Nostalgia on the rise: Mattel encourages the creation of films based on its products

Mattel, one of the most renowned toy companies, is looking at franchise opportunities for all of its products.

With the imminent success of the film “Barbie“, directed by Greta Gerwig, who will bring the famous doll to the human world in a meta-comedy, the company realized that it has a true gold mine in its factories, ready to conquer Hollywood in the next decade.

Barbie's story is undeniably powerful, but Mattel doesn't want to stop there. Even the great J.J. Abrams, creator of the iconic “Cloverfield” and producer of the last few films in the “Cloverfield” franchise.Star Wars“, is already involved in the creation of a film based on the line of toy cars “Hot Wheels”, and Vin Diesel plans to bring Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots to the big screen as his next venture creative.

The toy giant is making inroads in Hollywood, but how did it get there?

Seeking stories that touch the audience's emotions

(Image: Warner Bros./Playback)

Intellectual properties are the engine of the entertainment industry today. From “Willy Wonka” to the countless Marvel movies and TV shows released nearly every week, both companies and audiences love to consume content they are already familiar with. Richard Dickson, president and COO of Mattel, told The New Yorker that brand immersion is everything.

Mattel, with its wide range of toy brands that shaped the culture of play and fueled children's imaginations, understood that it needed to adapt to the ever-changing culture, especially after the “Toys R Us” bankruptcy, which resulted in a $300 million loss for Toys R Us. company.

Ynon Kreiz, the CEO of Mattel, had a catalog of children's entertainment that was "second only to Disney." To overcome the financial loss faced by the company, Kreiz developed a strategy that led to Mattel to become a machine for creating and managing intellectual property to feed deductibles.

While this idea wasn't new to Mattel, Kreiz's new approach would reduce associated risks, such as those experienced in 2008, when the press ridiculed the idea of ​​adapting board games like “Monopoly” and “Candy Land” for film.

From then on, Mattel took control of the films created with its products, rather than relying on studios like Warner Bros. or sony.

While “Barbie: The Movie” is already making waves, with endless memes and a hashtag dominating TikTok, Mattel is looking to ways to engage with filmmakers in a friendly way, says Jeremy Barber, Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach's agent at UTA.

With nostalgia on the rise, betting on movies based on memorable toys seems like a safer choice than original concepts.

“Lost City” directors Adam and Aaron Nee are in talks to produce a new “Masters of Universe", toys they played with themselves and even made short films using the borrowed camera from the neighbor.

Aaron Nee explained to The New Yorker: “Another pre-set IP can be very rigid, dogmatic and inflexible… The attractive part is that we're not just doing the 10th sequel. It feels like ours.”

For many directors looking to make the transition from indie films to major studio productions, working with intellectual property and taking bold risks that still respect the essence of those brands is exactly what Mattel is seeking out.

Adam Nee stated, "One of our main goals, as well as Mattel's, is to build a great franchise on a global scale."

Other toys with enormous potential (both for childhood nostalgia and current relevance in memes) include UNO, Cabbage Patch Kids, American Girl Dolls and LEGO.

Mattel has always prided itself on connecting its toys to what's happening in the world. At the moment, adaptations of intellectual properties for the big screen are dominating the scene.

It would be a huge mistake if Mattel didn't take a chance on up-and-coming filmmakers who love the toys they're with. working, creating stories that can captivate adults and children alike, and bringing them to life in new and exciting ways. exciting.