08/27/2025
Ah, Creepy Crawlers—just the name is enough to spark memories of that unmistakable smell of warm Plasti-Goop and the excitement of making your very own slimy critters on the kitchen counter. Dubbed the gross-out answer to the Easy-Bake Oven, the Thing Maker wasn’t just a toy—it was a badge of honor for kids who loved all things messy, strange, and hands-on.
But the fun didn’t stop at melting goop into bug molds. In true '90s fashion, Creepy Crawlers expanded into its own offbeat animated series, and it was every bit as wild as the toy. The show followed young inventor Chris Carter, who discovers a mysterious old magic shop and builds a “Magic Maker.” Thanks to a rare cosmic event, the machine comes to life—spawning the Goop-Mandos: bug-themed heroes made from living goop. With names like Hocus Locust (a mystical insect wizard), Volt Jolt (a buzzing electric brute), and T-3 (a high-tech trio in one), these gooey defenders helped Chris take on the sinister Professor Googengrime. The villain had his own twisted version of the Magic Maker, cranking out monstrous “Crime Grime” creations bent on city-wide chaos.
As the episodes rolled on, Chris teamed up with friends like Sammy Reynolds, and new Goop-Mandos were introduced, adding layers of bizarre science fiction, offbeat humor, and creature-filled action. It was weird, it was wild, and it perfectly captured that over-the-top, slightly gross vibe kids in the ’90s couldn’t get enough of.
Whether you were glued to the screen watching mutant bugs fight crime or carefully pouring colored goop into hot metal molds at home, Creepy Crawlers was peak ’90s weirdness. It was creative, chaotic, and unapologetically messy—just the way we liked it.