Mattel knows the game. In the words of the wise and mystical Yogurt, the real power behind the movie is the Merchandising.
So Mattel is known for its Hot Wheels and HeMan, but more for its legendary Barbie lines. They have made an empire out of selling toys. Now they are hoping to craft a new toy line with a 90 minute commercial they will call a feature film.
Universal Pictures is planning a live-action musical based on an upcoming and as yet untitled toy line from Mattel reports Variety.
Mattel would not reveal the name of the toy line or when it will launch, saying only that the property aspires to add a fresh twist to monster lore.
Gone are the days when they would make a movie based on a toy, or a toy based on a movie. Now they are just going to blur those lines and make a simultaneous launch and the discussions of what came first, the toy or the film?
Having a film come out for this demographic, I would anticipate a toy line for it. And Mattel has acquired the license for making toys to monopolize on the popularity to sell the products for them. However this could become a big hit or a big flop depending on how the new line strikes a chord with the target audience.
You can’t invent something people love. You can just make it and hope they do.
Lego did a similar thing years ago when they introduced the Bionicle line. A movie was created to help push and establish the line as being different from the standard Lego blocks. The movie and subsequent sequels went directly to video but was a huge succes as was/is the line for Lego.
Be interesting to see were Mattel goes with this. Since Universal is the studio doing the movie, they do have the rights to most of the classic ‘Univerasl’ monsters.
I wonder if this has anything to do with Universals Musical Creature From the Black Lagoon?