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For those living in the 90s, Beanie Babies were all the craze. As a little kid, I remember everyone wanting them and seeing them all over. So, it is no surprise that nostalgia for the 90s would make people want to relive this crazy. However, this story was already told fairly effectively in the documentary Beanie Mania with the people who actually lived it. Now that doesn't mean that there can't be an effective film about this story too. It is also worth noting that this movie is from the perspective of the people behind the Beanie Babies and not the collectors. However, this movie just felt like it was missing something. For one, the filmmakers changed some details to fit the story they wanted to tell. Director Kristin Gore and Damian Kulash explained why they needed to make some key changes to real-life events. "It went through many drafts," said Kristin. "And then we developed this idea of wanting to tell more of a fable and a universal story." Also, the cast is a mixed bag. Zach Galifianakis seems like a strange choice to play TY, as the real-life TY was somewhat of a recluse, unlike Galifianakis. Also, it feels like Galifianakis was using this movie to make a comeback which seemed strange. Similarly, Geraldine Viswanathan is a good actor but felt out of place here, and she was more of a way to move the plot along than an actual character most of the time (and mostly fictional). Lastly, Elizbeth Banks can be hit or miss in her movies. She is super cute in this movie but has a couple of cringe moments. And it seems most of her character was fictional. They even had to change her name because Ty's real sister was so different from Bank's character in the movie. That being said it wasn't a bad movie. As I said, it just felt like it was missing something. My recommendation is to watch Beanie Mania first, and if you still need some Beanie Baby nostalgia, that's not exactly true, then give watch this.

A very interesting movie about the back story behind the craziness of the Beanie plush toy ...I remember the beanie babies ...who crazy people where getting with them...it depict rather well how crazy the last part of the 80's, the 90's. The social trend of the day, the arrival of the WWW/internet. All this with a very good rhythm.

How this young woman daughter of immigrant saw that the net could be used to measure demand, increase sale etc she was year ahead of the rest. It also depict the founder of the Ty Toy Corp. How this man-child could manipulate people while maintaining his child like creativity. This emotionally abused man was generous only to outsider, to insider he was repeating the pattern he learn from his father.

Based on some of the truth behind the crave that was the beanie babies ...fetching price on the after market that parallel the tulip bulb in the Renaissance Holland...(the first but not the last case study of crazy speculation cause by imbalance between desirability & limited supply).

The choice of going back & forth could be an issue for some. But it does finally make a circle on itself.

Wanted to like this, but just didn't feel engaging or interesting for some reason. For one thing, it jumps back and forth in time which just felt confusing when trying to understand the evolution of the beanie baby and how it became popular. Like we literally jump ahead 10 years then back 8 then forward 3 then back 3 again.. ugh.

We also found Zach and Banks both were somewhat jarring in such a strange appearance from their normal look. The dyed brown hair seemed unnatural and just strange that it was distracting. Not a huge deal here but just seemed unnecessarily distracting...

But all in all, the jumping back and forth just never led to a nice, satisfying lead up to their explosion in popularity. It actually made it all feel very anti-climactic.

So, not sure, but just something with how this was put together didn't work for me. Wasn't a fan or engaged in what should be an interesting story..

Another production clearly seeking to capitalize on nostalgia for a particular time, appealing to a large & wealthy demographic. None of this is inherently a problem or complaint.

The execution belies a tight production schedule to just get this movie out there. Acting, writing and directing are all just slightly better than 'going through the motions' or checking the box. The young sales person/ assistant/ college intern is the most egregious: like a cartoon, no sense of pacing, no sense that characters listen to each other. The acting is painfully obvious as ACTING - saying the lines, showing the assigned emotion, etc.

It's likely that some - not all - of the cast could be better, but no one asked them to be, here.

Maybe the story could be interesting enough.... It's hard to say, from watching this. Unfortunately, it seems that all the competition among streaming providers is lowering the bar for quality, and driving production more for for quantity. So, viewer costs go up because production costs for content are the same for poor quality as it is for better quality.

The film starts out telling the audience that they made up a lot of the script. That should be a clue.

As a movie, it's really well done and enjoyable. The acting is excellent, the costuming is fantastic, and the script moves it along very quickly. It's occasionally hard to follow, but this doesn't take away from the overall enjoyment. Elizabeth Banks is superb as the clever, crafty Robbie.

The story is told from three women's points of view - pretty much how they were wronged and deserved the credit for the Beanie Babies craze. If you recognize the "woman scorned" POV from the beginning, it's a lot more enjoyable as just a movie. It's certainly NOT a documentary -- if you want to see a more accurate depiction, watch Beanie Mania (2021). But if you just want an enjoyable flick, this is it.