| The Search for Animal Chin | |
| Director: | Stacy Peralta |
| Producer: | Stacy Peralta |
| Starring: | Tony Hawk Steve Caballero Mike McGill Lance Mountain Tommy Guerrero Rodney Mullen Mike Vallely |
| Music: | Dennis Dragon, William Santschi, Johnny Rad |
| Distributor: | Powell Peralta |
| Runtime: | 65 minutes |
| Language: | English |
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.
The Bones Brigade embark on a quest to find the first skateboarder, the mythological Won Ton "Animal" Chin who had gone missing. Their journey takes them to different locations including Hawaii, California, Nevada, and Mexico where they meet friends and skate different spots along the way. It culminates in the discovery of the secret Chin Ramp, a back-to-back double half pipe featuring a spine and a tunnel. They never find the actual Animal Chin, but come to realize that in their search they discover the true meaning of their journey, the pure fun of skateboarding.
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.
Tony Hawk recalled in an episode of the Hawk vs. Wolf Podcast that the Chin ramp was built in private property without permission. The Chin ramp scenes were shot first, followed by Hawaii and other locations.[1]
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.[2]