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“Monster in My Pocket is described as a “range” in some of the UK press material. It was created by Joe Morrison and John Weems, president and vice-president of Morrison Entertainment Group. Morrison and Weems were former Mattel employees who had developed the Masters of the Universe toy line and served as production supervisors for Gary Goddard’s live-action Masters of the Universe film.”

Back in 1992, I remember how my brother and I loved playing the Monster in My Pocket video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System. I mean, what kid wouldn’t love jumping around as the vampire beating down zombie bad guys in your path? It was a highlight of childhood playtime, especially after a long winded day at school (at the time I believe I was in 7th grade, but don’t hold me to it as I’m horrible with dates).

The fun was in collecting these critters from whatever source available, be it cereal boxes or a local swapmeet. My cousins and I couldn’t get enough of the MIMP especially since you could haul them around at school in your pockets without anyone noticing. The only other time I hid a toy in my pocket was my Tamagotchi who died in the middle of Spanish class in 10th grade. It was pretty depressing considering I nutured that thing for a good week.

I remember owning the Hunchback, Windingo, The Winged Panther and the Warlock. You could stare at them for hours at their minute detail (subpar by today’s standards) and if you wanted to, you could educate yourself with their elaborate history as each figure came with a well-written description for their bio.

Being the constructive and imaginative person I was, I’d frequently use the MIMP characters in my “toy shows” at Studio C (the Couch). These were productions utilizing a sprinkle of imagination along with a handful of my toys (which included Ninja Turtles, GI Joe and the occassional Generic Toy).

These “toy shows” included special effects using Play Doh or Fimo clay as my makeup and behind the scenes excerpts immediately following the end of the show. Normally I’d use the couch as my setting, the cracks inbetween the cushions were hazardous areas, and from there I’d construct a production that would put Mr. Ed to shame.

As I mentioned, to add extra features to the characters I would use clay to build up their faces (add ears, horns, etc.) and usually tear off their faces to heighten the drama. Another special effect I’d use was closing my eyes for a split second to “warp” the toys to different areas of the set. After the show was over, I’d sing or hum the ending song and announce the “Behind the Scenes” portion.

The behind the scenes conclusion included showing how the special effects were created, the on-set drama between Leonardo and Papa Smurf and scene-by-scene shots with and without the sounds. It was a creative fun fest and literally kept me entertained for hours.

When Studio B (otherwise known as the bathtub) was available I’d stage on set climatic sea battles using the soap dish as a pirate ship. Sometimes I’d utilize the bubbles to provide conflict to the characters and no matter what it always ended with the bad guy drowning.