"Dennis the Menace" (93): More Than Just Slapstick - My Weird Theory

Okay, I know what you're thinking: "Dennis the Menace, what a cheesy 90s flick!" And yeah, it IS. But re-watching it the other day, I started thinking... is it really just random slapstick? Hear me out. Remember the burglar, Switchblade Sam? Played by Christopher Lloyd, of course, making everything instantly better, lol. I think he's WAY too competent for the kind of movie this is. Like, the way he handles the Wilson's house, the lock picking... it's almost like a deleted heist movie scene got spliced in. My theory: Switchblade Sam was originally MEANT to be portrayed as a real threat, and Dennis's antics were supposed to inadvertently foil a genuinely dangerous criminal. But, somewhere along the line, they dialed up the comedy and dialed down the menace (pun intended!). Think about it: Why else would they cast Christopher Lloyd, who's known for more than just comedy? I think they wanted a bit of edge. And some of those early scenes with him… the almost-too-real looking wounds when Dennis gets him with the BB gun... they feel tonally off from the rest of the movie's cartoonish violence if that makes sense. The sound design, too, has these subtle undercurrents in those scenes: harsher impacts, more realistic (for kids movie standards) breaking sounds. It supports the idea that it originally played darker. Maybe it's just wishful thinking from someone who enjoys a good theory, but I can't shake the feeling that there's a more serious, suspenseful movie buried beneath all the paint buckets and exploding fireworks. It would have been pretty dark for a kids movie though, maybe they made the right call. But now I'm gonna be looking for deleted scenes and alternate takes! Anyone else notice this, or am I just totally off my rocker? And PS, can we talk about the sound design on the slingshot? It's so iconic and satisfying. I need to know what they used to create that thwack! Seriously, give the sound engineers some credit. It's the most memorable part of the whole movie.