There was a time when the Child’s Play films were solid, terrifying slasher flicks. They couldn’t quite equal the might of Halloween, but they achieved a cult-like status that’s still enjoyed to this day. After all, Chucky was a nightmarish villain who probably set doll sales back quite a bit for several years.
Then the franchise abandoned the Child’s Play nomenclature in favor of naming its sequels after the titular character. They also underwent a bit of a thematic shift, turning into horror-comedies rather than straight up horror. Chucky also had a wife (Tiffany, played/voiced by Jennifer Tilly) and then eventually, a son.
How did two re-animated plastic dolls conceive a child, though? Well, according to ScreenRant, despite it not being biologically possible for them to have a kid, they still have their human souls and as a result, it makes it possible for them to procreate. As such, Tiffany gives birth to their child, which sets things for 2004’s Seed of Chucky into motion.
As ScreenRant explains:
As the title makes clear, Bride of Chucky introduces Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly), an ex-girlfriend of Chucky’s who resurrects him using voodoo. After she angers him, Chucky kills Tiffany, and transfers her soul into a female doll. The duo then goes on a cross-country rampage, during which they have sex. It’s not clear how exactly this works from a biological standpoint, although since both dolls are inhabited by human souls, one assumes that’s what allows them to physically procreate. At the end of Bride of Chucky, Tiffany gives birth.
It turns out their child isn’t anatomically correct, though, which leads the couple to argue about what their gender is. Chucky insists he’s a boy and refers to him as Glen, while Tiffany states he must be a girl and calls her Glenda. What’s interesting is that this explores a theme which early 2000’s films weren’t open to discussing.
With Glen/Glenda unsure of who they are, there’s perhaps a message about gender confusion in the movie, in which one person (or doll, in this case) is unable to come to a decision about their own identity. Despite the goofy comedy that’s present, modern day audiences could see this theme as being quite ahead of its time.
In any case, Glen/Glenda only appeared in Seed of Chucky, but it could be interesting to explore the character further in future Child’s Play films now that the series has been rebooted.
