The Beanie Bubble movie review

MOVIE TITLE: The Beanie Bubble

This fun origin story of the popular toy explosion in the 1990s is now available to stream on Apple TV+.

RATING: R

LENGTH: 1 hour 50 minutes

MOVIE REVIEW MOM GRADE: B

IN A NUTSHELL:

At the very beginning of the film, we see these words on the screen: “There are parts of the truth you just can’t make up. The rest, we did.”

It’s about Ty Warner and the three women that played a role in creating the legendary Beanie Baby explosion in the 1990s.

The film was directed by Kristin Gore and Damian Kulash. Kristin Gore also wrote the story with Zac Bissonnette.

THINGS I LIKED:

You’ve never seen Zach Galifianakis like this before! He plays Ty Warner, a frustrated salesman who grew his idea into the biggest toy craze in history with the help of three women. He was one of the executive producers of the film and did an excellent.
Others in the cast include Elizabeth Banks, Sarah Snook, Geraldine Viswanathan, Tracey Bonner, Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Kurt Yaeger, and Rowan Delana Howard.
Maya Kumar’s character is based on Lina Trivedi in real life who was played by Geraldine Viswanathan.
Limited editions…pretty genius.
It’s fun to hear conversations about the internet in the early days.
Energetic soundtrack.
We see a lot of clips from the 1990s.
We learn about metrics for supply and demand. It’s fascinating to see the role eBay played in the strategy for Ty products.
It’s fun reading on the screen at the end of the movie about what happened to the three women involved in the making of the company and what they did next in their lives. So inspiring.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

Sadly, the timing of this corporate biopic is unfortunate, as it follows a bunch of other ones like Air, Tetris, Blackberry, and Flaming Hot.
Viewers might get confused by the timeline that bounces around back and forth. It’s a creative telling of the story but VERY confusing.
The film takes a fluffy look at what could have been a deeper version of a film that looks at capitalism.
It’s not as much fun as it should be. I mean it’s about toys!

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

THEMES:

FUNNY LINES:

“We broke the entire internet thing!” – Ty Warner (Zach Galifianakis)
“It’s hard to know how to reason with delusion.” – Maya Kumar (Geraldine Viswanathan)

INTERESTING LINES:

“That’s the whole point of America: work hard, build something good, get yourself in the right place at the right time and…Boom!” – Robbie (Elizabeth Banks)
“Was it crazy to turn stuffed animals into investments?” – Robbie (Elizabeth Banks)
“You have the power to create your own future!” – Ty Warner (Zach Galifianakis)
“America is all about the little guy.” – Ty Warner (Zach Galifianakis)
“Our dysfunction is the heart of this company.” – Maya Kumar (Geraldine Viswanathan)
“It wasn’t about relying on the wrong man; it was the wrong man relying on us.” – Sheila (Sarah Snook)