The Beanie Bubble
Published 2023-07-29
Film info
- Title The Beanie Bubble
- Directors Kristin Gore, Damian Kulash
- Year 2023
- Run time 1hr 50m
- Genres Comedy, Drama
- Tagline The crazy behind the craze
- Cast Zach Galifianakis, Elizabeth Banks
Why did the world suddenly treat stuffed animals like gold? Ty Warner was a frustrated toy salesman until his collaboration with three women grew his masterstroke of an idea into the biggest toy craze in history. 'The Beanie Bubble' is an inventive story about what and who we value, and the unsung heroes whose names didn't appear on the heart-shaped tag.
Live blog
| Time | Comment |
|---|---|
| 2:59 | When they're all together like that, flying across a road, it's so colourful! |
| 7:46 | "I do and do not want to know much, much more." |
| 14:58 | Are you supposed to be able to tell the species of the toys? Himalayan cat specifically? |
| 19:23 | The design team is basically child labour, but sure. |
| 26:33 | "No piggedy." Love it! |
| 36:09 | As cute as that proposal dance thing is, I would hate it! |
| 41:55 | So impressed with Maya and her foresight on everything so far. |
| 48:13 | Family discount on face lifts? This guy. |
| 50:59 | "We broke the entire internet thing." |
| 58:34 | HELPER! Outrage. |
| 1:12:31 | Oof, internal espionage now, is it? |
| 1:21:57 | That is a nice guitar. |
| 1:26:56 | "A little light arson." |
| 1:35:52 | How can she have gone back to him?? |
| 1:42:12 | Beanie Baby apocalypse. |
Thoughts
It took a minute to get into this film, because there were a lot of characters introduced quickly, and across a couple of different timelines, but it was a fascinating story about the women behind the man behind one of the biggest toy trends in a long time, and an absolutely classic illustration of the evils of corporations, greed, and capitalism at its worst.
But that makes it sound like a real downer, when actually it was a really colourful, snappy, intriguing film, with a great cast. It's inspired by the real story so you can't believe everything you see, but I loved the three women and their different interactions with the odious Ty Warner. Taking the kid's name off the tags? Ugh. It's frothy in places, potentially they could have leaned more into the business side than the feminism side, but it's definitely worth a watch.
Rating: 5 / 5