By David Young · August 2, 2023
Let’s talk toy movies. Anyone who’s played with toys, tabletop games, or trading cards can tell you that each has its story. Whether it’s a doll’s home life or the battles between good and evil, video games weren’t the first place for play to become a source of adaptation in entertainment.
There have been loads of remarkable stories told about the things we played with in childhood, and some of those stories have made their way onto the big screen.
Let’s take a look at some of the best (or at least, most iconic) toy movies of all time.
Greta Gerwig’s megahit film isn’t the first to capture the famous, ubiquitous doll or her dream house. However, this film does a deep dive into the difference between play and real life — for Barbie and Ken, that difference is quite large. After all, they’re not in a Barbieland anymore, and everything isn’t as perfect and plastic as it first appears.
As we wait with bated breath for the Barbie script to be made public, you should really take a look at America Ferrera’s instantly iconic Barbie monologue. It’s truly epic.
Read More: The Oddly Relatable Characters in Greta Gerwig Movies
The initial spark that made Pixar a household name, Toy Story is the classic example of a toy movie. In fact, it’s got dozens of real-life toys featured in it, not to mention other childhood staples like an actual piggy bank. Whether it’s toy soldiers, slinkies, or action figures, the whole scope of childhood is covered from front to back in the setting of this incredibly iconic and successful series of films.
Read More: Toy Story: How It All Began
Tabletop games have garnered just as much attention, love, and inspiration as any toy on the market — and that includes in Hollywood. Dungeons & Dragons, the most widely known roleplaying game in the world, starts out on a table with maps, self-made figurines, and a whole lot of “theater of the mind.” But Dungeons & Dragons: Honor among Thieves changed that into a visual experience this year, with tons of hilarity and inside jokes, while still appealing to the moviegoing masses!
One of the toys that embodies storytelling the most, Lego blocks are the literal building blocks of fun, childhood, and… Batman? With each franchise that enters the Lego world, it has become a more expansive and engaging extension of what you can do with the figures. But The Lego Movie spins the usual formula on its head. Rather than taking on existing concepts and IPs with the intention of making Lego toys from them, this movie brings those building blocks to life with a brand-new story of their own — with some familiar faces, of course.
Read More: The Lego Movie: An “Everything is Awesome” Film for All
You may be thinking of the anime series, the video games, or any number of other media that involve the 1990s sensation known as Pokémon. But of course, Pokémon wasn’t only a video game franchise or an animated series: It is also one of the trading card games that revived the collectors craze with those that followed suit, such as Yu-Gi-Oh! cards. Detective Pikachu delves into the Pokémon world for the first time in a live-action film, making it a brand-new foray for the well-known franchise that has been making new games and new cards to this day.
When you think of board games, you may think of Candyland or Monopoly — but anyone who likes the thrill of strategy might also remember the iconic tabletop game, Battleship. Like some other films based on toys, this story is entirely crafted for the new medium, keeping only a few elements to remind people of the game itself.
Read More: Battleship: Well-Paced Action-Packed Thrill Ride
If ever a board game gave way to storytelling, Clue certainly did. As a classic whodunit mystery game, you’re enticed with hints that lead to educated guesses about who committed a heinous murder in the given scenario. The movie runs in quite the same fashion, with a twist: It runs different scenario combinations to showcase the complexity of the game that inspired it, making it a fun and revolutionary delve into the world of such adaptations.
Yet another film that has come in the wake of various media, the G I. Joe intellectual property has had stories to tell for a while thanks to the animated series of the same name. That said, bringing it into live-action and fully demonstrating some of the more enticing parts of the full-scale enmity from an agency bent on world domination is ultimately too fun to pass up.
Didn’t know this was a toy movie, did ya? Adapted from yet another set of trading cards, the idea for Mars Attacks! was shut down before Tim Burton was able to make this hilarious sci-fi film a reality. With a star-studded cast and outlandish humor and visual language, the movie speaks for itself as a cult classic — so much so that most people don’t even realize the idea existed before the film!
Read More: The Gothic Charm of Tim Burton Characters
More than one DreamWorks movie has been crafted from the age-old troll dolls you’ve always seen. You know the ones, with their hair up to here. While the dolls have been singularly interesting on their own to many a child or collector, it’s yet another toy that has been given new life thanks to the film franchise it inspired.
Arguably one of the biggest money-makers in toy movie history, the stories surrounding these alien robots have also been a part of the zeitgeist for a long time. Still, the live-action movies offered something even bigger and more grandiose. It even started to create a completely fresh attraction for not only kids and old-time fans but for millions of people that were actually brand new to the franchise!
Read More: Transformers: Age of Extinction: The Extinction of Story & Rise of Product Placement
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Anything you can imagine can be turned into a story — but people forget how powerful that can really be. With franchises that already exist, we have seen huge successes in book adaptations and other transmedia changes. But it’s even more incredible when something evolves from a toy or board game into a toy movie — creating brand-new stories from the ideas and playthings you had as a kid!
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