The Toys That Made Us

Few days ago I was checking the new additions on Netflix when I saw these series. I added them to my viewing queue, but it was just last night as I started watching.

Honestly, these are of the most exciting documentaries ever. Why - because it's all about our childhood! And we've all been kids!

Aside of it, the series are really well done. I just have nothing to comment on - as a documentary, they have a very well defined structure and topic following. Sure, they miss some details, but for a 50 minute format it is very well done.

So far I've seen only the first 3 episodes - Star Wars, Barbie and He-Man. They are all so exciting. I am a 42y old male and as a kid I loved Star Wars and I still do, just never had SW toys, however as a kid I did have He-Man toys and I loved them. I totally relate to the series and honestly can't wait to see the other episodes.

As for Barbie - I am a male, never been into Barbie, but these series are pretty much like VH1 Behind the Music series - so well done, that you really don't care what the episode is about - you just watch it, as you know it will be interesting and there would be something to learn. And indeed, the Barbie episode was absolutely interesting to watch!

Today I saw two episodes one after another, cannot remember doing such thing for a documentary, ever. My only problem is, they say these are 8 episode series and I see on IMDB they list 8 episodes, while Netflix Canada shows me only the first 4 and I am very disappointed. Hope they will import the other 4 episodes soon! I don't know who should I message about this, but hope somebody from the crew would pay attention to my problem here and would ring their phone. I would try to contact Netflix Canada anyway.

So, I would totally recommend these series to anyone, young or old, boy or girl, who used to have at least one toy in their life. Probably the most exciting series on Netlix in the last 6 months, after Stranger Things 2. My opinion, but I don't think I am far from the truth.

The old footage and topics discussed are interesting but the show is unfortunately ruined by the editing. Constant use of the same clip over and over in an attempt to be funny. It's like a Tim and Eric episode that's trying to also be a documentary. I wish it stuck to the facts and history instead of trying so hard to entertain. It drove me crazy that every time someone seemed to have something interesting to say, they would cut mid sentence to an annoying past clip from someone earlier in the show. Or the narrator would say something like "but that didn't work out the way they wanted" and then they would show a clip of the creator of the toy just sitting there. It was just really poorly edited, I can't stress that enough.

12/29/17. Maybe 3 1/2 stars! An enjoyable look at how much strategic planning goes into creating a successful toy franchises! Many times we only link toys to our childhood, but the memories of childhood can last a long time when it is associated with a toy we loved! Worth catching. A fun watch!

The editing and the narrator are so corny and almost unbearable.

The Toys That Made Us.... If you grew up in the 80s and 90s this documentary series is for you. The four episodes to this season are: StarWars, He-Man, Barbie and G.I. Joe. Each episode showcases the ups and downs, the history and the people behind each creation.

A theme I realized from each episode was the uncertainty of creating a popular toy. The risk these people took was something to easily admire. Personally I found the StarWars and He-man episodes the better of the four. I consider myself a pretty hard core StarWars fan and I was still surprised on some of the information given in that episode. The He-Man episode felt genuine and I connected easily with these people. The show and toys are really a product of the creators. While watching the GI and Barbie episodes, Although well done episodes I just didn't feel as connected to the history, toys or people as much. That being said, I think there's an episode for everyone that grew up playing with some kind or action figure/doll.

This is something worth checking out, easily watchable and generally fun. I will also mention the Editing in this series was fantastic, the jump cuts, the inserts of film clips and overall tone didn't go unnoticed.

The next four episodes slated are to be: Lego, Hello Kitty, StarTrek and Transformers.