There’s something interesting about the influx of films about capitalism and massive corporations being tailored as approachable biopics. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this growing sub-genre of corporate/consumerism biopics feels slimy and calculated. These aren’t movies so much as they are commercials and often cheerleaders for the idea of humanizing faceless corporations and “average” CEO’s whose life literally depends on a business decision. Despite some interesting aspects to it, “The Beanie Bubble” is yet another dose of corporate capitalism being lionized in a big budget, star studded movie. “The Beanie Bubble” is vaguely about the Beanie Babies craze of the 1990’s, but it’s a mostly fluffed up, mostly fictional account of Ty Warner and how he went from billionaire to has been seemingly overnight.
Tag Archives: Toys
Barbie Nation: An Unauthorized Tour (1998)
The 25th Anniversary Director’s Cut will be available on Demand June 27th.
One thing you can’t accuse Susan Stern’s documentary “Barbie Nation” of being is biased. Through and through “Barbie Nation” is a biography about the creation of Barbie, but it’s also an objective one. It’s bizarre, it’s humorous, it’s self deprecating, and most of all it reveals the pros and cons of the Barbie fandom. Director Susan Stern is a lot more interested in taking a look at the more surreal side of the Barbie fandom. While “Barbie Nation” does explore the culmination and conception of the doll, “Barbie Nation” also looks at the small pockets of fandoms that have popped up.
TV on DVD: Toys That Made Us Season 1 and 2 [Blu-Ray]/Veronica Mars: The Complete First Season [Blu-Ray]
Linger on Youtube for a little while and you’ll likely find at least fifty toy collectors and or pop culture buffs that have a slew of videos looking back at classic toy lines and franchises. What makes “Toys That Made Us: Seasons 1 & 2” such a unique series is that it attempts to offer up much more than memories. Creator Brian Volk-Weiss’s series could very well have fallen back on pure nostalgia, but instead opens up the scope of these world changing toy lines. There’s deeper insight, stark truths about how and why these toys were created, and a look in to the business of it all.
Five Favorite Childhood Horror Themed Toys
We couldn’t afford too many toys when we were kids, but for we always appreciated what stuff our parents could grab for us for Christmas or our birthdays. My toy preferences mostly narrowed down to action figures and play sets with TMNT and superhero figures some of my biggest choices on wish lists as a kid. Along the way I did have some toys that were horror themed, including the Ghostbusters, the Mighty Max play sets, and much more. I was even around during the first wave of McFarlane’s Spawn figures, which were hot commodities for a while, there. These are five of my favorite and most fondly remembered horror themed toys from my childhood.
What were your favorites?
TV On DVD: The Toys That Made Us: Seasons 1 & 2 (DVD)
Nostalgia entertainment is about as popular as ever and modern streaming services and networks are banking on the fascinating topics that can be mined from the mementos of pop culture. One of the most entertaining documentary series to be brought to the popular Netflix service has been by Brian Volk-Weiss’s “The Toys That Made Us.” While most studios would cut corners by merely making a series that relies on “Remember this?” and “Remember when…?” what “The Toys That Made Us” instead does is examine the importance and relevance of iconic toy lines from the eighties and nineties.
Making Fun: The Story of Funko (2018)
“Funko” is not a flash in the pan and it’s not a fad. It wants us to know that, and that it loves us, the fans. It’s been around for twenty years, manufacturing bobble heads and dolls in the background. Most recently it broke in to the mainstream consciousness with its series of Funko Pop Dolls, a long line of dolls with big heads, black eyes, and no mouths that have become humongous, coveted collector items far and wide. The Funko Pop craze has even managed to save some waning businesses with its broad line of dolls that range between anything from Batman, to The Sandlot, to The Golden Girls. “Making Fun” is a documentary by category, but in reality it’s a big promotional reel for stock holders of the company in the midst of its massive popularity.
NSFA (Not Safe for Adults): The Computer Warriors – The Adventure Begins (1990)
In the late eighties companies still wanted their own version of the Transformers to sell to kids and market some hit animated show that sells them plastic toys. By the late eighties just about every company thought of some way to create creatures or heroes that would transform out of some disguise. There were heroes that transformed from boulders, there were even heroes that looked like normal everyday food and kitchen utensils! Yes kids, why buy a hamburger when you can buy action figures that look like a hamburger, or a slice of pizza.