Name: The Beanie Bubble
Director: Kristin Gore, Damian Kulash
Released: 2023-07-28T09:00:00

The Beanie Bubble follows the three women in and around Ty Warner’s orbit who had their own contributions to the plushie craze of the 90s. The film is streaming on Apple TV+.

Story

Ty Warner started an understuffed posable toy company with Robbie Jones in the 80s after selling his late father’s antiques and they slowly grew their business into one of the most successful toy companies in America.

However, Ty pushed Robbie out at the first opportunity because he didn’t enjoy sharing the spotlight with anyone else. Maya joined his company as an intern during the advent of the internet and with the help of online engagement, drove the company’s profits sky high.

Sheila was a single mother of two who gradually fell in love with Ty and her two daughters helped Ty come up with the Beanie Babies and were instrumental in their initial rise.

These three women had a huge part to play in Ty Warner’s success but he cast them aside selfishly. Things don’t pan out for him in the end as Robbie, Maya, and Sheila move on to better things in life.

Performances

Zach Galifianakis is great as the narcissistic, misogynistic, man-child that is Ty Warner. His character is definitely despicable but Galifianakis thrills as the plushie magnate who is so insecure all the time.

Elizabeth Banks plays Robbie, the first of the three women who influenced Ty’s success and she has the most meat in her role. She is confident and reactive in the best way possible.

Sarah Snook is admirable as Sheila, the woman who fell in love with Ty only to be disappointed when his true self came out. Snook has a few moments to shine in a cookie-cutter role.

Geraldine Viswanathan is bubbly and fresh as Maya, but yet again, her character isn’t necessarily fleshed out and she fits in her own corner of the film.

Positives

The costumes and bright color palette of the 80s and 90s are very enticing and add some oomph to the film that is lacking for the most part.

Another great advantage of the time periods is the upbeat soundtrack for the film, which has to elevate the mediocre material.

Negatives

The jumps between narrators and time periods are a little frustrating and that affects the storytelling. It is usually tough to ascertain which part of Ty’s life the movie is at and the directors do not make much of an effort to distinguish between.

The characters are all surface level without enough thought put into their motivations or other aspects of their life. They exist merely with respect to Ty and beyond that very little is explored about them.

There isn’t enough follow-through on certain aspects of each character leaving behind an unfinished product.

Verdict

The Beanie Bubble is the latest film to try and capitalize on a significant cultural phenomenon of the past and the nostalgia that comes along with it but sadly, apart from some decent performances, it doesn’t cover itself in too much glory.