It's strange. Especially since his problem with the original film was a killer Santa and in this he's dressed up as Santa for a scene.

Maybe he regretted his protesting as the years went by. He could've seen the error of his ways and realized he overreacted so appearing in this film was his way of saying "sorry" for it. Or perhaps, as others said, he just needed a way to pay the bills.

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I'm more interested in why anybody cared what he thought the first time around. It was a minor stroke of marketing genius to cast him in this sequel (whether it has anything to do with the controversy or not), given his objection to the first film.
It's too bad Rooney's career hasn't kept pace with longevity. The guy's been in movies longer than anyone, eighty years or so.

Hypocrisy
Horror_Metal

Maybe he swallowed his pride after seeing what a cult following the original had developed.
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My guess is he probably was in desperate need of the dough.
"We're all part Shatner/And part James Dean/Part Warren Oates/And Steven McQueen"

Maybe he's just a hypocrite? Lots of actors are sellouts and media whores.
You! Obey the fist!
RIP Heath Ledger

If you pay his cab fare, Mickey Rooney will deliver commentary for this film in your living room. But you'll have a hard time getting him to leave.

Considering Erich-13's theory, I wonder whether Rooney made any public statements after the movie was released. Anybody know?

He must of been out of his mind. I doubt that the pay was good. He was/is so washed up that I guess he was scraping by taking any crap roles he could get at his age. I find him demented and scary in this movie.
I'm not nutty, I'm just hooked on dolls!

^i highly doubt that.
he might have been paid a little more than some of the other actors but i doubt he was paid what hollywood would pay. This is a low budget horror movie remember.

Good question lol. They must have paid him good.
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I agree with you, Erich-13!
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Considering how little the film has to do with the previous installments, it's possible that it had a different working titleperhaps it was originally titled simply "The Toy Maker," and the "Silent Night, Deadly Night" prefix was added later on for name recognition/marketability. If the SNDN title wasn't on the script he was given, he wouldn't have made the connection to his earlier protest.
Mind you, this is all just pure speculation on my part
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