Teen Wolf

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Teen Wolf (first released on August 23, 1985) is a United States film starring Michael J. Fox as Scott Howard, a high school student who discovers that his family has an unusual heritage when he finds himself transforming into a wolfman. He subsequently uses his "curse" to gain popularity at school, becoming the star basketball player.

The film was directed by Rod Daniel based on a script co-written by Jeph Loeb and Matthew Weisman.

The movie was followed by a sequel, Teen Wolf Too'.

Cartoon Spin-off

Townsend Coleman provided Scott Howard's voice for the 1986 cartoon spin-off of the same name. While generally keeping true to the main ideas, this version made some changes from their live action predecessors.

In this version, Howard and his family now lived in the fictional town of Wolverton, and his grandparents were also werewolves who frequently longed for the 'old country'---Transylvania. A younger sister named Lupe ironically longs to be a werewolf.

Scott's friends Boof and Stiles (voiced by Happy Days's Don Most) provide a small but dedicated support network. The Howard family also contends with a nosy neighbor named Mrs. Seslick who is always convinced there is something 'weird' over at their house.

Despite the youth audience, the cartoon series delivered very powerful critiques of disability-as-civil rights.

Freely invoking an asthma attack or seizure the episodes of this series centered on how Scott felt 'weird immediately before and during his werewolf transformation. Although he never hurt anybody while he was a werewolf, Scott was conscious of his 'difference' from other teenagers and had to make accommodations for himself. He also expressed frustration that the residents of this town had stereotyped 'his people'. A jock named Mick constantly picks on Scott for being the 'outsider' at Wolverton High.

Precursor

The Teen Wolf movie is rumoured to be inspired by the 1957 Michael Landon movie I Was a Teenage Werewolf. Michael Landon played teenager Tony. Tony's uncontrollable temper needs to be stopped. This leads him into the hands of a devious doctor out to make a name for himself. Dr. Brandon decides to use Tony for an experiment and gives his patient a shot that regresses him so far back in time that he turns into a werewolf. But Tony has plans of his own. I Was A Teenage Werewolf was a science fiction film that did really well at the box office.