The Golden Child

"Eddie Murphy is the chosen one."

1986 1h 34m EN

😐

5.9

MID

🥫

21%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

IMDB

★5.9TMDB · 1,231🥫21%Rotten Tomatoes●37Metacritic★6IMDB · 62,890

ActionAdventureComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

After a Tibetan boy, the mystical Golden Child, is kidnapped by the evil Sardo Numspa, humankind's fate hangs in the balance. On the other side of the world in Los Angeles, the priestess Kee Nang seeks the Chosen One, who will save the boy from death. When Nang sees social worker Chandler Jarrell on television discussing his ability to find missing children, she solicits his expertise, despite his skepticism over being "chosen."

“Eddie Murphy is the chosen one.”

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Cast

Eddie Murphy
Chandler Jarrell
Charles Dance
Sardo Numspa
Charlotte Lewis
Kee Nang
J.L. Reate
The Golden Child
Victor Wong
The Old Man
Randall 'Tex' Cobb
Til
James Hong
Doctor Hong
Shakti Chen
Kala

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Michael Ritchie
Writers: Dennis Feldman
Languages: English, Mandarin, Tibetan
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.2× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

40 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Mandarin, Tibetan.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Michael Ritchie, shot by Donald E. Thorin. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Michel Colombier. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Richard A. Harris shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Eddie Murphy and Charles Dance and Charlotte Lewis carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Eddie Murphy is the chosen one.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Michael Ritchie directs. Donald E. Thorin behind the camera. Michel Colombier scores. Richard A. Harris cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Mandarin, Tibetan.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 3.2× over at the box office.
240 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Mandarin, Tibetan.
4Directed by Michael Ritchie, shot by Donald E. Thorin. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Michel Colombier. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Richard A. Harris shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Eddie Murphy and Charles Dance and Charlotte Lewis carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Eddie Murphy is the chosen one.".
9IMDB entry: tt0091129 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 16 themes, including "buddhism", "ritual", "social worker", "monk".

The technical file

Cinematography: Donald E. Thorin
Original score: Michel Colombier
Editing: Richard A. Harris
Production design: J. Michael Riva
Costume design: Wayne A. Finkelman
Makeup / hair: Ken Chase
VFX supervisor: Ken Ralston
Sound: Gregg Landaker
Stunt coordinator: Mickey Gilbert
Runtime: 94 min · 1h 34m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $25,000,000
Box office: $79,817,939
Return: 319% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: The Golden Child (1986)
Rotten Tomatoes: 21% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 37/100
IMDB rating: 6/10 · 62,890 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

2 nominations total

Also by

Michael Ritchie

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2019-04-13
★ 7/10
So, if something happens to the kid, the whole world goes to hell? Eddie Murphy plays Chandler Jarrell, a man who devotes his time to finding lost children. When the beautiful Kee Nang (Charlotte Lewis) enters his life, she tells him he is the chosen one and he must find the Golden Child. Sceptical and driven purely by lust and intrigue, Jarrell gets involved without realising he's about to embark on a fantastical journey - one that involves peril and worst of all, the demon Sardo Numspa. Is The Golden Child a product of its time? By that I mean, was Eddie Murphy and The Golden Child's popularity exclusive to late 1980s audiences? For I can remember vividly how much this film entertained folk back in that decade, while the box office was $79,817,937, making it the 8th biggest earner of 1986. Yet since the 80s faded from memory it has become the in thing to deny Eddie Murphy pictures the comedy accolades that they actually once had. The Golden Child is not up with the more accepted 80s Murphy pictures such as Trading Places and Beverly Hills Cop, but upon revisiting the film you find Murphy at his wisecracking, quipping and charming best! Cashing in on a fantasy action formula that was reinvigorated and templated by Raiders Of The Lost Ark in 1981, The Golden Child hits all the required genre buttons. Pretty girl, daring reluctant hero with a quip in his armoury, dashing villain (Charles Dance so splendidly British), vibrant colour photography (Donald E. Thorin), and a cute kid with mystical powers. The film only asks you to get involved in the fun, not to dissect and digress its worth as a cranial fantasy picture. Ok! so now the CGI demon looks creaky, and yes the genre had far better pictures in the 80s, 90s and beyond, but really this isn't meant to be taken seriously. Watch as Murphy does a scratch number on a sacred pillar, note his visual comedy when he gets an answer to his question that he can't believe, or enjoy his lines to Charles Dance and to a silhouetted dragon woman - prime Murphy on show. A jolly good show and something of a bad mood lifter when required. 7/10

Production companies