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Live from New York Toy Fair 2026 with Todd McFarlane!
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We’re LIVE from New York Toy Fair 2026! We continue our annual tradition of sitting down with friend of the pod and industry icon, Todd McFarlane! 30 years of experience under an ever-changing industry is on full display in this 30+ min conversation!
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Intro and other voices by Joe Azzari
https://www.instagram.com/voicesbyjoe/
Theme Music is "Game Boy Horror" by the Zombie Dandies
Proudly part of the Non-Productive Network
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Transcript
Introduction to Adventures in Collecting Podcast
00:00:03
Speaker
Are you ready kids? Get your parents permission, check your mailbox and grab your shopping cart. It's time for the Adventures in Collecting podcast. I'm Eric.
00:00:15
Speaker
And I'm Dave. Welcome to Adventures in Collecting. Where we talk toy news, culture and hauls. Along with our journeys as collectors.
Interview with Todd McFarlane at New York Toy Fair
00:00:28
Speaker
Hello everybody and welcome back to Adventures in Collecting. We are here at New York Toy Fair once again with returning guest and friend of the pod, the Todd father himself, Todd McFarlane. Hey Al, how's everybody doing out there? We're going to do this interview, but going have my head down for most of it because ah I've got to sign hundreds, actually thousands of different cards that we put into the toys.
00:00:52
Speaker
So I got to put an autograph on the back. So if my head's down, it's not that I'm falling asleep. I guess you can actually even see it in the camera over there. And then as soon as I get done with one pile, I got another pile and I just keep going until I'm done.
00:01:04
Speaker
So they're going to ask questions. We're going to answer. But I got to get some work done at the same time. Yeah, you get to see how the sausage is made. Exactly. Right?
Creating Spawn Minifigures
00:01:12
Speaker
So, I mean, were we' you're signing all these Spawn cards right now. Let's start off by talking about Spawn. You have some new Spawn product out there on the floor. We saw it. um I am actually super interested in the little minifigures that you're doing for so for Spawn. can you tell us a little bit about the you know why you chose to go with that format? um Well, here's the thing.
00:01:35
Speaker
The vast majority of what we do is licensed product. And technically, Spawn is a licensed product, right? Because Mycoma company owns it. But whenever we come up with an idea to try and do another form factor or another price point, um Sometimes the easiest way to try it is what with Spawn because we don't have to go get a license, right?
00:01:59
Speaker
so So sometimes we have ideas. we go, oh, man, want to do this cute little thing. We want to do this fun little thing. And then we go and ask people, and they go, no, you know this company and this company and this company you know already do that for us. We don't need it.
00:02:15
Speaker
You're done. So Spawn was the obvious choice to try it on a couple of them to just see if anybody... Sort of thinks it's it's cool. Well, I think they're cool. Yeah, they do look very cool. Okay, get in here.
00:02:28
Speaker
Look at him. Don't you think there's too much space here? I'm going to get him to move here. He's being way too shy. You're really getting out of the sausages. You get creative director Todd, too. This good. Right? Look at, look good there's no gap now. No gaps in the shoulders. This is art. That's
Expanding Sports Figures and Articulation Styles
00:02:42
Speaker
it, artistically. so So Spawn being the first kind of avenue to test out that new form factor, how did you spin that into some of the sports stuff that you did?
00:02:51
Speaker
within that same minifigure form? um Well, again, you just go back to the like to the people you've got a license from and you show them what you're doing as sort of a proof of concept.
00:03:02
Speaker
and And if we've got data on something we've done before, whether it was Spawn or something else, and then we show it and we go, hey, we want to do your brand on that. Sometimes it's a lot easier to get them to say yes once they've seen it or they can hold got it and go, oh, you want you want to do that trick with our brand over here. Some some of the brands, especially on the sports, they don't.
00:03:25
Speaker
slice and dice it as much as like other big TV movie video game brands where you know it seems like there's a hundred people here Toy Fair that have a piece of almost the exact same thing. Yeah. um So they're sometimes they're happy to go what you want to do that with our brand oh man cool right oh the hockey don't get nearly as many offers as let's say the NFL. Yeah. Oh man you want to try that yeah sure talk knock yourself out.
00:03:55
Speaker
And speaking of which, with hockey and with basketball, see something even more of a new form factor. We've got the articulated figures. yeah um What led from going to the standard sports picks statue format to the articulated figures?
00:04:09
Speaker
um Probably just... A couple of things. When you think of an action figure, you think it moves. So that's articulation. And then two, just an experiment, right? I mean, we haven't done it before, to your point.
00:04:25
Speaker
So we haven't done it. So let's try it and see if they like one more than the other. I mean, we we can get more reality and more accuracy in the sort of the plastic statue ones that we're known for.
00:04:40
Speaker
um Once you start going into articulation, you got to start giving away art, if you will. But sometimes people go, oh, no, I like having fun with it. I'm as a fan.
00:04:54
Speaker
I don't care that it's 100% accurate because it's doing other things that to me are more interesting or more fun or is more of what I like personally for my collection.
00:05:06
Speaker
So we'll see. I mean, come back. We'll now know by next year or next interview yeah that we'll have data to say, hey, did did one sell any better than the other?
00:05:18
Speaker
And are there plans to take that into any other sports? i mean, we saw the articulated basketball figures and the articulated or NBA figures and NHL figures. um Are there plans to maybe go into baseball or football? Yeah. Again, here's the thing that once you do something that works, then you go, oh, how how do we multiply it? you know if You don't figure out how to do less of it. Yeah.
00:05:42
Speaker
Hold it. Can ask a question? Yeah. Did that come from the pile I was signing or that come from here? No, you were out, so I moved some over for Oh, phew, okay. So that way can keep signing them. He's gumming my system up. So I'm like, what? Where did those come from? Okay. I was trying to develop a workflow with you.
00:05:59
Speaker
Instead, I just messed you up. Yeah, gummed it. So would the original statue style sports picks continue, or is that going to kind of... Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, again, I think there's a place for each version of every... I mean, again, you can make a little tiny Superman this big, and you make one this big and make a statue.
00:06:20
Speaker
all was weak All we look at is for the time and effort and revenue that you get, can you at least kind of get to break even a little bit over just a little bit to make it worth our time? that's And if the answer is yes, then you go, oh, we can make a nickel.
00:06:36
Speaker
So if we do it 20 times, you make a dollar instead of worrying about getting the dollar all the time. Right. So.
Image Founder Series Discussion
00:06:44
Speaker
Well, one of the things that you revealed at New York Comic Con, going back to last year, was the Founder Series, the Image Founder Series line. And you know that spawn figure is out there, and it's arguably the best articulated spawn figure that's that's ever been produced. With the cape. the cape. Yeah, wire cape. Thank you for doing that. yeah But um also, we see the next two out there. And Savage Dragon is one that I'm particularly excited about. And proportionally, that thing looks incredible. yeah Massive arms, little legs. Well, the thing is, I think, I mean, we're doing some other stuff based on comic books, right? We've got the Hellboy and things like that, some of the stuff from the Ghost Machine.
00:07:21
Speaker
Again, you you look at the style that people are used to the most, and then you try and deliver that. So Eric Larson, the writer-artist writer artist on the Savage Dragon, you know, he's got a pretty distinct look.
00:07:35
Speaker
Oh, yeah. and and he was pretty... ah adamant that we got it when we when were doing it. he still I think he still thinks the fish should have been bigger. um But again, we're all... But if if you're a fan of that book, and the toy should look like that book.
00:07:57
Speaker
And if you're familiar with Eric Larson, you know that he is a very particular individual, who right? well you Well, even more, yes, he is. But even more so, he's done all the books. Yeah. So every issue is his look.
00:08:11
Speaker
Even the one that Jim did. He went back and redid it. Yeah, that's right. So, yeah, Jim Lee did an issue and he Eric redid that one. Right. But, like, if you're doing Superman or Spider-Man or whatever that's been around decades and you've had...
00:08:24
Speaker
dozens if not hundreds of artists that have done their interpretation then when you're doing a toy you're doing an amalgamation or you have to specifically pick one yeah look and say you're doing that look um but again for for the two that we have there shadowhawk and uh savage dragon those were drawn by the people who created them and that's the look that everybody knows. There is no hundred people that have tried it.
00:08:55
Speaker
So for that that ah that Founder Series, what's what's next on the roadmap? like ah in terms of hitting those other those other founding members? um We've got some coming out from Jim Lee, some of the Wildcats. Although, in ah in a weird way, that sort of like ties into our DC multiverse because it's under that banner.
00:09:15
Speaker
um Mark Silvestri, we have, I think, Witchblade figures coming out. Who else am I missing here?
00:09:26
Speaker
I think we're even doing some for like Rob Weifeld's Youngblood. Okay, great. i think we've I think we've signed that contract and we've just begun that one.
00:09:40
Speaker
And so I'm trying to think of the original founders. So we got three and that would be the other three. Yeah. yeah So we're we're covered with all of them. Yep. Yeah, that that ah picture that was going around social media not too long ago about the anniversary of the founding, you know, just seeing the six of you, that black and white photo a nice little throwback. Yeah, it doesn't happen. Sadly, the the the boy band getting back together doesn't happen that often. And and then there was a time where Jim Valentino was having health issues, so he couldn't get on an airplane. Oh, okay. And so it was like, oh, man, unless we all basically went close to Portland.
00:10:18
Speaker
We were never going to get the reunion. And then I know we did some reunions and sometimes Jim Lee, who's now busy with DC Comics, ye you know, does it doesn't make sense. And or they don't necessarily want him hanging out with the competition, which I get it. ah So, yeah, it gets it gets harder and harder. But at some point we could probably do one more.
00:10:39
Speaker
Because we're getting older and, you know, once the first person passes away, you can never put the band back together again. It's true. It's true.
Superpowers Line and DC Comics Collaboration
00:10:48
Speaker
And, so you know, speaking of DC, you guys announced today that you're continuing with the Superpowers line through um Entertainment Earth. It's really cool and that that that ended up working out.
00:10:58
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, again i look, at there's there's a lot to go around. yeah And what we've been asking is just, well, where where' is there space, right? like if you Like, if people were doing it over there and and now another company isn't going to do it, why leave it empty? We'll continue to fill the void. Or if there is a gap, we will fill the void, right? Yeah. I...
00:11:25
Speaker
my conversation that I had with ah Warner Brothers consumer products was, i get it when you sign a big you know Fortune 500 company. that's like And we're in Los Angeles, so I was using sports vernacular that they would understand.
00:11:43
Speaker
yeah i go, look it, I understand you just signed Shohei Otani. I get it. You got the big dog, that all makes sense. I get it. You you should do that.
00:11:56
Speaker
But before you signed Shohei Ohtani, I thought we were Mookie Betts. And so here's what the Dodgers did not do when they signed Shohei Ohtani. They didn't get rid of Mookie Betts.
00:12:08
Speaker
The way that it works is you you take your 25 players, yeah you take a guy like Shohei, you put him in the number one slot, Then one becomes two, two becomes three. You just move everybody down one slot, and the person who leaves is the one that was at number 25 on your 25-man roster. yeah So you traded your 25th guy for Shohei Otani.
00:12:31
Speaker
That's a huge upgrade. You don't go, I'm going to trade my my one for one. Yeah. Right? So i i keep I keep telling them, let me be Mookie. Right? That's my whole thing. I'm gonna have a shirt. I'm go to make it for all of them.
00:12:43
Speaker
Let McFarland toys be Mookie. That's great. Yeah, I mean, you need that number, too. And, you know, you guys have done a great job of continuing that, you know, that Kenner aesthetic in in the Superpowers line. So that very happy to to to hear that you guys are still going to be in the picture with the DC stuff. Well, the bigger one for me, too, is...
00:13:09
Speaker
There are things that are being done out there by other companies that are smaller than us, that are less effective. Then let us have that. Like, it's weird that like that. Like, don't take us out of the batting order.
00:13:21
Speaker
Right. Just like what? Then let us do that. When that contract comes up for that product, they'll let us do that because we can get it I think we can make a better quality product and we can get it distributed in wider places. right So we could that we would be an upgrade over there and over there and over there.
00:13:38
Speaker
But that's the whole of bringing the big free agent and then make everybody go down one notch yeah and slot everybody in and get the maximum value you can out of everybody. So we'll see. We'll see where it all ends. so as for the dc the DC Multiverse stuff, as you know we kind of come to the we're talking about the end of the year. It's only February. Yeah. Is there still more to be revealed for the rest of the year? Or have we kind of seen what what we can expect for the rest yeah there the year? Yeah, the majority of it. Because, again, the contract, you know, officially ends at the end of the year. yeahp um
00:14:12
Speaker
And, you know, I think, and and I understand it. You know, everybody wants to give a nice sort of... free wide berth yeah and see what what Mattel is going to do out there.
00:14:25
Speaker
And then if there's sort of gaps and or weaknesses and corners, then you come back and you go, hey, can you guys help sort of sort of level this rocky sort of road out a little bit because we we've we've got openings over here and over here. yeah so you just...
00:14:43
Speaker
You just fill gaps. And hopefully we'll we'll we don't know where the gaps are. Got it. So we'll we'll wait and and see if there's any that makes sense for us and for Warner Brothers to say, oh, yeah, man, you've to be the perfect guys to do it.
00:14:59
Speaker
And now a word from our sponsors.
00:15:07
Speaker
This segment is brought to you by our friends at Chubsy Wubsy Toys. A traditional mom and pop toy store in Little Falls, New Jersey, Chubsy Wubsy Toys brings you the best new toys from the brands you love without the hassle of pounding the pavement searching for them at larger retail stores.
00:15:23
Speaker
Visit them in person at their brand new home at 101 Newark Pompton Turnpike Suite 1 in Little Falls, New Jersey, or online at chubzywubzy.com.
00:15:36
Speaker
That's
00:15:42
Speaker
And tell them Adventures in Collecting sent you.
00:15:48
Speaker
And now, back to the show. Well, getting that 89-style Joker out, yeah that's a big deal. If that's if that's the if that's the the swan dive into the deep end. And the Superman Brandon Routh. Those are the two biggies. Those are two those two that a lot of people wanted, and myself included. yeah Again, so yeah part of our success, we were able to go really deep.
00:16:10
Speaker
Because, again, we're not a big public company, so our... are our bar of quote unquote, what we term internally successful is a lot lower than other companies. Look at years ago, I got sports.
00:16:27
Speaker
yeah I picked up sports because the stock market has gotten a little bit tight and all the big public company, toy companies got a little, and I heard through the grapevine at that point that if they didn't make 35 million on a line, drop it.
00:16:47
Speaker
oh wow And so for small companies, 35 million, that's a grand slam, right? So you're going, woo! Right? And so for them, they're like, we don't want it. And so the sports had fallen underneath that threshold, bam. And I was able to like catch it before it hit the ground going, I'll take,
00:17:09
Speaker
$33 million dollars of business? Like, whew! So you just you just watch what's happening in the landscape and just see how the business sort of plays out.
00:17:20
Speaker
And again, what they want to focus on and what they don't want to focus on. And then you see if you can then find an inroad ah to the ones where they're ignoring. Right? Again,
00:17:32
Speaker
you You don't ever want to sort of double up on anything. That doesn't make any kind of sense. Yeah. It's more of they're not doing that over there. Let us do it over there. Right. And so at least there would be a product that fans might want over there that otherwise would not be done.
00:17:49
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, and we're seeing even an expansion of game lines like Helldivers 2, Doom the Dark Ages, a whole bunch of other stuff. Warcraft, yeah. um Mortal Kombat classic continuing.
00:18:04
Speaker
um you even like Fallout, even though it's kind of like the TV version. um Yeah, and and what you'll notice on those is that it's not the same big giant company doing all of it, right? It's more of giving it to smaller companies so they can help expand the brand yeah for you, right? That's all it is, is brand expansion.
00:18:25
Speaker
And technically done right, it should be additive with the... with the licensed people want to know, the people who own the brand want to know, is is it is it additive to it? Because of if all you're doing is selling, you know, a million more dollars over here, but you're taking away from over here, it doesn't make any sense.
00:18:48
Speaker
What they want is that everybody's going to be healthy and this becomes a plus million dollar set. so So the whole of their pie and the fan base is going and expanding, right? that That makes sense on a business level for them, which is why you see all the different licenses you do, because they think that they're not really competing.
00:19:09
Speaker
There are different price points, even stuff arguably that kind of looks the same. Usually the big demarcation is that you're in different, you got different distribution channels and or sometimes the material you're allowed to make it out of okay And that's until they go, okay, nobody's doing that.
Expanding the Spawn Universe
00:19:26
Speaker
So one of the things that differentiates you from everyone else that's out there is spawn. I mean, that is that is a huge differentiating factor. Yeah, I haven't given it to nobody. And there's still so many, especially since these kind of new generation of figures with the new articulation, the new detail, there are so many core characters from you know the multitude of Spawn issues. Yeah, there are hundreds and hundreds.
00:19:50
Speaker
Somebody did account for us. I go, hey, I just want to know how many characters have been in the comic book. And this was years ago, and they came up with 1,800 just in Spawn. Now, that includes police officers,
00:20:04
Speaker
Judges, doctors, so they're not all meaningful. But of those 1800s, there's still a lot. There's like 200. And then we've then expanded into the other books. yeah And I've expanded that the Spawn universe.
00:20:19
Speaker
I should call it the McFarland universe because it confuses people the time. to But it doesn't mean Spawn's in every one of them. But we've expanded. And then each one of those books now has all these characters. So I'm guessing now the count is probably...
00:20:34
Speaker
closer to 3,500 wouldn't surprise me so even if only 10 those were costume characters that's still 350 right that's a lot of that's a lot of figures and a lot of cool things you could do with it so any chance we're going to see some more of of those characters come to come to life yeah sure like what like Malbolgia Yeah, sure. So yeah, no, no, no. So the answer is yes. We still have a bunch of we're sort of working on and and
00:21:09
Speaker
um Again, as the entertainment grows for it, then going to be able to, the brand gets bigger. So, i' like, those characters might not sell so much right now.
00:21:22
Speaker
You put the word Spawn on top of it, the brand gets big, then it then it all kind of works in a meaningful way. But, yeah, there's no there's no shortage. no shortage of if we wanted to make one of everything. Yeah. We can we can go really deep on Spawn. Yeah. Well, that's is that something like ah you know the Collectors Club and the crowdfunding stuff on Avenue? you Yeah, drawing board projects. Yeah, yeah, yeah. yeah No, no, all of the above.
00:21:49
Speaker
bigger goal is get the brand... the bigger goal is to get the brand spawn out into the public and the easiest way to do that is either TV, movie, video games, right? Where the general public is buying it going, oh my God, I know what that is, right? So um otherwise you you you only have so much success if you stay in in the bubble, what I call in the bubble. In the bubble is comic geekdom, right? yeah We got to get out. So all of a sudden you can say stuff like Walking Dead,
00:22:24
Speaker
or the invincible, yeah or like these ones that have, you know, even recently the beauty is now on TV. So, okay, oh, people go, oh man, I've heard of that.
00:22:34
Speaker
um Because they watch it on TV or went to the movie or whatever else. And they don't even know at times that the source material is comic book. But you could still sell product based on the brand because people now know about Yep.
Spawn Movie Development Update
00:22:52
Speaker
Well, I mean, I i know that the the movie is and is ah an ongoing topic, ongoing ongoing discussion, right? Constant development. So hopefully um yeah that that moves forward for you so that way we can get us some more small figures. that i yeah i talked I talked to a couple of the big big people working on right now. But the next big piece of and information is just going to be we sold it. okay that like that That will be the next big, even if we have a script and and I like it, we lama but i'm I'm not even going to sort of let anybody know. It's just a means to an end to then go, let's go maybe get one or two more actors.
00:23:32
Speaker
let's put the final team together and then sell that team with that script to the potentially a studio and make the right deal and then announce that because we make that deal then that's not a development deal that's a production deal yeah and then we can go we just sold it to studio whoever and we're going into production around this time it basically means a movie's coming i could I mean really the fans on that level, only really want to know one thing.
00:24:03
Speaker
I'm going to go see it. Yep. Right? Like, I mean, everything else is like, white but at least if you go, we're making it, and then you can do, show them some of the behind the scenes while you're making it, and then you cut a good trailer. There are there are a couple of things that people will still pay attention to.
00:24:19
Speaker
But all the other ones were, hey, we hired that actor, we hired this actor, or whatever. i like you know I'm like, nah, we'll we'll make all that announcement like in one big thing saying we sold it, and here's what we sold, and here's where we're going into production.
30 Years in the Toy Industry
00:24:34
Speaker
So you've been you've been doing the toy business now for over 30 years, right? Yep. Across multiple form factors. Yeah. Before I had any gray. Yeah. The toy business is what gave you the greatest, probably. um But ah is there anything today, like in 2026, about this industry that really surprises you and kind of you know catches you off guard?
00:25:01
Speaker
The the the only thing that catches me off guard is that every now and then there will be... like a a thing that people will grasp onto, right? Like all of sudden they just want like keychains to put on their bag or something. like And then there's like this weird flood that they go there. Sometimes it's short-lived, but when it's when it's on, it it burns bright. You guys know. yep um Or they go, oh man, we like blind boxed.
00:25:33
Speaker
you know, blind box, $5 or under, or whatever, right? there's like a There's like a combo thing, and oddly, the brand that is doing it doesn't have to actually be that big, right? If the brand is big and they're doing it, then you get huge success out of it.
00:25:52
Speaker
um So there's that, but the the other piece is just the steady longevity of you know, people that you talk to here with your podcast, of that core group of people are super resilient, right? They just, to some extent, want solid brands,
00:26:15
Speaker
good quality with it at a fairly decent price. And if you give us that as a geek, we'll hang around for a long time almost until maybe we die. Who knows? It's like being a sports fan. You're a fan forever.
00:26:31
Speaker
yeah So um at the beginning when I started 30 years ago, sort of being having a lot of geeky toys wasn't quite anywhere as near as mature as it is right now.
00:26:45
Speaker
So you didn't know whether it was going to stick. But now it's like, no, i like it's stuck. And now the question is, who's going to deliver to this crowd that now, as they get older, also are...
00:27:02
Speaker
they they They expect a lot out it of it. I mean, they, they they they will and I get it. they they want They want good looks, value, they want all of it to be there for their money, right? And whoever can deliver the most value for the money, whatever that definition of value is for an individual, I think is gonna continue to sort of make inroads into the market. And if you don't, they'll move to somebody who won't deliver that.
00:27:30
Speaker
i Yeah. point. Yeah. So, fun question, non-toy related, but we talked about being in sports fans. Okay. So, Jays fell... The Toronto Blue Jays. The Toronto Blue Jays fell a little short.
00:27:42
Speaker
They did, that baseball team during the World Series. Correct. Bo Bichette came over to our Mets. What do we think? and Mets, Blue Jays, World Series this year? In a perfect world. Hey, we've got Mr. Mett out there. Let me tell you. Mr. Mett is out there. I'm a big Mets fan. When I was a kid, they were my favorite team. ah Every year, the New York met's hopeful.
00:28:05
Speaker
rises yeah you gotta believe just to get just to get punched in the in the face it would be cool it'd be cool to see the mets come and finally sort of live up to the potential that the fan base and ownership because they've been putting a lot of money into um get something in return for it the dodgers are spending the money and they're actually getting a return for. the yeah the The problem right now, if you want to call it that, in sports as a whole, is that there's now like five, six teams in each league, but we can stay with baseball.
00:28:44
Speaker
that are going nowhere going for the holy grail we're going to win the world series and they and those five or six teams put a lot of money and a lot of effort and a lot of talent to get there and anything other than winning the world series is considered a failure yeah and so so The Yankees, the Mets, the Phillies, right now the the Blue Jays, the Dodgers, to some extent the Padres, they spent some money. I'm probably missing a couple.
00:29:16
Speaker
They spent a lot of money, and now only one of them is going to win the World Series. Those yeah other five teams and the fan base may be frustrated. But that's the problem with only having one team every year, once you make the playoffs, that ends it with a victory.
00:29:36
Speaker
right Everybody else in the playoffs goes home a loser on their last game. So I don't know. We'll see. We'll see how the Mets do. Talk to me near playoff time, and I'll give you my postseason back. We'll reconvene back for to for com Comic-Con. Yeah, Comic-Con will be a perfect time to do that. yeah One last question before we let you go. um Like we said, a whole lot of really cool stuff out there. What's the one thing that you would say you are most excited for people to get their hands on?
Poppy Playtime and Toy Market Strategy
00:30:01
Speaker
um I'm curious how Poppy Playtime going to work, right? We didn't even talk about Poppy Playtime. There's yeah there's ah there's like a strong fan base there. and I mean, they've had products out before,
00:30:15
Speaker
But I remember when we, you're you're a few years back, we picked up Five Nights at Freddy's and it just got bigger and bigger and bigger to the point we now got two movies, right?
00:30:28
Speaker
So Poppy Playtime has a chance to be kind of a surprise big hit for us given that we're used to doing like super articulated, detailed, human, you know, video game, God of War, you know, Assassin's Creed, you know, Halo, it's got to all be like, but you do the fun stuff, right? Because I remember like when we did the Five Nights at Freddy's, it was just fun and people went for the ride.
00:30:58
Speaker
um So that and then some of the form factors you talked about earlier, the different price points. I'm curious to see whether people will go, Yeah, Todd, a little sort of construction-like figure of Spawn and or you know some cute little thing in the blind boxes. I don't know. we' we'll I'll have that. Like I said, I'll have data in next year. ye And if you see more of it, you you you don't even have to ask a question because you'll see more of it. And if you don't see any of it, then you know it was a dismal failure.
00:31:28
Speaker
So ah you might be able to just gleam your your answer to your question next year by what's on my shelf. got It certainly has like a different look from like a God of War or any of that other stuff. Yeah, the yeah and the and the thing is, as a toy maker, my job is to not think of anybody as a completist, that they're going to buy everything that we do, but to give them a variety of brands, and then even within the brands, to give them a variety of of sizes and and and shapes and forms and prices, and let people then put...
00:32:06
Speaker
into their cart, if you will, what makes sense for them personally. But the but the easiest way to maybe get even a little bit of a buy-in is to give them 10 options, not just, we only do it one way and you either like it or you don't like it and that's it. Because if you don't like it, there's no other option.
00:32:25
Speaker
But if you go, ah, I'm not going to really buy Superman, but don't mind it. A little cute little Superman, he's cool, man. Right? ah Then i got it we have a potential for a Superman body.
Conclusion and Listener Engagement
00:32:35
Speaker
Todd, as always, thank you so much for for taking the time to chat with us. It's a pleasure. You guys enjoy the rest of your show. Keep yourself busy. Go look at a lot of toys. Make sure you give your hand a rest at some point. No, dude.
00:32:47
Speaker
We draw eight hours a day. Don't worry about this. Thank you for hanging out with us today. Subscribe, rate, and review this podcast wherever you listen, and then tell your friends to do it.
00:32:59
Speaker
Thanks also to Joe Azari, the golden voice behind our intro. Learn more about him in the show notes. Our music is Game Boy Horror by The Zombie Names. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok at Adventures in Collecting, and on Twitter at AIC underscore podcast.
00:33:18
Speaker
Stop by and say hi. Show us your hauls and photos. Tell us your toy stories. Maybe we'll talk about it on a future episode. um try this at home void wire prohibited some assembly required each sold separately not a flying toy consult a physician if your toy run exceeds more than four hours
00:33:38
Speaker
This has been a non-productive media presentation. Executive producer, Frank Hablaoui. This program and many others like it on the Non-Productive Network is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License. Please share it, but ask before trying to change it or sell it. For more information, visit non-productive.com.