The Bad Life of Daniel Movie

***The Bad Life of Daniel Movie*** is a 1979 American animated comedy film based on the popular long-running Fox animated television series *The Bad Life of Daniel* directed by Ward Kimball. The film stars all of the television cast including Mel Blanc, Michael Bell, Jean Vander Pyl, Richard Pryor, Nicole Jaffe, Buster Jones, Rosalind Cash, and Diahann Carroll along with new voices for the film such as Gene Wilder, Paul Winfield, Maynard Jackson, Paul Winchell, Kirk Douglas, Roscoe Orman, Bob Newhart, and Freddie Mercury.

The film was released in the United States on July 6, 1979 to universally positive reviews with more recent reviews stating that the film was very ahead of it's time and was a box office success as well grossing over $90 million worldwide over it's $9 million budget. The success of *The Bad Life of Daniel Movie* led to several other feature films such as *Where Are You, Mr. Wyatt?* (1984), *Oh Great Jeff Wyatt* (1989), *Daniel's Bad Movie* (1994), and *Hey Daniel, Where is Mom?!* (1998) as well as a spin-off television series based on *The Bad Life of Daniel* in different media. In 2005, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

## Cast

* Mel Blanc as Jeff Wyatt, Marty Wyatt, Daniel Wyatt, Alex Wyatt, Devin Silverman, Jasper, Willie, Wu Lee, Stan Streeter, Dank Hill, Frank Hill, Walter Simmons, Benny Hill, Bobby the Dog, Johnny Brown, the Strawberry man, Police Officer, Sgt. Frickleson, Phil Shakar, and Lester Banks
* Michael Bell as Carl Wickerson, Billie Dooberson, and a scared businessman
* Jean Vander Pyl as Susan Wyatt, Mary Moore, Josie Banks, Jennifer Bregit, Muriel Jones, Susan Banks, and Officer Jenni Brown
* Richard Pryor as Derrick Jackson, Richie, Leonard Hills, and Nick Dynamite
* Nicole Jaffe as Jenny and Menny Wyatt,
* Buster Jones as Robert Jackson
* Rosalind Cash as Leelah Jackson and the twins Terry and Lerry
* Diahann Carroll as Mary Ann Jackson
* Gene Wilder as April Linston, the main antagonist of the film who is a facist candidate against President Jackson's reelection campaign who plans to kidnap and kill Jackson so he can win.
* Paul Winfield as Aidden Walker, a famous NBA basketball player that Derrick idolizes.
* Maynard Jackson as himself, a fictionalized version of himself but him being the President of the United States.
* Paul Winchell as Matthew Wyatt, one of Daniel's older cousins who finally was let out of prison after serving 10 years for a crime he didn't commit.
* Kirk Douglas as Alfred Wyatt, the grandfather of Daniel, Jenny, Menny, Marty, and Alex who is also the Vice President of the United States.
* Roscoe Orman as Professor Willie Dynamite, a former drug dealer/pimp turned English teacher of Daniel's high school.
* Bob Newhart as George Martin, the dim-witted yet resourceful running mate for April Linston who is also his sidekick and minion who opposes some of Linston's actions.
* Freddie Mercury as himself, a very famous rockstar musician from England who backs President Jackson's reelection campaign.

## Production

### Home media

*The Bad Life of Daniel Movie* was the first animated film from Fox to be released on home video when Magnetic Video issued it January 1980. It was reissued in 1982 and 1984 by CBS/Fox Video. As part of the release of *Daniel's Bad Movie* on VHS in 1995, the film was subsequently re-released on VHS in that year as well.

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