Moonwalker

This article is about the movie. You may have been looking for the video game.

Moonwalker
General Information
Directed by	Jerry Kramer "Smooth Criminal": Colin Chilvers "Leave Me Alone": Jim Blashfield
Written by	"Smooth Criminal": David Newman
Produced by	Dennis E. Jones Jerry Kramer Frank DiLeo Michael Jackson "Speed Demon": Will Vinton "Leave Me Alone": Jim Blashfield Paul Diener
Starring	Michael Jackson Sean Lennon Kellie Parker Brandon Quintin Adams Joe Pesci
Cinematography	John Hora Thomas E. Ackerman Robert E. Collins Frederick Elmes Crescenzo G.P. Natalie
Edited by	Dale Beldin David E. Blewitt Mitchell Sinoway
Music by	Bruce Broughton (score) Michael Jackson (songs)
Production companies	Lorimar Motion Pictures MJJ Productions Ultimate Productions Will Vinton Productions
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date	October 29, 1988
Run time	93:00
Budget	$22 million
Box office	$67 million

Moonwalker is an American experimental anthology musical film produced by and starring American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson, released on October 29, 1988. The film doesn't feature one continuous narrative, instead expressing the influence of fandom and innocence through a collection of short films about Jackson, several of which are long-form music videos from his 1987 album, Bad. The film is named after the dance technique known as the moonwalk, which Jackson was known for performing.

The film was released theatrically in Australia, Europe, and South America. It was also planned to be theatrically released in the United States in Christmas 1988, but Warner Bros. canceled the release. Moonwalker was instead released on home video by CMV Enterprises in the United States and Canada on January 10, just as the Bad World Tour finished. Moonwalker was released on VHS and remained #1 on Billboard's Video Chart for 22 weeks. Moonwalker also spent 14 weeks at #1 on Billboard's Top Video Cassette Sales chart. In 1989, Moonwalker was honored with a certification of 800,000 copies sold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Moonwalker has been certified 9 x Platinum in the United Kingdom.

The "Leave Me Alone" video aired as a separate entity and won a Grammy in 1990 for Best Music Video, Short Form, which is the only Grammy Award Jackson received for the album Bad. "Leave Me Alone" video also won the Cannes Gold Lion Award for Best Special Effects.

Segments

"Man in the Mirror"

The first segment of Moonwalker is a live performance "Man in the Mirror", during Jackson's Bad World Tour. Clips from Wembley Stadium, among others, are seen. This segment also includes footage of historical figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi, John Lennon, and footage of children of Africa.

"Retrospective"

The second segment is a biographical movie on Jackson's life covering the years from The Jackson 5, all the way up to the Bad World Tour. Also in this biographical feature, clips from some of Jackson's songs. The following are songs that appear in the biography are:

• "Music and Me"
• "I Want You Back"
• "ABC"
• "The Love You Save"
• "2-4-6-8"
• "Who's Lovin' You"
• "Ben"
• "Dancing Machine"
• "Blame It on the Boogie"
• "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)"
• "Rock with You"
• "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough"
• "Can You Feel It"
• "Human Nature"
• "Beat It"
• "Thriller"
• "Billie Jean"
• "State of Shock"
• "We Are the World"
• "The Way You Make Me Feel"
• "Dirty Diana"

"Badder"

The third segment of the film is a parody of the music video for the album's title track, featuring children filling the roles of various people from the original clip.

The video stars Brandon Quintin Adams, who would later star in The Mighty Ducks, as young Jackson. It also featured Jermaine Jackson Jr. (Michael's nephew) and a young Nikki Cox, who later starred in Unhappily Ever After and Las Vegas. The singing group The Boys appeared as background dancers. Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog co-writer Maurissa Tancharoen, as well as future R&B star Bilal Oliver, are also featured in this segment.

"Speed Demon"

The fourth segment begins with the "Badder" short film transitioning into the second short film, "Speed Demon", directed by Claymation innovator Will Vinton. A portion of the clip is set to "Speed Demon".

After filming "Badder", Little Michael and his bodyguards (also young kids) are leaving the set and walk through a cloud of smoke and come out as their regular age. A boy and his grandmother spot Michael and prompt the other tourists to get off the bus and chase him for an autograph. In an attempt to avoid the overzealous fans, interviewers (even The Noid), and some gunslingers (after stumbling upon the filming of a Western directed by Steven Spielberg), Jackson soon disguises himself as a rabbit named Spike, but ends up taunting the fans into chasing him once they realize it's him. During the chase, he morphs into other celebrities, namely Sylvester Stallone, Tina Turner, and Pee-Wee Herman. After a long chase, the fans are finally pulled over by a cop and are arrested. After finally losing the fans, he pulls over in a canyon and removes the costume, which comes to life and challenges him to a dance-off.

In the end, a traffic cop tells him he is in a "No Dancing Zone", and when Michael turns to point to the rabbit, he sees that the rabbit has disappeared. The cop then sarcastically asks for Jackson's autograph (as opposed to "signature") on the ticket. Just as Jackson is preparing to leave, the rabbit's head materializes in a nearby rocky crag. It then nods to him and smiles.

"Leave Me Alone"

The fifth segment of the film is the animated music video for "Leave Me Alone". It focuses on media interest in Jackson's personal life because he felt that people wouldn't leave him alone. It compares Michael's life to an amusement park. His beloved then-pet chimp Bubbles makes a cameo appearance as Jackson is seen picking him up and riding with him in his roller coaster car. His pet snake, Muscles, is also present.

"Smooth Criminal"

The sixth segment and main part of the film begins with three homeless children sneaking through a big city to see their friend Jackson walk out of his apartment. As Jackson stands in front of the door, he gazes at the night sky before he's attacked by mobsters with machine guns. The film then backtracks to show Jackson and the children playing in a meadow in happier times. Their dog, Skipper, runs away, and as Jackson and Katie look for him, they uncover the cottage of Mr. Big. Mr. Big is a drug-dealing warlord with a disciplined private army of soldiers at his command; he wants to get the entire population of Earth addicted to drugs, starting with children. He likes to eat nuts and leaves nutshells wherever he goes, and is obsessed with spiders (as evidenced by their abundance at the entrance to his lair), and calls his operation "bugs and drugs." He also has them engulfing a model globe when making a speech about his burgeoning drug empire. The spiders signify the spread of his proposed control of the world via drug dealing. Further, all his henchmen sport a spider crest on their uniforms. Katie screams when she sees a spider, and Mr. Big discovers them spying on his operation.

The story returns to the shooting in front of Jackson's store. Unknown to the gangsters, Jackson has a "lucky star", and using it, he escaped the gunfire. Upon realizing that Jackson has escaped again, Mr. Big orders his henchmen to track him down with dogs. He's eventually cornered in an alley, where he uses his lucky star again to turn into a sports car (the 1970 Lancia Stratos HF Zero prototype) that mows down several of Mr. Big's henchmen. Jackson is pursued through the city streets until he loses the henchmen. Meanwhile, the children scout out Club 30's, where Jackson had told them to meet him, and find only an abandoned and haunted nightclub. As Jackson arrives, Katie sees a silhouette of him turning back from a car into himself. The door of the club opens with a gust of wind, and Jackson walks in to find it filled with men in single-breasted or double-breasted suits and swing dancers. The children gather outside a window of the club and watch Jackson dance to "Smooth Criminal".

The song used in the film is much longer than the album release, with several lyrics that clarify the story. There is also an interlude wherein Jackson joins the other dancers in a modern interpretive dance. At the climax of the song, Mr. Big lays siege to the club and kidnaps Katie. Jackson follows them back to Big's lair and ends up surrounded by his henchmen. Mr. Big appears and taunts Jackson by threatening to inject Katie with highly addictive narcotics. Katie breaks free for a moment, but Mr. Big grabs her again and starts kicking Jackson. As Mr. Big stands over Jackson and orders his henchmen to kill him and Katie, Jackson looks up and sees his lucky star. He transforms into a giant robot and kills all of Mr. Big's soldiers, then turns into a spaceship. Mr. Big gets into a large hillside-mounted energy cannon, firing on the spaceship into a nearby ravine. The children are his next target, but the spaceship returns from the ravine just in time to fire a beam at the cannon with Mr. Big inside, killing him. The children watch the ship fly into the night sky with a shower of light.

"Come Together"

In the conclusion of the music video for "Smooth Criminal", Sean, Katie, and Zeke return to the city, believing that Jackson's gone forever. As the boys talk about him, Katie walks away crying and clutching a paper star. As she sits in a corner wishing for him to come back, the paper star flies out of her hand, and Jackson walks out of the night fog. He takes them to Club 30's, where they find that the club has turned into the backstage area of a concert. Jackson's stage crew returns the children's missing dog and then escorts Jackson onto the stage, where he performs a cover of The Beatles' song "Come Together" with the children watching and cheering him on from backstage in person. Jackson's version wasn't officially released until 1995, when it appeared on HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I.

"The Moon is Walking"

The seventh segment of the film occurs during the credits of the movie. It's Ladysmith Black Mambazo performing this song in Club 30'samidst behind-the-scenes clips.

"Smooth Criminal (4 Min. Version)"

The eighth segment of the film occurs during the credits of the movie. It is a four-minute version of the music video for said single.

Cast

• Michael Jackson as Himself
• Joe Pesci as Frankie "Mr. Big" Lideo
• Kellie Parker as Katie
• Sean Lennon as Sean
• Brandon Quintin Adams as Zeke / "Smooth Criminal" / "Baby Bad" / Michael "Badder"
• Clancy Brown as Policeman
• Paul Reubens as Pee-wee Herman (uncredited voice)
• Ladysmith Black Mambazo as Themselves
• Jermaine La Jaune Jackson, Jr. as Himself
• TJ Jackson as Himself
• Taryll Jackson as Himself
• Nikki Cox as Herself
• The Boys as Themselves
• Pons Maar as The Noid (voice)

Trivia

• A 4:36 suite of Bruce Broughton's score for the "Smooth Criminal" segment (Broughton also wrote the underscore for "Speed Demon") was recorded by Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops for the album Fantastic Journey, representing the only (officially) released music from this film by an artist other than Jackson, although bootlegs of the score are available.
• Moonwalker was originally scheduled to be released on the same day as Bad.