age, I read "Dennis The Menace" comic strips and comic books when I was a kid.
With a cast that included Walter Matthau, Christopher Lloyd, Joan Plowright and Lea Thompson, I was sure this would provide laughs for me now as an adult, as well.
Dennis' parents pretty much do the same and some of the stuff is fairly funny.But there are some big-time disquieting aspects of this movie.
Mrs. Wilson adores Dennis and often volunteers to watch him when the Mitchell's list of possible baby-sitters is exhausted.There is a sub-plot with a "bad guy" who, of course gets "fixed" by our hero.
Mason Gamble and Walter Matthau are excellent in their roles, and John Hughes wrote their characters both true to the comic and believable in live action.
The whole movie is pointless and dumb, and if you really want to watch Dennis at his best, go find the old black & white television episodes from the late Fifties.
Dennis the Menace is a great hilarious movie.
The cast is great and it was great seeing Llyod and Lea Thomson in the same film again ala the Back to the Future trilogy.Walter Matthau,Joan Plowright,and Paul Winfield were very good and I think it was a fine choice of putting Mason Gamble for the menace job as Dennis.
The film has non-stop laughs especially the scenes with Matthau and I just love the scene when the end credits are playing.If you want to laugh look no further than Dennis the Menace!.
Dennis the Menace is a good film.
However you can see that not everything fits in to the decade setting such as the automobiles used in the film.Mr. Wilson the curmudgeonly next door neighbor of the Miller's can't seem too tolerate their young child named Dennis.
Dennis rides away on his bike and gets captured by Sam but he of course saves the day later on and comes back home.The characters in Dennis the Menace are thought out well.
Of course it is a movie and I suppose that he does look very intimidating in the town of clean looking folks.Dennis the Menace may not be for everybody but I think that it stays true to the comic and it is an enjoyable laugh out loud film.
Remarkable performances by Mason Gamble (as "Dennis Mitchell") and Walter Matthau (as "Mr. Wilson") help to mold the screenplay into a delightful light-hearted comedy intended for the whole family.
It proclaims itself to be a children's movie, but is so full of gratuitous (presumably meant to be "comical") violence, nasty "pranks" and the gruesome sequence with Christopher Lloyd being tortured (nearly to death) by the obnoxious brat Dennis makes DENNIS THE MENACE entirely inappropriate for children.
I found it funny throughout and the end of the film where the villain (played beautifully) suffered at the unknowing hands of Dennis is a joy to watch.
Dennis' parents go away for work and the Wilson has the babysit the Menace.I love Walter Matthau and the kid is rambunctious.
Cash-grab adaptation of Hank Ketcham's comic strip centered around a "mischievous" ("annoying" is a far better word) boy Gamble and cranky next door neighbor Matthau.
Although one can find many issues with Gamble's portrayal of Dennis Mitchell—one being that the character just doesn't seem like a little boy of the 1990s—he and Matthau end up making a pretty decent duo; while Plowright, Stanton and Thompson all fit nicely into supporting roles.
Perhaps the greatest thing about this movie is the chillingly disgusting drifter, played excellently by Christopher Lloyd, who creeps slowly through the cookie-cutter town like a python in a rose-garden.
First of all it has to be said that this film has no relationship whatsoever with the cartoon comic 'Dennis the Menace' you may have read as a child.
With that out of the way you can now enjoy the film for what it is, not how you may have remembered a character from your youth.The film is superbly cast with Walter Matthau playing the grumpy old 'Mr Wilson' and a young Mason Gamble playing the role of 'Dennis'.
Gamble is fantastic as the adorable but mischievous 5 year old and shows an acting ability way beyond his years with superb comic timing and wonderful catch lines.Full of laughs, crazy antics, hilarious childhood expression and the odd touching moment too, this is an entertaining film that keeps on giving scene after scene.
Matthau has all of the best screen time in this film version of the classic young boy who always happens to get himself and the people around him into trouble.
Dennis the Menace is among the few films on the video shelf that is able to keep the entire family amused.
"Hank Ketcham's popular comic-strip kid comes to the big screen in 'Dennis the Menace', a delightful family comedy from writer/producer John Hughes, the creative force behind several of the most popular movies ever," according to the original Time/Warner synopsis scribers, "Young Mason Gamble (who won the title role over 20,000 hopefuls) is all-boy, all-menace, all-Dennis, right down to his slingshot and dog Ruff.
As Dennis' long-suffering neighbor George Wilson, Walter Matthau is a marvel of lovable grumpiness.
While only minor players, Robert Stanton and Lea Thompson capture their characters convincingly.*** Dennis the Menace (6/24/93) Nick Castle ~ Mason Gamble, Walter Matthau, Christopher Lloyd, Joan Plowright.
There are so many wonderful family movies during the 90s, and Dennis the Menace is one of them.
Dennis The Menace feature film will bring back some good memories.
curmudgeon roles Walter Matthau as the ever grumpy Wilson.Young Mason Gamble is Dennis Mitchell, problem child deluxe.
What follows is what you see in the Home Alone films.Gamble made a nice and appealing Dennis.
didn't have a chance.Dennis The Menace is a nice family film for a family movie night..
But I'm not surprised because, like many of John Hughes's other movies, this big screen adaptation of Dennis the Menace is funny, well written and on top of that it also has a lot of "heart" to boot.Christopher Lloyd being in the movie was a nice surprise and he does a very good job as the comic criminal foil to Dennis.
(He is basically like the wet bandits characters from the Home Alone series Hughes also did, though the first Home Alone is better than this.) Walter Matthau is fantastic as always in the role of a bitter, sourpuss type of old man neighbour, who Dennis is always annoying and damaging the property of.It's predictable and not very serious but there are lots of good family friendly laughs with a good story and performances, and it hits the spot.It even has a big, stinky flower!.
You see, the problem is that, while you actually are capable of feeling of how much Dennis is a menace for retired men, you never really think that he's an interesting kid; he's very naive, over the top naive which is basically it.The movie then is not for children, nor their parents or anybody else.
DENNIS THE MENACE, in my opinion, is an excellent film adaptation of a classic TV show with smashing performances.
Also, even though everyone gave an appealing performance, I liked Dennis' (Mason Gamble) the best.
In 1959, a character named Dennis the Menace was made into a comic strip cartoon.
Dennis the Menace stars Mason Gamble as the troubled kid who keeps bothering his next-door neighbor, Mr. Wilson, played by Walter Matthau.
As for Mason Gamble, he is an annoying little kid, who I think has no respect for Matthau's character.
I like a good slapstick movie as much as the next guy.If the next guy is John Hughes, though, he has me beat.You have a property like "Dennis the Menace" and you want to make a movie out of it?
And who doesn't know at least one family in the neighborhood who has a child that all the babysitters refuse to sit with?One thing that offsets the pranks here that the "Home Alone" pranks didn't have is the fact that Dennis (Gamble) isn't a vindictive little kid.
This little boy, Mason Gamble (who won the Young Artist Award for Best Youth Actor Leading Role in a Motion Picture Comedy in this film) is amazing at such a young age.
I won't spoil it at all, but trust me when I say that Dennis the Menace manages make life miserable for Mr. Wilson and others, and comes out squeaky clean, as a child hero like him must.
In most cases, film adaptations of comic strips or TV shows simply suck, but with this one not only they did a pretty good job but also made something much better than what it's based on.Dennis is much more likable in this film than in the cartoons.
The actor chosen to portray Dennis's father, for example, looks exactly like the character from the comic strip.
Joan Plowright is just as good as Mrs. Wilson and Mason Gamble steals the show as Dennis Mitchell.Mason Gamble is unbelievably cute.
Mrs. Wilson is a very nice old lady and she's very good to Dennis - she actually treats him as a son (or a grandson).Walter Matthau is, like I said, the best Mr. Wilson ever.
I've seen movies that are far worse than Dennis the Menace.
The spirited, lively performances of Walter Matthau, Lea Thompson, Joan Plowright and especially young Mason Gamble as Dennis make the film a worthwhile viewing experience.Trust me, the Problem Child movies are a great deal more mean-spirited than Dennis the Menace!.
I never read the "Dennis the Menace" comics, but have watched the cartoon and the old black and white TV show.
They were more interesting than this movie version, where Dennis' (Mason Gamble) have to stay with Mr. and Mrs. Wilson (Walter Matthau) and (Joan Plowright) after his parents go out of town, and tries to be helpful to Mr. Wilson, but ended up being an annoying menace to him.This movie made me laugh at certain points, but thought the endless pranks Dennis played on Mr. Wilson went overboard, making the man hate on the kid than trying to get along with him, like the character development you see between the two characters in the TV series.
You almost feel no sympathy for Dennis and feel sorry for Mr. Wilson for all he went through.The acting was quite good, nonetheless, and you see some innocent and sincere themes in the movie, especially involving the kids.
we like the movie Dennis the menace, it is fab-u-loud.
Walter Matheau is excellent as Mr. Wilson and Mason Gamble brings the cartoon Dennis to life for us!
Christopher Loyld does a wonderful job of being a menacing Switchblade Sam and is able to be vicious without being truly scary - which is helpful as this is primarily a family movie.
His part is important because it shows how even a really mean person (which Mr. Wilson's character is not) can be foiled by the innocent childhood antics of Dennis the Menace.The real joy of this film, beyond the many sight gags and the smart dialog, is how the movie doesn't seem to age with time..
Based on the comic book and Eighties cartoon, this film centres on five-year-old Dennis, a boisterous little boy who just wants to help but everything he touches turns into a catastrophe.
It would have been nice to see more of interactions between Mr Wilson and Dennis since that was always a great focal point of the cartoon series but this film is still a worthy successor.
I always enjoyed reading Dennis the Menace comics and watching the cartoon in the 80s.
Dennis the Menace was one of the best movies I have ever seen.
He had made heaps of movies that were fantastic and really funny to watch.Joan Plowright was great playing Mrs Wilson.
Dennis the menace is an ok film but after a while I got bored of it because theres no real plot to it when you think about it.
Based on the comic strip by hank Ketchum, John Hughes and Nick castle bring the characters of Mr. Wilson and Dennis to the big screen.
Meanwhile Mr. Wilson, who is upset and feeling guilty about that he said to Dennis, goes around town to look for the little boy and the whole neighborhood also try to find him.
The next morning Mr. Wilson wakes up from sleeping on the porch and hears the rattling sounds again but this time he waits in happiness to see Dennis riding back with a bloody and bruised Switchblade Sam who goes to prison and the movie has one big happy ending.
All the actors are great including the late Walter Mathau who played the grump with a good heart Mr. Wilson, Mason gamble as a harmless troublesome boy named Dennis, Joan Plowright as the sweet and caring Mrs. Wilson, Lea Thompson and Robert Stanton as Dennis's loving but strict parents and Christopher Lloyd as the real menace of the movie Switchblade Sam. All the characters in this movie are good but I'm one of the few people who liked the villain the best and he was one of the characters that was not in the comic.
All in all I give this movie a 9/10 I would have gave it 10/10 but I could have done without the scene where switchblade Sam almost kills Dennis I know they wanted to make him look sadistic but they could have did it in a more light hearted way oh well he's still my favorite character mainly because I just love christopher lloyd anyway to those who have somehow missed this movie in their childhood I recommend it..
To this day, I'm still not very familiar with the strip, and have never seen any episodes of the TV show, but a few months over a decade after seeing some of this movie, I finally watched the whole thing, which left me with mixed feelings.Dennis Mitchell is five years old and lives with his parents, Alice and Henry, in a suburban house.
Knowing this adaptation of the "Dennis the Menace" comic strip wasn't very popular, I didn't have very high expectations, though I think I was expecting some laughs, remembering what I had seen before.
But his neighbor George Wilson (Walter Matthau) is been suffering for some time, Because of Dennis' antics.
But he didn't think that he can't match with this little kid.Directed by Nick Castle (The Boy Who Could Fly, The Last Starfighter, Major Payne) made an amusing comedy family film, which is based on a comic-strip by Hank Ketcham.
Mason Gamble was one of the more talented child actors to grace the screen at the time- if you're able to see more than a 'cute kid' and listen to his inflection, he's actually pretty funny.
One of them is Dennis The Menace.The film is about Dennis Mitchell played by Mason Gamble who causes trouble for his Neighbor Mr. Wilson played by Walter Matthau who is not very happy with his antics.
Meanwhile A man named Switchblade Sam played by Christopher Lloyd who likes to stare at children.This is a very gentle film.
The child actors are cute, Walter Matthaus performance is very good and the film is often very funny.
If you ever watched the cartoon, or (if there was one) read the comics, then you would know the troublesome little boy of this film.
Walter Matthau as Mr. George Wilson is very good at showing his hate, or rather frustration, with Dennis the Menace (Razzie nominated Mason Gamble).
Also starring Joan Plowright as Mrs. Martha Wilson, Christopher Lloyd as Switchblade Sam (Town Robber) and American Pie's Natasha Lyonne as Polly.
But Mr. Wilson's attitudes toward Dennis are disturbing and hateful, and that's what hurts this otherwise average film..
I haven't seen the cartoon of Dennis the menace, but saw the movie as a kid and thought it was good back then,but watching it now i have realized how boring it is.
The opening scene was done well with the music and it gave us a good look at the relationship between Dennis and Mr. Wilson.
However, the Dennis the Menace movie just makes me sick.