Little Shop of Horrors - Making Of

The Cast and Crew talk about "Little Shop of Horrors" (1986).

[@mkn.567]

How dare they not discuss casting Levi Stubbs! That voice is iconic!!!

[@DavidCoresh]

I literally watched this twice to see if I just missed. They don’t even mention him smh sad lack of detail.

[@SuperMarioJustin4]

Levi Stubbs tries not to overshadow his Four Tops friends, Duke Fakir, Obie Benson, and Lawrence Payton.

[@naarahjanemorris3121]

Hi you 3 what is odd is that the plant was female & levi stubbs was male I think the baby plants are cute.

[@VENUS.SE7EN]

Exactly!! And Levi is just as important to the character and story as the plant. I can't find anything that discusses his involvement with this film. Pisses me off.

[@j.lindback]

This is only my guessing, but if an actor is being used to promote a movie, which a behind the scenes featurette per definition is, they need to get a higher salary. You could compare it to Disney's "Aladdin" (where Ashman/Menken also were involved), where Disney fell out with Robin Williams over a similar agreement.

[@maskedmarvyl4774]

I loved the segment where they showed 20 people working together to make the plant move; I wish they had shown more of that.

[@Lon.BedStuyforLife]

Yep! We don't appreciate how much effort it took to get Audrey 2 to move real-like and look real...

[@The_Mimewar]

Audrey 2s movements are so smooth! Even the speech, the lips move fast, and accurately. Love this movie

[@inkmooncabin]

I always wondered how they got Audrey II's lips to move so naturally, but it's because they record the puppeteering at a slower frame rate than the final cut, so in the movie he's sped up a little bit, making it look even better

[@andyjohnson4907]

They should have put that in this documentary.

[@simplicitylost]

@@andyjohnson4907 At 19:54 you can tell that the audio is slowed down while they’re filming and then it’s sped up in the next shot when it’s the final version from the film.

[@andyjohnson4907]

@@simplicitylost I was teasing Sam Davey because everything he said in his comment was on the video we all just watched.

[@simplicitylost]

@@andyjohnson4907 They don’t specifically reference it in the video. Especially with how stupid people are today, I wouldn’t put it past someone. One can never be too sure with dumbness on the Internet. 😉

[@GalaxyNexus1]

@Greg Elchert Levi Stubb's vocals also had to be pitch shifted so they would sound normal to the actors who had to work with the slowed down version.

[@gatsbysdead]

Just to add in here: the original play was written by Alan Menkin and Howard Ashman. Ashman is also credited as the screenplay writer, and is responsible for much of the music in The Little Mermaid. He was a gay man who would unfortunately die of complications of HIV/AIDS in 1991. Wanted to mention him so his incredible talent would be remembered.

[@IDONTEXIST_6]

Y

[@giggles7179]

Thank you so much for taking the opportunity to highlight Ashman. It's true - he and Alan Menken were recruited by Disney based on the amazing work they did on "Little Shop of Horrors." If I may add to your comments, the two of them actually composed music for not only "The Little Mermaid," but also "Beauty and the Beast" and "Aladdin" as well. I've heard in various documentaries that Howard Ashman was also responsible (or "to blame," if you like - ha!) for Ursula, the Sea Witch's design to be heavily influenced by the legendary Divine, the original actor and template for Edna Turnblad in 1988's "Hairspray" and whose wild, larger-than-life stage and screen persona was born in the films of John Waters.

[@nadelacanal]

Yes thank you. So weird that the video doesn't include them more

[@MrGabeanator]

@@nadelacanal or alan

[@tysargent9647]

The original off-Broadway production was also directed by Ashman.

[@southweststrangla420]

the best puppet ever made. ever. i tell everyone i show this movie too that "man thats crazy, he was actually looking at this giant plant singing to him. unlike nowadays where it would be cgi. " such an amazing job

[@rogue7723]

I love how Audrey II's mouth has a proper mouth formation of the letters he's saying instead of it just opening and closing.

[@Porcf81]

I am constantly amazed at the puppetry in this film too. It really is remarkable and I’ve never seen anything else that compares.

[@RichardX1]

@Ethan Harman This was over half a decade before Jurassic Park. Check out "The Last Starfighter" if you want to see what CGI was like back then. When I first saw it I thought it was really good stop motion.

[@Tulip_bip]

i remember not being able to believe that it was real even when i was a kid

[@Joshua_Quinzel_Isley]

When Ellen said "Sure Sweetie". My heart had just melted.

[@plawson8577]

She has a VERY distinctive Brooklyn accent.

[@gregoryschmidt1233]

THANK YOU, Frank Oz, for keeping Ellen Greene, a true Broadway powerhouse talent, in the film, instead of doing the all-too-common practice of casting Hollywood "stars" who can't sing!

[@hunterolaughlin]

I’m glad too. To me, Ellen Greene is the definitive Audrey. No matter how many different actresses played her in different revivals of the show, to me Ellen Greene IS Audrey. Unfortunately, it’s unlikely she’s going to come back in the upcoming remake due to her age. They got Scarlett Johansson playing her in the upcoming remake, but that might be one of those examples of Hollywood bringing in an a-list celebrity to play an iconic role.

[@gregoryschmidt1233]

@@hunterolaughlin Well, I've never heard Ms Johansson sing, so I can't pre-judge, but I fear you're probably correct. Audrey is a formidable role, even for a trained Broadway belter.

[@jeffreykare]

What's ironic is that Frank Oz thought that this was the first time that the person who originated their role on stage got to reprise it in the movie. That actually happened long before LITTLE SHOP with other stage-to-screen adaptations of stage musicals such as... GUYS & DOLLS THE KING & I THE PAJAMA GAME DAMN YANKEES THE MUSIC MAN MY FAIR LADY HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING FUNNY GIRL OLIVER! 1776 CABARET THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW

[@hunterolaughlin]

Jeffrey Kare And Jesus Christ Superstar. Yvonne Elliman, Barry Dennen, and Bob Bingham reprised their roles from the Broadway show. Yvonne and Barry even have played their roles in the original concept album.

[@angrymal1345]

Gregory Schmidt she actually ain’t that bad of a singer but don’t know if she can hit Audreys notes

[@mattsheezy5469]

The darkness of the film, the set design, the music, and the animation is just perfect, it’s a true piece of art. If it were made today, it would be filled with CGI crap.

[@eyeln9ne696]

Everyone has that one movie that they love no matter what. It's exciting, comforting, and almost a best friend. This is that movie for me. I have easily seen it over 200 times in my 40 years, and I STILL get goosebumps every time the opening song begins! I don't want to get carried away with this comment, or I'll write a whole story. If you haven't seen this movie, I beg you to give it a chance. It's infinitely rewatchable.

[@Hinatachan360]

I found it for free on KZbin and have been watching over and over. Such a nostalgic experience.

[@Joefest99]

Same on all counts!

[@deletedwaffles]

Ellen Greene's real voice sounds so soothing. I could listen to her read all day.

[@sixfootfive6556]

It's official... The 80's was the best decade for movies.

[@willstarbailey]

Best decade for everything pop culture lol

[@thisisntme]

​@willstarbailey, I'm going to disagree with that. 90s music was better.

[@eyeln9ne696]

The practical effects still look amazing, over 30 years later!

[@OptimusPhillip]

It was really cool seeing that real-time shot of the Plant singing.

[@mitzycream]

it is NOT in fact the first time an actor who originated the role in a play reprises that role in the movies. In 1975 a good 10 years BEFORE this movie, Tim Curry who originated the role of Dr Frank - n - Futer was cast to play him in the movie adaptation

[@mattyo71]

Also not the first time. In 1973, Yvonne Elliman, Barry Dennen, and Bob Bingham reprised their Broadway roles in the film version of Jesus Christ Superstar. Chaim Topol played Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway, the West End and film in 1971. In 1968, Barbara Streisand did it in Funny Girl. Rex Harrison in 1964 for My Fair Lady. The list goes on and on.

[@KageTenshiiRyuu]

"Drill Happy Dentist" I love that.

[@monetpetals86]

“aLAAAAAAAARRRRRMMMM goes off at SEVEN! Then you start up T-AHooAHooAHooAH-Ahwn….” Chills …every time.

[@graciek2685]

I KNOWWW

[@mrbuckets11]

This should have millions of views. One of the greatest recreations of all time

[@darrenrenna]

One of the first movies I can remember seeing in the theater......still has a special place in my heart

[@allisonjohnson6399]

If Rick Moranis's wavy little smile isn't the cutest ever.....🥰🥰🥰

[@isabellaphillipson4957]

I have been making puppets for ages and was super proud of them, I have even spent several months a few versions of Audrey 2 and this has just made me feel so lazy! 😂

[@sonnyajvoll5865]

​ I'm watching this for the first time since, like, 1992. I liked it as a kid and had an urge to revisit it, and I've been grinning with delight the whole time coz it's genuinely good as hell, but I'm only halfway through coz I HAD TO pause it to look up how in the hell they were achieving these plant effects in 1986! I was expecting strings, jerky motion, and mouth shapes limited to open and closed. I had forgotten or, let's be real, had no appreciation as a kid of how impressive and flawless this puppetry actually was.Heck, I'd still be impressed if it was managed this smoothly and expressively without CG today. Arriight, I'm gonna go finish the movie now.

[@gustavvson]

A bit of Trivia: The director of Little Shop of Horrors Frank Oz did the voice of Cookie Monster, Grover, and Bert in the children's TV show Sesame Street

[@kymamonson7434]

Voiced yoda he did

[@hannahmabbott7370]

Also did Fozzie bear in the muppets.

[@gustavvson]

@@hannahmabbott7370 Miss PIggy Too!

[@ronaibia]

The best musical ever. Greetings from Brazil. Had so much fun watching the making off.

[@emperorpalpatine1986]

He said nurse this plant back to death “To DeAtH” HAHA

[@cuteladybugdrsbmid1925]

This is one of my favorite movies of all time. No matter what comes out of movie studios, this was musical movie perfection!

[@ahhchoo8488]

the plant, wow. I don't think 3D graphics can touch the amazing practical effects. I hope it never will.

[@EilishGleeson]

One of my favourite musicals and movies little shop of horrors has a special place in my heart even though when I first watched it had nightmares for quite some time because of the the dentist scenes I’m surprised I don’t have a fear of the dentist as an adult

[@ItWILLbeWONDERFUL_THERE]

David Geffin pestered Mel Brooks into turning his movie The Producers into a musical. I will always be thankful for that!

[@iLikeTheUDK]

19:54 here's one of the famous digitally time-stretched Audrey II recordings they used to let Rick Moranis understand his cues while filming undercranked. They played the tape at a slower speed, but that really lowered the pitch of the audio too and made it hard to understand what was being said a lot of the time, so to compensate for the lowered pitch and only make the playback speed different, they ran that slowed down tape's output through an Eventide Harmonizer, an early digital pitch shifter that was in heavy use in the late 70s and the 80s, raising the pitch back up. So that was the 80s way to time stretch!

[@Joefest99]

Rick Moranis is such a stand-up dude! Really like that guy!

[@antonycepeda1839]

This movie is A work of art

[@a1sausie453]

Oz did amazing work with the puppetry on that plant

[@naarahjanemorris3121]

How comes Levi Stubbs wasn't talked about his voice is Awesome for Audrey 2 The plant as it's his singing voice that makes the plant a character in the film, the Uncut Version I did cry when Audrey is fed to the plant but the gentleness of the plant swallowing her amazed me, until it ate Seymour the people were silly buying Audrey 2,s but they found out the hard way invasion of an Alien Plant I did think the little plants that sang were cute, & was in sync with there mother.

[@lalu625]

Can´t believe ... Levi Stubbs wurde mit keiner Silbe erwähnt! The voice of Audrey II !!!

[@springheartedtiger]

Movie fact: rick and Ellen actually got bruises on their lips from the kiss after “Suddenly Seymour”

[@angrymal1345]

That had to suck

[@springheartedtiger]

Sweet and sour Potato’s love hurts

[@Anukii]

LMAO they *were* kissing like a couple of virgins 😩

[@OptimusPhillip]

As much as I'd like to see what Scorsese would've done with the movie, I can't imagine it'd be as good as what Frank Oz did. No disrespect to Scorsese, he's certainly not called one of the greatest modern filmmakers for no reason. I just think that this is a movie that requires a different skill set.

[@EazzyLilE]

omg how have i never seen this this is amazing

[@cessnaace]

I could tell it was Ed Bishop doing the narration, and I was correct. This wasn't the first film to use someone from the original stage cast. 1972's "1776" used most of the original cast, and director as well. Anywho, when I saw this in a cinema in 1987 there were just a handful of others present. A shame as it's a great movie.

[@AstralPixie]

I'm just a mean, green mother from outer space, and I'm bad. *It's always time for dental hygeine, Seymour*

[@M.L.7]

One of the first cassette soundtracks I ever purchased as a kid was the one for this movie. I was obsessed with this film growing up. As a musician and a songwriter in my adult life, it wasn’t until I got older that I really started to realize why I gravitated to the music in this film. It’s not really my style of music, but the music is brilliant and I love every song, but for me about the clever lyrics. Lyrics that rhyme. That has always been one of the things that has given me great euphoria all of my life, and lines that rhyme have always been a massive conviction of mine in the music I write. As a little kid, I wasn’t looking much into the production credits of the album jackets in my cassettes, so I still find it incredibly amazing that 3 of the first 4 movie soundtracks I ever owned were Little Shop of Horrors, Aladdin, and Beauty and the Beast. The common denominator(s) of those three albums? Alan Menken music, and maybe most importantly, Howard Ashman lyrics. I will also add that one of the most mesmerizing batch of song lyrics I was exposed to as a kid, were the tunes to The Little Mermaid. Do you wanna guess who was responsible for the music and lyrics in that film? Yep! Brilliant!

[@karenwells1650]

Why didn't they mention Levi Stubb's, he's the voice of the plant? They everything about making the movie except who the voice of the plant.

[@MrGabeanator]

They didn't interview or mention Howard Ashman and Alan Menken so 9/10

[@Hinatachan360]

They didn't mention or interview Levi Stubbs either.

[@MrGabeanator]

@@Hinatachan360 true

[@damaracarpenter8316]

so disappointing

[@MrGabeanator]

@@damaracarpenter8316 ikr

[@c.w.r.794]

This doesn’t feel like a retrospective, but more of an Entertainment Tonight piece from ‘86 advertising the film

[@brotherofjunk]

The narrator said that the production team built 'an exact replica of skid row in manhattan." An exact replica? Of Manhattan's skid row? Sure, Jan. Where exactly in Manhattan is skid row? Can i get that address?

[@MrCarlosandres94]

Ellen Greene was not the first time an actress originated a role on stage to later play it on film. Barbra did it with Funny Girl.

[@RichardHannay]

I find it bizarre that there are no mention of Howard Ashman or Alan Menken... was this deliberate?

[@jillianmcgovern9346]

I was scrolling for so long just to find this one comment mentioning either of them. They are the two musical geniuses behind this musical as well as so many others and there's no recognition for them with this movie? That's so wrong

[@Macklemorrow]

I watched this whole thing without realizing it

[@plawson8577]

Little Shop of Horrors was filmed in London. Not NYC. It was at Pinewood Studios. Batman ‘89 was also filmed at Pinewood Studios.

[@gilbertosantiago2184]

enjoyed the Movie over the Play which I watched in 1982. Loved the ending

[@marklola12]

TBH the 3 singers made this movie for me

[@MockeryManor]

Facts!

[@taesdrugdealer4458]

the Greek chorus

[@TomLeach-dd8cl]

Why all the blocking out of pieces of the movie? Don't understand why? Copyright?

[@mattyo71]

Gay porn

[@EthanDolan61101]

I wonder what happened to the Mean green mother puppet after the film's production ended?

[@This-country-sucks-4]

Love how they used to say picture lol

[@calraig]

they pronounced it wrong.. it's an AMAZING, SADISTIC dentist*

[@nicholashughes4342]

Coolness,thanks. Almost had new remake,but it's been cancelled, be blessed all in Jesus shalom

[@pancytryna9378]

Really? Thank fuck

[@MrGabeanator]

no mention of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken tsk tsk

[@MrGabeanator]

RIP Roger Corman

[@PauloJunior-ip4vb]

I really liked the part where they animate the robot slowly and then speed up the image because it's obvious that you can't move a robot that weighs almost a ton quickly

[@JohannaLeigh]

Good point. It would have been interesting to hear how that bit of casting came about. As far as Audrey, if Ellen Green wasn't available,Cindy Lauper would have been good. Barbra Streisand wouldn't have worked. She and Audrey Two would have been battling it out for screen time, til FrankOz decided, *"I might as well get Miss Piggy to play Audrey!"*

[@TomIdelson]

A PERFECT MOVIE MUSICAL!

[@XSI5]

Don't know... maybe people could show some respect to modern CGI artists. They work as hard as puppeteers back in the day. Hollywood adapts to whatever new technology brings to tell stories and CGI is no easy thing at all. Without 3D animation, James Cameron would had never risked doing Titanic, or Peter Jackson would had never attempted doing Lord of the rings. So many other great movies only exists because CGI exists We all agree Little Shop of Horrors did amazing with animatronics, but Tron or Jurassic Park are also amazing with CGI

[@marklola12]

Yeh people always blast it and alot of CGI artists work just as hard as ANY artist of created puppets etc for movies

[@brianoliveira42]

Yeah, like creating these puppets was incredibly complex and difficult, but so is making an entire realistic, alive-feeling creature digitally

[@UnknownArtistComics]

"As hard as" definitely isn't true. They work VERY hard. But it's not fair to say as hard as. It isn't comparable, the reason those things only exist is because without cgi they'd be so much HARDER to where it doesn't make sense to do. Cgi in an of itself reduces the effort needed. That's NOT a bad thing but it is a large factor to it's success and near complete overtake of practical effects in the modern age.

[@XSI5]

@@UnknownArtistComics You have no idea about CGI

[@p.e.miranda2038]

@@XSI5 Audrey II in it's biggest form took around 20 people to operate, and given the frame they probably strained themselves plenty, plus the puppet builders and assistants - I think it's pretty safe to say that in thia particular que movie, they worked harder than a modern CGI team realtive to the final product

[@leejones8582]

what is the block that pops up?

[@wagomus4323]

This movie has 13 songs, and 13 in Asia means bad luck. So in the ending of this movie, they made others.

[@gregorysakata5848]

Why did you censor Audrey twos final form but only the face??

[@D0S81]

18:57 when the camera slowed down his voice that sounded creepy as heck.

[@Pirromount]

What’s up with the blocked out segments during “Suddenly Seymour” and “Big Green Muthah?”

[@terminalblue]

Corman is such a fucking boss

[@Paulbrqfd]

Is it just me or is anyone else acting out scenes from little shop of horrors in drama

[@ellathedino]

Okay but just imagine just imagine if Martin Short was Seymour in the duet with Steve just imagine

[@anonymoussaid9970]

15:20 Frank Oz as Indiana jones

[@Rogirlie]

Why are parts of it blurred???

[@chickrepelant]

3:54 Yo is that Wayne Williams?!?!?

[@dajhancco2890]

8:35 las pistas de Blue XDXDD

[@ezekielbrockmann114]

6:00 That's the jailer from Joliet!

[@roiking2740]

what about the guy who played the Andre 2?

[@hikkchik]

What's with covering Audrey 2 up during Mean Green Mother?

[@LuckyVine]

What's with all the random blurred out sections of the video? You even completely blurred out Audrey II for nearly an entire minute near the end. And why the hell isn't a single other person asking this question?

[@filmSCHOOLarchive]

Copyright Issues.

[@LuckyVine]

@@filmSCHOOLarchive Well you sure chose extremely random moments.

[@crazyjaybe]

C'MON!!!! What's with the giant blue that he's showing up?!?!

[@FM-nm4ng]

What's the deal with the blurred-out boxes?

[@MyOldTapes]

I have a feeling it's been copystriked in those spots and without having to take the whole video down, it's the best option.

[@MariaGonzalez-zp3lk]

TRADUCTOR POR FAVOR. GRACIAS

[@MrGabeanator]

sundance tv sent me

[@superdemonboy]

In before the upcoming remake I'm not exactly looking forward to...

[@GeovanaGiovanaHorses]

19:54 plant moves

[@a_guy_who_exists]

The close ups of the plants mouth make me uncomfortable......is that normal? Other than that though, this movie is a masterpiece

[@Hinatachan360]

It's supposed to make you uncomfortable for the creepy factor.

[@brucehubbard1852]

What's the deal with the dam blur screen in front of certain scenes...God that just ruins the mode.

[@ryanunderwood1798]

What's being censored at the start?

[@EazzyLilE]

i dunno lol im so confused

[@mikebryant3110]

Just wish that they had stuck to the original ending loved the movie but the ending....

[@364carrollst]

why do they block out parts here?

[@ComicMakerBoyo]

Was this cgi or puppetry?

[@Havinghomothoughts]

Puppetry ,cgi wasn’t a thing at the time of the movie

[@eligalvan8515]

Can you imagine barbra Streisand as audry 😂😂😂. Thank god that didnt happen lol

[@franklesser5655]

Geffen is so slimy.

[@tarag7292]

Man, you ain't lyin'.

[@katiemaige4275]

Who the voice of Audrey the plant

[@JP105INYO]

Levi Stubbs

[@VENUS.SE7EN]

Unreal that Levi Stubbs wasn't mentioned. But that's his name. He was the lead singer of The Four Tops.

[@ItWILLbeWONDERFUL_THERE]

Barbra Streisand? No way. Maybe in her early Broadway days, but by the mid 80's she was TOO big. What's with the square screen that keeps blurring things out?

[@johngallagher4280]

The movie is a metaphor for addiction.

[@johngallagher4280]

HUH?!? Umm... Julie Andrews, Rex Harrison, and many others.

[@ryanhills4907]

Does Seymour go to prison for shooting the dentist

[@Crunchy-red-leaf]

He doesn't shoot the dentist, the dentist gets a laughing gas mask stuck and it causes him to lose his breath and it kills him.

[@eddead4235]

All songs are perfect the plant the worst i skip all plant parts

[@lairdminor8192]

This was a great disappointment, because there was no discussion of the music (which carries the show). They should have included interviews with the composer and lyricist, and with Levi Stubbs (who voiced the plant).

[@thedarksiderebel]

Dave Geffen seems like the most vacuous disingenuous Hollywood producer-type I've ever seen

[@herbsimpson4484]

He’s fucking awful .

[@leejones8582]

@@herbsimpson4484 he is a billionaire

[@tarag7292]

He is not at all a likable guy, from what I heard. He is one of the founders of DreamWorks.

[@plawson8577]

@Greg Elchert He’s Gay.

[@oscarkoop2548]

Today it would be all cgi