At the height of Michael Jackson’s fame in 1988 the star decided to released a collection of his new songs in film form. The songs all came from his previously released seventh album, Bad, and also told the story of Michael’s life. The first few chapters of Moonwalker showed the star performing on the Bad World Tour in Europe, followed by a ten-minute biographical film retelling the story of the Jackson 5. As well as including never-before-seen music videos for Man in the Mirror and Bad, it also brought a new music video to light for the song Leave Me Alone. The segment was a direct response to the British press who frequently wrote lies about him.

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The segment depicted the King of Pop traversing an amusement park based on his own life.

In the film, the amusements were built around a giant version of Michael, reminiscent of Gulliver from Gulliver’s Travels.

Directors Jerry Kramer and Jim Blashfield previously spoke about helping Michael with the eccentric sequence.

Jerry said: “The British press were calling him Wacko Jacko. I said: ‘Why don’t we take everything crazy that’s been written about you and turn it into a film and acknowledge it as if it’s your life?’”

Jim added: “Jerry and Michael had talked about having fun with his idiosyncrasies. Based on his conversation with Michael we made up a list of idiosyncrasies, rumours about him, and his interests. They had a list of tabloid headlines too.”

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During an interview with talk show host, Oprah Winfrey, Michael responded to the claims: “Why would I want some bones?”

Moonwalker director Jim remembered: “With a couple of storyboard artists we tried to come up with the format. I had an idea of setting in an amusement park, but for a while, it didn’t occur to me to make Michael the amusement park.

“I stayed away from the Gulliver idea at first because it seemed too derivative. But the longer we pushed ideas around, the more attractive the idea became. As soon as we got there, the whole thing came together. It became a bigger thing about a person trapped in their own identity.”

The final movie not only made light of the stories that had been written about Michael but also demonstrated how difficult it was for the pop star to live under constant scrutiny.

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Michael enjoyed bringing the concept to life, Jerry revealed. Recalling being with the star when he watched the final cut he said: “He was with his mother and his entourage. He was laughing and he loved it.

“But when we got to the part with scalpels circling his head and nose, acknowledging the plastic surgery, his mother turned to him and said: ‘Oh Michael, that’s not right.’”

Jerry added: “He had so much respect for his mother he killed the single.”

What’s more interesting about the Leave Me Alone segment, is that the original song had a hugely different meaning.

Jim revealed: “The [Leave Me Alone] lyrics are about a girl he wants to leave him alone! But that was an agreed-upon thing, that I’d let some of the words fly by as they will.”

Moonwalker was a huge success and went platinum a cumulative 18 times across the Canadian, British and American certification boards.

The movie has since been re-released on both DVD and Blu-ray.

Upon its initial release, Moonwalker earned a whopping $67 million at the box office on a $22 million budget.

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