Chucky, the main antagonist of the Childs Play franchise, is a completely fictional character created by Don Mancini. However, the characters name is a nod to three real-life criminals: Charles Manson, Lee Harvey Oswald, and James Earl Ray. The design for Chucky was inspired by the My Buddy dolls that were introduced by Hasbro in the late 1980s. In the original script, Chucky was called Buddy, but the name had to be changed because of the "My Buddy" doll. The director of the first Childs Play film went out and got a "My Buddy" doll, a Raggedy Ann, a Raggedy Andy, and one of those life-size baby infants to help with the design process. The final design for Chucky was a result of sketches by designer Kevin Yagher, who merged the My Buddy doll with a few components of Raggedy Andy.

While Chucky is not based on a real-life individual, the franchise was inspired by a real-life story concerning a creepy doll named Robert from 1906. Robert the Doll was a one-of-a-kind toy first owned and named by Florida painter Robert Eugene Otto. The doll is said to be haunted and has been the subject of numerous paranormal investigations. Some aspects of Robert the Doll can be seen sprinkled throughout the first Childs Play film, such as the footsteps left in powder and the running through the halls. However, David Sloan, a paranormal researcher and author with a particular interest in Robert, stated that the doll was not an inspiration for Chucky.