I don’t question a lot of the practical logic in the Chucky franchise due to the fact that magic is such a big component in the canon, but there is one aspect of the killer doll that has always fascinated me. When being his full colorful, psychotic self, the character is famously voiced by Brad Dourif… but that’s not the only voice that Chucky uses. He occasionally communicates through the voice box that is installed in every Good Guy doll (primarily when he’s pretending to be an ordinary toy), and he can seemingly say anything with the device.
So how does Chucky use that voice, even though the device was pre-programmed with recorded dialogue? My curiosity getting the better of me, I posed that question to Chucky creator Don Mancini when I interviewed him earlier this year.
Our conversation touched on many topics, from his approach to repeatedly killing Devon Sawa’s characters on Chucky to how the developing movie will fit into the established canon, but before we got into any of that, I asked about the voice box. Accepting the query with a smile, he ascribed the skill to Charles Lee Ray’s natural talents. Said the filmmaker,
I think it's just instinct. There's this mechanism and it's been established since the first movie that he can say whatever he wants through that voice. Doll biology: it's not an exact science and there's still a lot of research going on, but I think that it's just instinct. You feel, it's like, 'Oh, I can use this. Oh, that'll be a great way to fool people.'
Chucky makes use of the Good Guys voice box in the Child’s Play and Chucky movies/TV show and is famous for creepy-yet-kid-friendly phrases like “Hi, I’m Chucky, and I’m your friend to the end!” and “Hey, wanna play?” There are other instances, though – such as when he’s bonding with Callum Vinson's Henry Collins throughout Chucky Season 3 – where he uses his sweet voice to say anything he wants.
As noted earlier, one might simply dismiss the question by saying that it’s just “magic,” but Don Mancini also provided another explanation, and it’s one that he got years ago from Child’s Play/Child’s Play 2 star Alex Vincent when fans questioned how Chucky was so strong. Said Mancini,
It's similar to back in the day when we were doing the first couple of movies. When Alex Vincent was really little, people would sometimes ask while we were making the movies, 'How does Chucky... like, how can he drag bodies around?' You know? 'He seems really strong, like strong beyond his size.' And Alex, with the logic of a child said, 'It's the soul. The soul has weight and strength,' and it's like, 'That's it!'
If you wish to enjoy the special soul-led magical horror of the Chucky franchise, all of the films are available to digitally rent and/or purchase online, and all three seasons of the excellent Chucky TV series are available to stream with a Peacock subscription.
