The Search for Animal Chin


The Search for Animal Chin is a 1987 skateboarding film featuring the Bones Brigade. It is one of the first skateboarding films to have a plot, rather than simply a collection of skateboarding stunts and music videos.
An early version of the screenplay by John Smythe, titled "The Rollersurfing Quest for Animal Chang", was damaged by some ranch dressing. Producer Stacy Peralta misread the name of the title character "Animal Chang" as "Animal Chin", and liked the name so much that the title and the character's name were officially changed.

Plot summary

The Bones Brigade travels around California, Nevada, and Hawaii to different skate spots in search of a wisened old man, Won Ton "Animal" Chin. The movie is of the old-school nomadic, skate-everything-in-your-path genre with interludes of stopping to rip-up a big ramp, pool or kicker. After much searching and skateboarding, they locate a large ramp in the desert. They also find a Chinese character on the inside of the ramp's spine.

Cast

Bones Brigade:
The film also includes:
Also, in non-skating roles are Skip Engblom as a bouncer and Gerrit Graham as Alan Winters, the head of Slash Skates.

Legacy

The iconic ramp featured in the movie was rebuilt at Woodward West Skatepark in Tehachapi, California for the 30th anniversary of the film. The original Bones Brigade reunited and skated the ramp design that no one has skated in 30 years - the original was torn down after filming.