The Evolution of Pennywise (Animated)
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Pennywise has fed on our fear for generations, but just how has he evolved through the decades? Let's go through his ever-altering forms to find out...
warning: spoilers ahead!Pennywise first appears on screen in the IT Mini-Series (1990). In Episode 1, he wears a yellow suit, with green and purple accents and three pom-poms down the front. He's caked with pale makeup, has a large forehead, round nose, and puffy red hair. He also occasionally reveals viscous, sharp teeth, and alien-like hands. In addition to his clown-form, he transforms into several citizens of the town Derry, and notably – a Swampy Skeleton, a Creepy Mummy, and a Werewolf to spook his prey. But he’s warded off when sprayed with an inhaler and hit with an earring, squeezing down a drain to escape.
But 30 years later, in Episode 2, Pennywise is all healed up, and adds more Derry personas to his repertoire. His transformations also include an old lady that rots – turning into Beverley's father, a blue zombified bully, a rottweiler clown, Stan's head in a fridge and even a plate of freaky fortune cookies. Eventually, he reveals a giant spider form with a glowing belly, but he's once again hit with an earring, then pushed over, and has his heart torn out.
The Indian TV Series: Woh (1998) features a new Pennywise. This one is shorter, wears a pink tuxedo with puffy shoes, and a bald cap with tufts of orange hair. He also wears a multi-patterned outfit with triangular green frills, and his makeup is constantly changing. This clown has the same hunger for kids, and similar shape-shifting abilities, including a strange fuzzy silhouette manifestation. Despite being defeated – twice – when he’s hit with a magical stone, seven years later he reemerges as a young child, and ultimately reveals his original human form. He explains that a girl he once loved mocked his height, so he became a clown, and then took his own life, causing him to transform into an evil ghost-clown. However, his mother forces him to apologize, turning him into a glowing leaf that ascends into the sky.
Back in America, another Pennywise appears in IT (2017). He's taller, has a lighter outfit with puffy shoulders, a belt at his mid-section, pantaloons and laced boots. His forehead is huge, with quaffed orange hair, a smaller nose, red lines up his face, and a lazy eye. Additionally, he shows off his sharp teeth and unhinging jaw. He can also conjure burned arms, werewolf hands, spider limbs and a Mummy head. Once again he transforms into Derry residents, as well as a headless burn victim, an elongated painted lady, a legless upper body, Eddie popping out of a mattress, a horde of the undead, and a creepy Leper. His targets ultimately beat him up, so he slinks down a sewer while his head floats apart.
Taking place 27 years later, in IT Chapter Two (2019) Pennywise is healed and hungrier than ever. His waistline and pantaloons are lower, and overall he appears more weathered. This time, he transforms into another bowl of creepy fortune cookies, floating heads in a fish tank, an old lady turned giant witch, an undead bully, a demonic Beverley and a creepy Bill, a Spider-Stan hybrid, a pack of tormentors, a cute Pomeranian turned twisted demon-hound, the rest of Chapter 1's upper body, a giant Paul Bunyan statue, and a batch of zombie kid arms. Plus, a more human-looking Pennywise appears, in addition to his original floating dead-light form. In a vision, he's also seen transforming into a bird that turns into a monster. Finally, a giant Spider-Penny is revealed, but he’s told that he’s small, which deflates him to a pancake and allows his heart to be easily snuffed out by the power of friendship.
Clowns are often scary, but which onscreen buffoons have us avoiding the circus? Let’s send in the Top 10 clowns...animated!