Ernest P. Worrell Movies
So, this movie may sit on the fringe of a “movie you’ve never seen” since it became somewhat of a cult film and is right in the nostalgia for certain 90s kids. However, some movies with Ernest P. Worrell may need some revisiting, since the four big ones (i.e., the bigger budget ones that received wide theatrical releases) can somewhat transcend the reputation of Ernest movies. Jim Varney’s creation is not in everyone’s wheelhouse, it seems, but I submit that he’s no cornier than most other family films with humor geared toward children. In fact, Ernest Goes to Camp, Ernest Saves Christmas and Ernest Scared Stupid do display some heart that helps to anchor the movies and balances the charm of the characters with the over-the-top humor. However, Ernest Goes to Jail and the direct-to-video Ernest movies may be a different story.
Ernest Scared Stupid
If you’re looking for a fun family movie this Halloween that can still deliver enough suspense and scares for young viewers, you can’t go wrong with Ernest Scared Stupid. As annoying as Ernest is supposed to be, he is not insufferable in this entry. In fact, the only parts where the late Jim Varney takes things to a higher level are when he gets to showcase a bevy of sketch characters that he uses to entertain the children. Ernest has his dumb and childish moments (to the point that every adult chastises him), but Varney makes him as likable as always. He gives him enough heart and charm that you can’t help but root for him.
For a family-friendly Halloween movie, the plot is also pretty creative. The story involves an old-timey troll creature from the 1800s that has captured the souls of children in a village. When he’s finally caught, they can’t bring the children back, but they can stop the troll’s reign of terror by burying him deep underground beneath a cursed tree. The curse can be lifted by a descendant of a Worrell, which Ernest unintentionally does in modern-day. Thus, the troll is free again to capture more souls. The movie has the suspense of a monster and slasher movie with the troll stalking victims. For a family film, it creatively works around violence by having the troll magically turn people (or dogs) into small wooden dolls, which is still a creepy aspect. Ernest and his young friends try to warn the town of this threat, but in true 50s B-movie fashion, nobody believes them and they take it upon themselves to stop him.
Troll Story
While Ernest Scared Stupid is ultimately a movie to put the goofy titular character in funny situations, the troll parts are pretty well done. You can feel a realized lore to it thanks to a character portrayed by Eartha Kitt. She purrrr-fectly (Catwoman reference) plays an old, creepy townsperson who had personally seen the wrath of the troll and would since become a recluse. However, she would obsessively possess research of the troll that Ernest and the kids could use to their advantage.
Trantor, the film’s main troll, is extremely well-executed for a movie like this. Let’s not forget that these movies were released by Disney’s former off-brand studio — Touchstone Pictures. So, with Disney backing the film, Ernest Scared Stupid sported the biggest budget of the series with $9.6 million. You can see the quality in the effects of the movie and the immense creativity behind some of the sequences. The creature effects were done by the Chiodo brothers, who had debunked the rumor that they reused some puppets from Killer Klowns from Outer Space. The troll effects are very effective in being scary enough for young audiences, but also have some humorously exaggerated features to their faces so they aren’t traumatizing.
If anything, the plot for the film complements the antics of the Ernest character. And while some parts of the lore may end up being cheesy for some people, for a family film (or just in general), it’s not overly cliche and it gets pretty fun watching events unfold, especially in the big “humans vs. trolls battle royale” finale.
So, if you need something to show the kiddies or people who can’t do extreme or intense horror this year, Ernest Scared Stupid is a fun revisit.
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