Who needs product placement when you can just make entire movies about said product’s rise to popularity? This year has already some great films about popular product launches, such as Tetris, Flamin’ Hot, and Blackberry. But how about Beanie Babies? Remember that momentarily red-hot fad that drove legions of people to crazily collect the little dolls? For that, there’s the Apple Original film The Beanie Bubble.
Based on the book by Zac Bissonnette about the Beanie Baby insanity of the ’90s, The Beanie Bubble is a comedy starring Zach Galifianakis, Elizabeth Banks, Sarah Snook, and Geraldine Viswanathan. The film is co-directed by Kristin Gore (yes, she’s Al Gore’s daughter) and her husband, OK Go frontman Damian Kulash. Kulash also provides music for the film along with Nathan Barr.
Here’s the synopsis: Why did the world suddenly treat stuffed animals like gold? Ty Warner was a frustrated toy salesman until his collaboration with three women grew his masterstroke of an idea into the biggest toy craze in history. “The Beanie Bubble” is an inventive story about what and who we value, and the unsung heroes whose names didn’t appear on the heart-shaped tag.
The Beanie Bubble will get a limited theatrical release on July 21st, followed by Apple TV+ on July 28th.
