Tai Freligh reviews The Toys that Made Us Collector’s Box Set…
SYNOPSIS:
Netflix’s The Toys That Made Us offers a deep nostalgic dive into the minds behind history’s most iconic toy franchises, as they discuss the rise (and sometimes fall) of their billion-dollar creations. The Nacelle Company has released a collector’s edition of the acclaimed docuseries, which includes the first two seasons as well as over 15 new bonus features and a Toys That Made Us collectible designed by NECA.
As a child of the 80s, this show is an amazing treasure trove of nostalgia and history that is put together so well that it feels more like a series of documentaries strung together than a typical “season” of a show. The production values on each mini-doc are very high and well done. The subject matter is treated with humor and playfully done. We are talking about toys after all, and even as so-called adults, we still have a fondness (and perhaps a few of our own on our bookshelves even today) for these toys from our childhood.
Choosing just four toys a season could not have been an easy task, but watching the episodes and seeing what the producers settled on makes total sense. These are the gold standard of toys, the ones that have a special place in history… Star Wars, Barbie, He-Man, G.I. Joe, Star Trek, Transformers, LEGO, and Hello Kitty. I’m sure that those reading this have at some point in their lives owned one or more of these toys and have maybe even turned their children on to the joys of toys. What may not be as well known is the stories behind these toys. I learned a lot watching these episodes and also laughed a lot. I can’t tell you how many times I pointed at the television and said, “I had one of those!”
The collectible is a cute little television set from the days of VHF and UHF dials (you have to be of a certain age to remember when television sets looked like this!). The docu-series logo features prominently on the collector toy.
This collector set is well worth the price and packed with so much great information, that it will be watched and rewatched for some time to come. You can check out a list below of all the extra features in addition to the first two seasons of the show.
Extras Include:
- Featurettes
- Featurette with Show Creator Brian Volk-Weiss
- Barbie 80’s Marketing
- More Stories That Made Us: GI Joe the Story of COBRA
- More Stories That Made Us: Us Selling the Show
- Jim Swearingen Extended Interview
- Peter Cullen Extended Interview
- Todd McFarlane on LEGO
- Todd McFarlane on Star Trek
- Hideki Yoke/Takara Tour
- 9 Deleted Scenes
Nacelle has also announced that season 3 of the hit Netflix docu-series, The Toys That Made Us premieres on November 15, 2019 and the spin-off, The Movies That Made Us, is slated to premiere in Q4 of 2019. Toys That Made Us season 3 will feature Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, My Little Pony, Power Rangers and Wrestling Figures, while The Movies That Made Us season 1 will feature Die Hard, Ghostbusters, Dirty Dancing and Home Alone.