The Garbage Pail Kids Movie is a 1987 film adaptation of the children's trading cards series of the same name produced, directed, and co-written by Rod Amateau. It was the last film to be directed by Amateau before his retirement in 1989 and death in 2003.
The cards began as a parody of the popular Cabbage Patch Kids dolls and each card features a character who typically has a gross habit or abnormality, or suffers a terrible fate. The film depicts seven of the Garbage Pail Kids (played by dwarf actors in animatronic costumes) interacting with society and befriending a regular boy.
The film was lambasted by critics and is widely considered to be one of the worst films ever made.
The Garbage Pail Kids were nominated for the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst New Star, but lost to David Mendenhall for Sylvester Stallone's Over the Top, and the song "You Can Be a Garbage Pail Kid" was nominated for the Worst Original Song, but lost to George Michael's controversial hit "I Want Your Sex" from Eddie Murphy's Beverly Hills Cop II.
Plot
A garbage can spaceship is seen flying near Earth, which is then shown inside an antique shop owned by Captain Manzini. A boy named Dodger is being assaulted by four older teenage bullies in a park. Juice, the leader, steals Dodger's money and drops him in a puddle. Dodger goes to Manzini's antique shop, where he works. Manzini takes Dodger's clothes and cleans them while warning him to stay away from the garbage can.
Later, Dodger sees Tangerine, Juice's girlfriend, who seems to be the most compassionate member of the group towards Dodger, and he tries to persuade her to buy something from the shop. Dodger is attracted to Tangerine and covertly smells her hair while she is distracted. The other bullies enter the shop and attempt to rough up Dodger again, but he manages to outwit them. However, during the tussle, the garbage can is knocked over and a green ooze spills out. The bullies then bring Dodger into a sewer, handcuff him to a rail, and open a pipe, pouring sewage onto him. Dodger is then saved by little mysterious people named the Garbage Pail Kids.
Manzini returns and is upset that the Garbage Pail Kids have been released from their can, but he introduces Dodger to each of them: Greaser Greg, a leather jacket-wearing greaser with a violent attitude; Messy Tessie, a girl with a constantly runny nose; Windy Winston, an insane boy who wears a Hawaiian shirt and often farts violently (on his card, he was depicted as a nervous musician); Valerie Vomit, a girl who throws up on command; Foul Phil, a whining hungry baby with halitosis who constantly asks characters if they are his "mommy" or "daddy"; Nat Nerd, an obese acne-riddled boy who dresses up like a superhero and wets his pants frequently; and Ali Gator, the group's leader, an anthropomorphic half-person/half-alligator with an appetite for human toes. Manzini explains that the kids are forbidden from going out in public, because they will be attacked by the "normies" (normal people), and that he cannot get the kids to go back into the garbage can without magic.
The next day, Dodger goes with Tangerine to a nightclub where she sells clothes she designed. Dodger behaves awkwardly when Tangerine removes her shirt to sell it. Dodger then hides when Juice shows up. Meanwhile, the Kids steal a Pepsi truck, flatten Juice's car with it, and then have a campfire in an alley with stolen food. The next morning, the Garbage Pail Kids recover from food-induced hangovers and give Dodger a jacket they sewed. The jacket impresses Tangerine, and she asks Dodger to get more clothes so she can sell them. Upon Dodger's request, the Kids increase their output after stealing a sewing machine from a non-union sweatshop, but then get bored and go out in public in disguise. They go to a theater playing Three Stooges shorts and behave obnoxiously. Ali and Winston go to a bar and get into a fight with bikers, who are soon won over by the Kids' heroics, after which they celebrate with beers. Meanwhile, Tangerine sells the clothes and begins to prepare for a fashion show based on them. She meets the Kids and though repulsed by them, realizes that she can take advantage of their designs.