Monkeybone

Monkeybone
Theatrical release poster
Directed byHenry Selick
Written bySam Hamm
Based onDark Town
by Kaja Blackley
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyAndrew Dunn
Edited by
Music byAnne Dudley
Production
company
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • February 23, 2001 (2001-02-23)
Running time
93 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$75 million
Box office$7.6 million

Monkeybone is a 2001 American black comedy fantasy film directed by Henry Selick, written by Sam Hamm, produced by Michael Barnathan and Mark Radcliffe, and executive produced by Chris Columbus, Selick, and Hamm. The film combines live action with stop-motion animation. Loosely based on Kaja Blackley's graphic novel Dark Town, the film stars Brendan Fraser, Bridget Fonda, Chris Kattan, Giancarlo Esposito, Rose McGowan, Whoopi Goldberg and John Turturro as the voice of the titular character. It tells the story of a cartoonist who falls into a coma, where he ends up in the otherworldly Down Town where he runs into his titular creation as he tries to return to the living world while contending with an evil plot to supply Down Town with nightmares.

Theatrically released on February 23, 2001, by 20th Century Fox, the film was a box-office bomb and received generally negative critical reviews for its characters and humor, although there was some praise for the visuals. Selick later admitted his unhappiness with the final product and has since vowed to never make another live-action film again.