The Beanie Bubble tells the story of the craze that was Beanie Babies. As someone who lived through it, it’s intriguing, but drags on too long.
The Beanie Bubble details the story behind one of the biggest crazes in history — the Beanie Baby. These adorable little (under)stuffed animals took the world by storm as collectors scooped them up, mostly because they knew they could profit off of them. The toy company, Ty, brilliantly created limited runs and special releases, which drove up demand and kept supply low. The secondary market might not have made them any money, but it helped to drive sales.
Note: This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. The Beanie Bubble would not exist without the labor of the writers and actors in both unions.
This movie tells the (mostly true) story of the people behind the craze, including Ty Warner, the co-creator of Ty Inc. As someone who was a child with quite the Beanie Baby collection, this was a very intriguing and interesting movie. However, coming off of so many “based on a true story about a company” films, this perhaps wasn’t the right time to release it.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the movie. However this genre is something that already feels overdone. Thankfully, The Beanie Baby gets through it mostly unscathed. The movie itself is a tad too long for my liking. While I feel they told the story well, the moments before the “twist” at the end are too convoluted and drug out. Shortening the film by ten to fifteen minutes would have done wonders for it.
What makes the movie work well is the acting and the writing. For the most part, it is entertaining. Especially for those that do not the story behind Beanie Babies and Ty Inc., like myself. I went into it almost clueless about it, besides the fact that I had and adored Beanie Babies. I remember asking my mother to buy me the ones I wanted but couldn’t find on eBay, and I recall the McDonalds collaboration and feeling the need to collect them all.
Of course, I know that all of a sudden no one cared about them anymore, at least from a money making standpoint. However I knew absolutely nothing about Ty himself, and the women who helped him put Beanie Babies on the map. While surely the story is a little bit exaggerated, a brief Google search will determine that for the most part, it is accurate. Which seems completely crazy that this was how things really went down.
Probably the most disturbing thing about The Beanie Bubble is watching Ty treat the women in his life this way, and get away with it. Sure, it was a different time back then but in all honesty, the fact that this is how things played out makes me regret ever feeding into the craze and purchasing Beanie Babies myself.
Just take one look at the cast list though, and you know they are going to be great. Zach Galifianakis plays Ty Warner and he makes him someone you grow to love to hate, seemingly with ease. At first, viewers will feel bad for him and root for him, but when his true colors are shown, it is hard to care about him at all.
Elizabeth Banks plays Robbie, Sarah Snook plays Sheila, and Geraldine Viswanathan plays Maya. These three women are the reason that Ty Inc. and Beanie Babies were even a thing, and they all do a decent job with what they are given. It is nearly impossible not to be in their corners, but I can’t help but feel they deserved something more.
That is the nature of adapting a true story, though. You can want them to wake up and to stop letting Ty control them and treat them like this all you want, but if it didn’t happen in real life, it isn’t going to happen in the movie. These are the parts that went on just a bit too long, almost making it uncomfortable to watch at times.
Still, as someone who was a part of the craze, it was certainly interesting to learn about the behind the scenes of it all. The biggest issue with The Beanie Bubble is definitely the length, but luckily the stellar performances make it worth watching. The nostalgia of it all certainly helps, too.
Overall Thoughts
The Beanie Bubble is well acted and entertaining, telling a story that likely not many people know. It suffers from coming after so many similar movies and dragging on a little too long at times. It also doesn’t help that Ty Warner is an awful person and doesn’t know how to appreciate those around him. Watching that play out on screen isn’t always a good thing.
Is this a story that needed to be told? No. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t an overall intriguing watch for those that don’t already know about it. The nostalgia factor and the actors giving it their all makes the Beanie Bubble worth watching, so check it out on Apple TV+ on July 28th.
An intriguing and sometimes entertaining story that is well acted, however it suffers from an oversaturation of this genre and a too long runtime.
Rating: 3 out of 5
NEXT: Flamin’ Hot Movie Review: It Fizzles Out Too Quickly
About The Beanie Bubble
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 premieres Apple TV+ July 28th.
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. She is also a Freelance Writer. Tessa has been in the Entertainment writing business for ten years and is a member of several Critics Associations including the Critics Choice Association and the Greater Western New York Film Critics Association.