Its no secret that I am the “comic book geek” of the TMB cast, and one tiny bit of nostalgia all comic books had back in the day was the back page ad offering unique mail order toys like the XRay glasses and Sea Monkeys. Damn that was cool.
Freaks and Geeks star John Francis Daley landed a gig to write this movie that revolves around those toys with the non-Google friendly title of FUN.
Remember all those back-page ads in comics and kids mags that would give you seemingly immense power for only a couple of bucks? Well, Fun focuses on “two childhood friends who ordered a slew of novelty toys (such as X-ray glasses, Sea-Monkeys, and transforming robots) from the back pages of their late-’70s comic books. Thirty years later, the toys begin living up to their wild advertising claims, forcing the pair to save their town from ensuing chaos.”
The Sea Monkeys were clearly the front runners in popularity from that wee catalogue of magical items kept wearily out of reach without your parents permission, but I recall other things that had me fascinated that likely won’t play a part in this wacky tale.
1001 Magnets, 100 Toy Soldiers, Fake Dog mess, Phony Parking Tickets, Hand Buzzer and Garlic Flavoured Bubble Gum are among them. Also popular were guides on teaching yourself Karate or Body Building, complete with cartoon of a nerd getting sand kicked in his face.
It will be interesting to see how they manage to play on this nostalgia when it sounds silly enough to be a family film, but only the parents are going to be old enough to remember these products.
Sea Monkeys are actually brine shrimp !
I remember reading about someone ordering a clothes dryer powered by solar energy. Someone can order this from the back of comic books. In the box was nothing but a bunch of rope, clothes pins, and the receipt. That was a good one.
Luckily I’m cultured and DO understand what toys they’re talking about and the concept of advertisements in the back of comic books, even though I’m only 21.
Bring this movie on.
Honestly, I love love love that concept.
It probably appeals to me because I also was one of those kids who would dream about those mysterious gadgets and being deeply disappointed for what they really turned out to be.
Your right though Rodney, they’re gonna have to amp up the nostalgia factor a lot, because everyone born above the year 1988 won’t have a clue what this movie is about.