The History of Playmobil: The Movie | More than a Lego Movie Rip-Off?
Added 2024-09-25 19:00:05 +0000 UTCPlaymobil: The Movie is one of the biggest disasters in both animation and movie history. The only reputation that it has is being called a rip-off of The Lego Movie. But is there more to this than a failed attempt to copy a more successful film? If we look upon what went into the making of the movie and how director Lino DiSalvo and the team at ON animation created this, maybe we’ll find something that stands out as a tribute to the Playmobil toys…or why it became a colossal bomb.
Comments
This and Mr Enter’s review on the Playmobil Movie really gives it a resurgence. I think.
ShockwaveFPS Studios
2024-09-26 20:52:11 +0000 UTCTo me, I’m always more of a Lego guy especially I have a Lego Spider-Ham key chain with me right now. I never played any Playmobil toys before as a kid but I have heard about the toys a few times but never got into. For the movie itself, I never saw it in theaters and still have yet to see it to this day but really don’t want to given how bad this movie was and how it came off as a Lego Movie ripoff at the time. I just saw Lego Movie 2 in theaters back in 2019 at the time and I too feel hesitant to watch it upon coming out so I avoid watching. I feel bad for cast like Anya Taylor Joy getting involved in this although that before her career getting a big boost after a few big name films, along with the animators in how this movie was put through but at same time, I don’t feel bad given how it tries to copy off the Lego Movie but without a choice if it really tries to pay homage to the legacy of Playmobil toy brand as a whole. Seeing the history of it was really quite interesting and I don’t know if it’ll get rebooted again in the future, but unless Playmobil is still a thing especially for kids being into in playing these toys, it could but I doubt it.
Kenneth Stoddard
2024-09-26 02:02:32 +0000 UTCInteresting video Mat. Very in depth with the Playmobil Movie. And a nice nod to hear from fellow reviewers on YouTube. But also I am more of a LEGO fan myself as I got whatever toys I got and played a few games growing up with one being LEGO Island on PC. But with Playmobil, the problem is that they need to be more out their and have more reach to gain those audiences to challenge rivals similar to it, in this case LEGO. Case and point, Barbie had rivals with Gem and the Holograms and Bratz. And I know Transformers had one but I can't remember, but it was covered in The Toy's that Made Us. So you can imagine how you need to have a strong concept in storytelling but also understand the brand to make it come to life. If LEGO can do it (until it fell off like how you talked about it here and in your LEGO history video), and My Little Pony can do it (thanks to Lauren Faust). I'm certain Playmobil will find another visionary who can help get them there while also getting their brand more out to the public.
Joshua Copelan
2024-09-26 00:52:48 +0000 UTCI legitimately forgot this movie exists. Wow what a story!
Lady Tyler Bio Rodriguez
2024-09-26 00:22:10 +0000 UTCReally love how you’re starting to get more elaborate with your history videos since your history video on Sausage Party and starting to improve as a historian. I’m definitely look forward to seeing future history videos of the quality. I’ll admit I’m more of a Lego person than a Playmobil person due to the sets and figures looking very bland and not as creative as Lego and I always knew this film wasn’t going to have much of the same appeal and success as The Lego Movie, but after learning how passionate Lino DiSalvo was towards the subject matter and how much he wanted to respect the themes of the toy brand, it does make me feel bad for his feature film debut to not only be a flop critically and financially, but for the film to end up with the reputation it got when it was released nearly 5 years ago of being seen as a Lego Movie copycat. I’ll admit, Playmobil the Movie at least had some heart in it compared to other animated disasters, but it still doesn’t change the bad circumstances that surrounded the film. I just hope Lino gets a second chance and his next animated film turns out more successful than Playmobil the Movie.
Hunter O'Laughlin
2024-09-25 22:50:57 +0000 UTCI've always been more of a LEGO-branded kid, especially the creative sets like Batman and Star Wars. (There was also SpongeBob at one point, but sadly that never stayed, and a knockoff brand is making sets from it) It seems that it wasn't on purpose that they wanted to rip off The LEGO Movie in the first place, but more of an untimely coincidence. I agree that it isn't even a great toy brand to begin with. However, I wouldn't say it's not possible, and I don't think there is such a thing as a trend other than copying the success of another movie. I even say competition is the real downfall of any movie franchise. Yes, you get successful ones like Shrek or Hoodwinked. But if you do it all the time without putting any real thought into the movie, it'll end up a failure. Like back when DreamWork's earlier films coping from Antz to A Bug's Life, El Dorado with New Groove, or even Shark Tale against SpongeBob. Nothing good ever comes from being competitive!
Alan Oliva
2024-09-25 20:27:19 +0000 UTCThis definitely was a fascinating video, I’ll be honest I never really played with Playmobil myself I was definitely a lot more of a LEGO kid, as for the movie, it really is a combination of different things that led to its failure, like the fact when it mostly felt like it was trying to copy the LEGO Movie At a time the LEGO Movie wasn’t as popular as it used to be, the release date and plenty of other factors, and in the end it just ended up as quite possibly one of the biggest disasters for an animated film.
Justin Monti
2024-09-25 20:08:14 +0000 UTC
