Adventures in Babysitting

Adventures in Babysitting (1987)

Timing: 1:42 (102 min)

6.872/10
640

7.318/10
2761

6.9/10
47960

All about film

Video 1

Photo 20

Actors and characters

Release date

1987-07-01

Country

United States

Production

Touchstone Pictures, Silver Screen Partners III

Genre

Comedy

Budget

$7 000 000

Revenue

$34 368 475

Website

Director

Chris Columbus

Actors

Elisabeth Shue, Maia Brewton, Keith Coogan, Anthony Rapp, Calvin Levels, Vincent D'Onofrio, Penelope Ann Miller, George Newbern, John Ford Noonan, Bradley Whitford
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

David Simkins

Producer

Debra Hill, Lynda Obst

Operator

Ric Waite

Composer

Michael Kamen

Artist

Gregory P. Keen

Audition

Janet Hirshenson, Jane Jenkins

Editing

William Steinkamp, Fredric Steinkamp, Issy Shabtay
All team (48)

• Just before filming the scene where the group of heroes makes a desperate escape through a dirty, trash-filled alley, Toronto city workers unexpectedly appeared and cleaned the intended filming location. As a result, to create the necessary atmosphere temporarily, the film crew had to scour city dumps for suitable garbage.
• One of the producers of "The Adventures of Babysitting" was Debra Hill, who, along with John Carpenter, was behind the creation of "Halloween" (1978). When Sara and Chris are watching television, John Carpenter's musical theme from that film can be heard at one point.
• Elizabeth Shue's brother, Andrew Shue, appears in a small role as one of the party guests. He is the guy standing at the bar laughing at Daryl with the others.
• Elizabeth Shue landed the lead role after Jodie Foster and Justine Bateman turned it down.
• Valerie Bertinelli auditioned for the role of Chris Parker.
• In one of the early script drafts, Sarah wasn't as much of a fan of the comic book hero Thor as she is depicted in the film. Instead, there was a scene near Soldier Field stadium with then-players of the local Chicago Bears football team: Jim McMahon, Walter Payton, William Perry, and Mike Singletary. The boys invited them to the Andersons' house to watch the horror film "The Mummy's Curse" (1944), and as they were leaving, Daryl managed to swipe a few bandages from the football stars as souvenirs. Later, they helped the heroes replenish the shortage when retrieving the car from Dawson's garage. In the final version, neither the players nor even a mention of the team remains.
• In one of the early script drafts, the owner of Dawson's garage was a very masculine woman, and the highlight of the scene was Sarah and Brad's confusion about her gender. Ultimately, the role went to Vincent D'Onofrio, and the scene took the form we see in the film.
• Rival street gangs challenge each other as the train crosses Devereux Street. This is a playful reference to director Chris Columbus's wife, Monica Devereux, and his brother-in-law, Clark Devereux, both of whom have small roles in the film.
• When the heroes enter the illegal auto shop, Blick dismissively refers to their group as the Brady family from the popular television series of the same name from the 60s. Immediately following this scene, as the camera shifts to Brenda at the bus station, the main theme song from that series can be heard from one of the portable televisions there.
• The first Disney film to receive a PG-13 rating.
• In the United Kingdom, the film was released under the title "A Night on the Town".
• Bradley Whitford, who played the role of Mike Toddwell (Chris's boyfriend), was already 27 years old at the time of filming and felt somewhat uncomfortable with the age difference with his character. To make him feel more comfortable, director Chris Columbus allowed the actor to use his Chevrolet Camaro in the film, and the car retained Bradley Whitford's real license plate, SO COOL.
• The film served as the basis for a pilot episode of the same name, which aired on CBS in 1989 but did not receive a continuation. Jennifer Guthrie (Chris), Joseph Lawrence (Brad), Courtney Pelton (Sarah), Ariana Mohit (Brenda), and Brian Austin Green (Daryl) starred in the pilot.
• The film's title is referenced in two episodes of the popular television series "That's So Raven" ("Adventures in Boss-Sitting") and "Captain N and the Adventures of the Super Mario Bros. 3" ("Misadventures in Babysitting").
• In both "Adventures in Babysitting" and "Back to the Future Part II" (1989), the character played by Elisabeth Shue faints and, upon regaining consciousness, says the same phrase: "I had the most terrible nightmare."