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Post by Felix on Dec 28, 2017 21:08:57 GMT -8
Fun little series on Netflix. I haven't watched all of the episodes yet, there' Star Wars, He-Man, Barbie, and G.I. JOE!
I started with G.I. JOE. Interesting how the whole thing came to exist.
Fun Facts:
3 3/4 JOE was brought in as C.H.I.P.'s figures painted green with added details made from clay for the presentation to the board.
Larry Hama thought is was morally wrong for the cartoon not to include any death.
It's basically how the corporation managed to stay afloat and compete with Star Wars. I thought there would be more stuff about the cartoon. Basically there was a law that prevented marketing to kids with special effects in tv commercials, had to be limited to like 7 seconds or something weird. So they found a loophole and made a whole comic book and a whole cartoon to advertise to us. Brilliant.
Really helped destroy any love I may have had for this hobby.
I'll probably watch the rest of the series.
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Post by Bravo on Dec 29, 2017 13:54:34 GMT -8
I don't know how I feel about anything. LOL. Everything is a product aimed at someone. Then we either invest in it emotionally or just consume it and move on. I guess.
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Post by Felix on Dec 29, 2017 14:40:40 GMT -8
There were some good moments. One guy said he got a letter from an adult man thanking him for G.I. JOE, that he lost his father when he was very young and he had no one to talk to but his G.I. JOE's.
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Post by Felix on Dec 30, 2017 22:08:46 GMT -8
Just watched the He-Man episode, this one was much more fun.
Summary:
Mattel screws themselves over for turning down Star Wars.
5 guys at Mattel claim to be the one who came up with the He-Man concept. The guy that brings the prototype figures in for the presentation actually used the the phrase "He-Man". However, the artist who did all the sketches and design work which dated back to his childhood art does resemble He-Man, which I'm sure were drawings of Conan.
The connection to Conan doesn't really get discussed. Probably the biggest thing that was just thrown aside in the episode. They mention Conan, but steer away from ever really implying He-Man is connected to it in any way.
They do mention how the Mini-Comic was much more bare bones, gritty, barbaric, but when the cartoon came out, everything was changed and toned down. I remember watching the cartoon as a kid, and thinking, "Not my He-Man." But it didn't stop me from enjoying the toy, comic or cartoon. I just felt like the cartoon was for little kids...I was like 5 or 6 then.
Most of the ideas for the product were thrown in at the last second to seal a deal. The mini-comic was added to get toy stores to carry the figures. Same for the cartoon when they pitched it to Toys R' Us. "Uh, yeah, we're going to be doing a cartoon, so you know..."
It really did pave the way for future brands to have a cartoon.
They showed that girls were big fans of the series, so that's why they came up with She-Ra, that and that Barbie sales fell below MOTU.
Basically everything after this decision went downhill. They said boys didn't want to play with the same toys their little sister were playing with, it lost it's manhood, lol!
The live action movie didn't do well, because most of the characters didn't look like the toys or the cartoon, the story was not the same as the cartoon either.
They also didn't have stock of the main characters, just all new figures. New fans had a hard time finding He-Man, Teela, Skeletor, ect.
When they made the new cartoon and toys they said it was good, but the timing was off. Kids just weren't into it.
All in all, fun little episode. Didn't leave me feeling bitter like the G.I. JOE episode did.
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Post by Bravo on Dec 31, 2017 15:44:38 GMT -8
I don't have Netflix.
Seems the mistake was the same one Hasbro made with GI JOE...well, similar. Hasbro stopped paying to have Sunbow make the cartoon, and that was the was big AD for the toys. Instead they made some Inhumanoids and Visionaries episodes, neither line for a second year. Mattel ended the He-Man cartoon but kept making She-Ra. They dumped advertising for the main brand to solely focus on the spin-off...a mistake. Kids have short attention spans. Kenner realized that when Star Wars faded fast after Return of the Jedi.
Yeah. I never understood why the HE-MAN movie line was just 3 new figures, none of which were movie versions of the popular characters.
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Post by Felix on Jan 1, 2018 21:03:26 GMT -8
So the Star Wars episode...
Lucas basically made a shitty deal with Kenner just before the first film was made. Kenner owned the rights FOREVER on the toys, as long as Lucasfilm got $10,000 every year. Kenner sold to Hasbro in the 1990's. Hasbro forgets to drop a check in George's pocket one year. Lucas gets to renegotiate for a much larger profit. Hasbro makes the deal without ever seeing Episode 1 stuff. Movie isn't popular, was bad for toy business. Lucas sells to disney, they keep making movies, toys, games.
Lucas declined to be interviewed, but it does look like the reason he put off the prequels was to wait for a better toy/merchandise deal.
It was cool to see how Kenner put together their stuff in the beginning...they invested a lot of money into the micro collection and it failed, because fans were already invested in the 3 3/4" line. Kenner really believed this was the best way to get vehicles and playsets to the masses. Also cool to see how the toys have improved ;-)
One of the workers explained why toys are important, a kid comes home after having a bad day, and Luke Skywalkers there and says, "May the Force be with you."
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Post by Bravo on Jan 2, 2018 17:33:48 GMT -8
Hasbro really screwed up! LOL. No wonder Star Wars stuff was overpriced.
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Post by Felix on Jan 3, 2018 14:14:16 GMT -8
Lucas just waited to make the prequels until he got a better toy deal. By holding out on the movies, and tv shows, there was nothing new for toys. He literally let it die, and now we know why.
Once he got a better toy deal, bam! Here come the prequels.
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