The Disastrous History of Playmates’ Shrek Toys
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- čas přidán 14. 06. 2024
- 2010 gave us Megamind, How to Train Your Dragon, and the much maligned Shrek Forever After. It’s underrated gem of a film….I can’t say the same for the toys. Actually, scratch that. These figures are an unmitigated DISASTER!
#Shrek #dreamworks #toys #toycollecting #toycollector #vintagetoys #shrekcollection #y2k #2000s - Krátké a kreslené filmy
Has someone who has bought a lot of playmates( the godzilla line) this to me feels like both playmates and the retailers had no faith in the franchise at this point. Playmates, probably knowing full well that the other toylines failed to reasonate went with a safe approach using merch styles that sold decently in the other lines( hence normal figures got skipped) and retailers simply did not care for Shrek anymore, hell the reason most of these stayed unproduced is probably cause most retailers had no interest in stocking them....and honestly, you can't blame them, they gave Shrek 3 different toylines to prove himself and in all 3 one thing was prelevant...bad sells, 1 had Farquad clogging shelves, 2 sold so poorly the 2nd and 3rd waves barely exist and the third had a focus on dolls...that also didn't sell that well. So now imagine your a retailer, who do you want to give shelf for a brand new IP with a lot of super colorful dragons and awesome dragons that kids would buy a 100% or try Shrek again a franchise that has failed you 3 times already. That's probably why Puss in boots 1 and 2 didn't get any....the franchise got blacklisted. Now with the current climate, higher popularity and a new film in the works I do believe they might try again and Puss in boots 2, might contribute to this. That movie is super popular, but no one from the audience to the merch companies had any faith in it or had interest before it's release so no company could capitilize on it, but now I don't think a toy company would miss out this time.
This is such a damn good comment. Perfectly summed it all up even better than I did. Fantastic analysis of Shrek’s current state of toys.
I agree with Puss in Boots 2. I will say being on that hype train was so odd…Universal had no faith in the movie and the marketing was so slim. Its success at the box office was certainly a surprise. The opening weekend actually was pretty dismal (mainly due to a winter storm across the US.) but the second and third weekend saw higher and higher returns due to such good word of mouth. Shrek nostalgia is now at an all-time high with the Shrek raves and fan content online. I definitely agree that retailer will take another chance on Shrek. However I think the line will be more geared towards collectors or a maybe a mix of kids and collectors figures, just like the Playmates Godzilla line. That line you mentioned is a perfect balance of appealing to both kids and adults. If Shrek hit that sweet spot, those figures would absolutely sell.
@@austin_the_brimstoneWhy, thank you for the praise on my analysis! I agree that the Godzilla line is a perfect mix of both worlds awesome to play with and very durable for kids, while aslo being extremely good figures for adults in both molds, selection( they are the only company to release a warbat and Doug) and an amazing 11 dollar price range making them a great deal! Honestly, I wouldn't be against them trying again they are planning to fix power rangers after Hasbros constant screw ups so they are willing to give second chances to franchises that are in gutter....
@@firestarsantos7467 Let’s hope Hasbro doesn’t get the Shrek license again. Lol that would be an unmitigated disaster. (Haslab Dulok for only $800!)
Why am I so invested in hearing about Shrek merch now
Because you’ll never get ogre it 😉
@@austin_the_brimstoneso real
Such a sad faith for the shrek toy line 🙁
I don't know how I came across your content but I'm glad I did! I don't collect Shrek figures, I don't even watch anything related to Shrek on CZcams... but here I am watching every upload you make regarding Shrek toys!
Bwahaha just wait and you’ll get the Shrek collecting bug. Nobody can resist the Ogreload of Shrek products! 🤣
2010 kids after seeing the playmate toys shrek forever after: No thank you i'll be sticking with hasbro,Mga and mcfarlane or just get the happy meal toys of shrek forever after
The shrek shakes and mint mix thing was in fact amazing!!
You should do a video on the How To Train Your Dragon line
Just wanted to say I found your channel through the video on the MacFarlane line (as I'm sure a lot of people have by now) and this whole series has been such an interesting look through a topic that I never see people talk about. I've loved Shrek basically for as long as I can remember, but the history of its toy lines is something that completely eluded me up to this point and I've been looking forward to each new video you make on it.
It's unfortunate that this is the note it currently ends on, especially since Forever After had the potential for a very cool and unique line in my opinion. But I think in the near future we'll see another company take a crack at a big new line such as these, most likely alongside a future movie. I've already seen a lot of hype for the new wave of Funko products and the LEGO Ideas Swamp submission by Ashnflash took the LEGO community by storm without even being an officially greenlit set, so I think the demand is absolutely there.
Great comment thanks for sharing. It’s interesting that LEGO rejected that idea despite having the Dreamworks license. (The Trolls line.) I wonder if they have a larger Shrek range of sets planned and didn’t want to sign a contact with the Ideas creator. Either way here’s hoping the next film gives us some new quality merch.
Love your deep dives into these toy lines, utterly fascinating and your passion & enthusiasm are contagious!
Thank you! 😊
I remember seeing the Shrek Forever After toys in Toys R Us circa May 2010 in the US. It was just an endcap display. I remember skipping over it because I thought it was such a step down from MGA's Shrek the Third figures and of course Hasbro and McFarlane's. Also I was primarily interested in Toy Story 3 line at the time, haha. From what I understand, the Puss and Gingy Swamp Buddies and the Smack Back figures were both cancelled. The Donkey Smack Back was released and does pop up on eBay occasionally! That Gingy Smack Back looked sooo cool...
Great information, thanks for sharing! I’m sure these didn’t last long at TRU, likely one shipment and done. My local TRU back in the day was filled with old overstock and had the worst distribution. I wouldn’t be shocked if these were only released regionally. I’m definitely going to track down one of those Donkeys, even if there’s only two Smack Backs I am determined to have them both! Glad to know there’s at least some out there.
@@austin_the_brimstone Yeah, that’d be awesome! He looks great. There’s like an Indonesian Amazon Listing for the Gingy that was never taken down. I wonder if the others were released overseas?
@@ThePixarist It’s possible! Hasbro’s 3rd wave of Shrek 2 figures had much better distribution overseas. Happens with a lot of toy lines after most major US retailers give up on the line.
Another video about a niche toy collecting sub-category? Sign me up!
I am so glad to see someone do a retrospective series of Shrek’s merch. I personally love the Mcfarlene series due to the detail and love put into them. I recently bought the whole set of the bean plushes thanks to you . Keep up the great content and great personality!!
Thank you for the kind words! That beanie set is my favorite piece of the McFarlane, great purchase. Oh and treasure that Lord Farquad…for some reason he’s the tough one to get!
i love your videos, please never stop making them
Never ever! There’s always going to be Shrek stuff to talk about..😅
The toys that are partially released are so interesting to me! Those Shrek plushes with the plastic parts that seem to have zero information on them, so much so it's not clear if any of them officially came out is something I can relate to, my focus is RWBY and I have almost every figure released, and a plush came up on ebay one day that is a completely identical to the regular release except a wildly different colour than what it should be, I bought it immediately. Since that time, I have found zero images of it other than the one I bought, and nobody knows anything about it. I ended up even contacting the company that made it and they were not helpful at all lol. Have you tried reaching out to any of these companies about those Shrek Forever After figures? It's worth a shot!
LOL I have a strange but similar story with Shark Tale action figures of all things. I called the manufacturer company and this sales representative just kept saying “I’m NOT going to help you with that, sir.” Over and over again…. it was actually kind of hilarious. These companies can be like that. Usually prototypes and unproduced items are under NDA contracts. Of course that doesn’t stop samples from “accidentally” leaking out of the factory. I bet that plush you have is likely a prototype or very late factory sample that’s different from the final product.
Again I would like to see Dreamworks work with a big toy company like Mattel or Jakks Pacific on making a collectible 6inc action figure line of Dreamworks characters including Shrek, also I’d like to see you do videos on other Dreamworks movie toy lines.
I want him to talk about the mega mind figured
17:50
I meant to say figures
The swamp buddies shrek has been mewing for sure
Lmao
I used to have a Shrek figurine that where you pressed his stomach he would make sound that was supposed to be him passing gas lol i wish I had it still
“If it was me, you’d be dead!”
@@austin_the_brimstone 🤣 I get the reference
BLESSED TO HAVE ANOTHER SHREK VIDEO
I quite enjoy this channel!
Thanks!
I love your content!
Thank you 😊
keep the Shrek merch content going please i love these videos
More to come! 👀
@@austin_the_brimstonehappy to hear! did a little bit of research on this line and apparently the slime figures were released without the slime! or at least in Italy, was trying to find the smack backs but they really are impossible to find!
@@e102gamma Interesting! Yeah those Smack-backs oh my god…my speculation is that only Shrek and Donkey were released. I’ve never seen Donkey but he would’ve been in the same assortment as Shrek. Then Puss and Gingy would’ve been in the next assortment which retailers didn’t order. Not sure where they sold…maybe places like Walgreens or Big Lots? I never saw them at more common stores like Walmart or Toys R Us.
It's all ogre for the Shrek merch for now...
You could try and put new batteries in him
How do you go from awesome McFarland toys to playmates? Not saying playmates is a bad company I just wish they tried harder 😮💨🙁
If I had to guess Dreamworks hiked up the licensing fees after the first film was such a huge success. Nobody had any faith in the first Shrek film so McFarlane likely got a killer contract. Notice how quickly Shrek went from being in the hands of an independent company like McFarlane (especially McFarlane circa 2000) and then went straight to Hasbro, aka the big boys in the toy industry. Dreamworks probably wanted a lot of cash for the Shrek IP, leading to lackluster toys from the mega companies.
Yeah I kinda thought that too 🤔 Shame tho awesome channel by the way👍🏽😊
Its interesting you mentioned shrek MOTU. i think the 4.5in figures look MOTU-esque
I have the big toothless toy with the separate little hiccup figure there really cool
Have you seen the whole series of meme of Shrek is love Shrek is life?
Hi