#Toy #Movie #Movie #Toy #WorthPoint
The first live-action film about Mattel’s iconic doll, Barbie, will be released on July 21. The buzz about it and the merchandising of new dolls and toys from the movie will keep fans busy deciding what they might add to their collections. The formula seems to work, and the company is now putting films about some of their other classic toys into the pipeline. Will these movies spark new interest in toys from the past?
MATTEL AND THE MOVIES
All signs point to the Barbie movie being a huge hit, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that Mattel Films has several more movies in development inspired by the toys that made the brand what it is today. Initially, the company was an in-house production company for Mattel, launched in 2013 as Mattel Playground Productions. That branch didn’t do so well and was later re-launched in 2018 in its current form.
The company is planning live-action films centered on several classic toy lines, including Hot Wheels, Magic 8 Ball, and the eighties sensation He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. The films leverage the nostalgia of adults who remember countless hours of play with their favorite toys.
Toy fans and movie buffs alike will be watching the development of the films to see if some of their favorites will make it to the big screen. It’s also possible that with the movies will come new interest in the vintage versions of the toys.
A SPACE BLAST FROM THE PAST
One of the films planned by Mattel already has a screenwriter, director, and star. Tom Hanks will play the lead in a movie about the 1960s space action figure Major Mason. The toy line included Mason as “Mattel’s Man in Space.”
Mason lived and worked in a moon colony with his trusty crew. Mattel introduced the line in 1966 at the height of the space race. The US had not yet sent a man to the moon, but they were close to making it happen, so space toys were wildly popular.
Sold separately (of course) were crew members, space vehicles, a space station, and a few alien bad guys. The toys allowed children to fantasize about living in outer space and forging a new future on distant planets.
In an interview with TheWrap way back in 2012, Tom Hanks talked about developing the story about the spaceman saying, “I started tinkering with the story after Larry Crowne.” Hanks mentioned partnering with director Robert Zemeckis in that article, but Mattel Films has not named a director yet.
Hanks is no stranger to playing a real astronaut in Apollo 13 and voicing a toy who forges a bond with Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. Merchandise from the Toy Story franchise remains hot with collectors, and Mattel executive producer Robbie Brenner hopes the same will happen for Major Mason. Brenner stated, “Major Matt Mason is a storied character who, fifty years later, has left a lasting impression on the baby boomers who grew up with him. This is a great example of how we can unlock our IP catalog to introduce classic characters to new audiences.”
ROCK ’EM SOCK ’EM ROBOT REBOOT
Another classic Mattel toy, the Rock ’Em Sock ’Em Robots, will also make its film debut with the company. Vin Diesel will produce and star in the film. There haven’t been a lot of details released about the plot yet, but vintage toy collectors will be waiting for more information.
The game was a hit, literally, when it debuted in 1966 as “The world’s only boxing robots.” Players could move the robots, aptly named “Red Rocker” and “Blue Bomber,” around a plastic ring with the push of a button.
The robots would throw punches until one of them “knocked the block off” the other. Marx Toys created the game, but Tyco acquired Marx, and Mattel eventually purchased Tyco.
The game’s original version did not require batteries, and players and parents liked that. It was powered only by levers and springs and the imagination of the human combatants creating the action. Mattel reissued a smaller version of the game in 2001. Like anything popular, if it works, keep doing it, so there have been many other iterations, including a space-themed version, a Transformers version, and even a superhero match of Batman v Superman.
BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL!
Kids everywhere gathered around the television to watch the animated series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, where Adam, Prince of Eternia, “held aloft his magic sword” and summoned the power to defend the Castle of Grayskull as his alter-ego He-Man. The series had warriors, an evil villain, a sorceress, and a wizard. Of course, there are toys to go with it, and many of them are collectible now.
There are hundreds of MOTU action figures, playsets, and other merchandise, and the live-action movie will likely result in more diehard fans. Like Barbie and Hot Wheels, Mattel is banking on childhood memories to drive ticket sales and new interest in the He-Man characters.
In the 1980s, I was earning money by babysitting, and two kids I cared for were probably the world’s biggest He-Man fans. They had all the figures, a giant Grayskull set, and a ton of other bits and pieces. I spent mind-numbing hours listening to who was who and what powers they had, so I have to wonder if Max and Connor (now in their forties) will be lining up to see their hero on the big screen.
There are fans and collectors of all kinds of toys and games, so it seems like good business to incorporate childhood memories into new versions. Not only will the toys gain new fans, but there’s also bound to be interest in the OG vintage versions.
Brenda Kelley Kim lives in the Boston area. She is the author of Sink or Swim: Tales From the Deep End of Everywhere and writes a weekly syndicated column for The Marblehead Weekly News/Essex Media Group. When not writing or walking her snorty pug Penny, she enjoys yard sales, flea markets, and badminton.
WorthPoint—Discover. Value. Preserve.
