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COWABUNGA! Talking Mutant Mayhem and Beyond with Playmates Toys' VP of Marketing, Pat Linden
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This week's episode marks Playmates Toys' VP of Marketing Pat Linden's return to the show! With Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem just a few weeks away from hitting theaters and the marketing hype train long out of the station, we're talking the new TMNT toys and more with Pat!
Keep up-to-date with the latest from Playmates Toys on Instagram @playmatestoys.
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Transcript
Introduction and Sponsor Highlights
00:00:01
Speaker
The summer is here. That means outdoor festivals, comic-cons, and the perfect weather for toy hunts. As the weather heats up and you're out there enjoying yourself, stay hydrated with our show's sponsor, Liquid IV. Liquid IV hydrates two times faster than water alone and three times the electrolytes of traditional sports drinks, and it's easy to use. Just rip open a pouch, pour one of their delicious flavors into a water bottle, and shake it up.
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Welcome and Podcast Overview
00:01:17
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. And I'm Dave. Welcome to Adventures in Collecting, where we talk toy news, culture, and hauls, along with our journeys as collectors. Hello, everybody, and welcome back to Adventures in Collecting.
00:01:48
Speaker
Hey, we're back. Dave, we are indeed, uh, we're, we're in, we're back. Yeah. And we are no longer alone anymore. That's true. It's true. Uh, we, we, uh, we took a break from having guests on for all of one episode and, uh, and we're back to having, uh, not only just a guest, but a returning guest.
Interview with Pat Linden on TMNT Mutant Mayhem
00:02:12
Speaker
And, uh, it's.
00:02:14
Speaker
You know, we're nearing the release of a special film that's coming out. And, you know, this is definitely going to be a turtle-rific episode, I think we could say, right? Yeah, I think it will be filled with much mayhem. Very good, very good. So, of course, when it comes to the rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and pop cultural significance,
00:02:44
Speaker
Playmates was practically there from the beginning. It's only appropriate that they help usher in this latest incarnation as Mutant Mayhem heads into theaters just this August. So joining us this week on the show is returning guest and VP of Marketing at Playmates, Pat Linden. Pat, welcome back to Adventures in Collecting. Thanks a lot, and thanks for having me. Very exciting times at Playmates, especially with the
00:03:11
Speaker
upcoming launch of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mutant Mayhem, which will be in theaters on August 2nd, get that plug in. And I think everybody's very much looking forward to the movie. Absolutely. And we've been saying it for years and it feels like it only becomes more and more true each year we've been doing this podcast. It's never been a better time to be a fan of the Ninja Turtles.
00:03:39
Speaker
It's just like that statement just keeps getting more and more true as we go on with the show. But before we jump into the turtles themselves, just if you could, Pat, remind our listeners, how long have you been a Playmates and what are you actually responsible for there?
00:03:56
Speaker
Yeah, so I've been at Playmates for 24 years. So I've been there for a while. Obviously wasn't there for the original launch of turtles back in the late 80s and 90s but have been there since obviously 1998. So saw the four kids era as I like to call it with Ninja Turtles when four kids was working directly with
00:04:19
Speaker
the co-creator Peter Laird and the Mirage Group. And been there since 2003, obviously was there when Nickelodeon purchased the IP, I believe in 2011 and then relaunched with the TV show in 2012. And obviously there for the rise of and now for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mutant Mayhem, which is very exciting. Yeah, for sure.
Fan Reactions and Design Insights on TMNT
00:04:48
Speaker
I mean, we were,
00:04:49
Speaker
Very lucky to be among some of the first people to see the new figures at their reveal in New York earlier this year. And the energy was, it was high energy, it was buzzing. How has it been watching fans react to the new designs?
00:05:04
Speaker
No, it's been great. And obviously, I follow social media quite regularly. And in New York, yeah, we were able to unveil the turtles. And then just a couple of weeks ago with the release of the second trailer, and that trailer featured the mutants. And so since then, we've unveiled the mutant characters in the form of action figures as well.
00:05:28
Speaker
And I think for the most part, the response has been very, very good. I see a lot of positive responses. Yeah, you're always going to have your negative Nellies out there, as I call them, that will talk down this or that. But for the most part, I think the Ninja Turtle fans are very excited for Mutant Mayhem. And we are, too, as a company. Yeah, I mean, I'm just speaking as somebody who's a parent of a
00:05:57
Speaker
soon to be eight year olds. Uh, yeah, she's enjoyed the kind of turtles by proxy, you know, through, through me and through, you know, her uncle, uh, yeah, through both are, are kind of older toys and some of the reissues that have come out and, you know, of course, like the old media, but it's been great seeing her. How viscerally she's reacted to these new turtles. Like it's like, these are turtles for her generation.
00:06:24
Speaker
No, I agree. And, you know, some of the comments I see are that, yeah, you know what this Riza or not Riza, but mutant mayhem definitely does pay somewhat homage to the original series in terms of look and style of the turtles. You know, you have the brickwork, you have the sewer elements, the sewer lid cover, you know, all those elements and then the characters themselves. I mean,
00:06:52
Speaker
They are bringing back a lot of the classic characters that were huge back in the 80s and 90s that, you know, obviously Seth Rogen and the Point Grey team have reimagined to put their own unique look and spin on them. But, you know, those are characters that are beloved by that original audience back in the 80s and 90s and will be loved by the new audience in, you know, 2023 and 24.
00:07:22
Speaker
And it was, it was really cool to see in like the, the art style from that trailer. Cause really, you know, when we first saw those, those figures, we had less than a day of, of having seen the trailer and being able to take it in and really just seeing how well it translates to, to that toy form. It's really cool to kind of see this new style in toys, but still have that, that same feel of like what we know and what, you know,
00:07:52
Speaker
people who have just like my niece who have seen the, the old material be like this, it's still familiar to everybody, but it's its own thing. It's very still, you know, a new kind of different fun energy around it. Yeah. I think Nickelodeon and, you know, specifically point gray is South Rogan and the team have done a really good job of, you know, making these figures look unique.
00:08:18
Speaker
you know, for today, but at the same time, uh, you know, kind of has that tingle, I guess, as I would call it, uh, the look of the turtles back in the eighties and nineties as well. So, you know, we've seen turtles from, from all forms of media now translated into toys over the years. Uh, what was different, uh, and, or maybe challenging about taking this or incarnation of the turtles and turning them into toys.
00:08:48
Speaker
Yeah, I think, you know, one of the challenges was that obviously the turtles this time around are teenagers. And, you know, they look like they're teenagers as well. They don't have bulging muscles. You know, they, they look kind of skinny, except for maybe wrath. So from that standpoint, you know, when it comes to action figures and ninja turtles,
00:09:14
Speaker
You know, we didn't want to produce really, really skinny action figures because A, you know, these are definitely for kids. And in the kid's mind, the Ninja Turtles are heroic. And to have that heroic look, you know, I think we did, we did bulk them up a little bit and Nickelodeon to give us the liberty to do that. But at the same time, you know, we wanted to retain kind of that teenage look too.
00:09:40
Speaker
Obviously, we didn't go overboard, and I think we've struck a pretty good balance of them still looking like they do in the movie, that teenage look, but at the same time, making them look a little more heroic with more musculature and giving them the ability to kick butt.
00:10:01
Speaker
You know, I thought it was really clever too, that they're all on different bodies. Like, cause I, you know, I think of, you know, historically think of the turtles, you know, as being like four figures, they're just kind of painted a little bit differently. You know, sometimes raft gets like a little more of like a, you know, beat up treatment, but, uh, you know, opening them and having them all in hand. Cause again, back when we, we first got to see them in New York, I, we only handled like one or two of them just because of the way that they were all staged. We don't want to mess up with the whole display.
00:10:28
Speaker
But once I was actually shooting them and reviewing them, I realized I was like, oh, these are four distinctly different bodies, all heights, broadness, really clever, really, really clever. Yeah, and look, when we did the turtles back in the 80s and 90s, we tooled up one body and four different heads.
00:10:52
Speaker
right and you have the belt buckles that distinguish which turtle is what as well as the expression on their face. My how times have changed I mean yeah like you said each of these four turtles are uniquely sculpted and you know the look of the turtle kind of takes on the personality of that turtle as well Raphael obviously he's the
00:11:14
Speaker
the tough one right he's the one that always is looking for a fight so he is a bit larger a bit more muscular than the other three and then you have donatello he's the the smart one so he has the glasses um and he's probably the skinniest of them but at the same time you know he still has those ninja skills and can kick butt as well
00:11:37
Speaker
Then you have Michelangelo while he's the short one and they made him look unique because his head shapes are different than the other three. It just all works. It all came together. Then obviously you have Leonardo and he's the leader and he has that look in terms of body proportion and his head shape and his expression as well. It's definitely one of those things where if
00:12:04
Speaker
If you were a kid, and I mean, this is, I'm going out on a limb, right? But like, if, if a kid has never had a single touch point with the Ninja Turtles ever, like, like going in completely, completely blind. If they picked up these four figures, I think that is immediately like, Oh, this is the silly one. Cause he's short. This is the, you know, nerdy one. Cause he's got the glasses and he's got the phone in his, in his Fanny pack.
00:12:29
Speaker
And then, you know, you got the burly one and then Leo is literally like, he's the, you know, the hero character. He's the first one that you pick because he's got the two swords. He's got the, he's got the build that like, he's got like the perfect, you know, air quote, perfect like hero build. It's just, I, that, that attention to detail on a $10 kids toy is one of those things where it's like, this is how you tow the line between an action figure it's for a kid, but like an adult can also appreciate because it's.
00:12:57
Speaker
It's, it really does tow that line very well. So I was really impressed. Well, thank you. No, I look at, I mean, again, kudos to Nickelodeon and, uh, and the team at Point Grey for, you know, the designs for the turtles because, uh, you know, personally in my may have a biased opinion here, but I think they nailed it.
00:13:16
Speaker
in terms of the look of the characters and, you know, like we just talked about, bringing out the personality of those characters just in the look. You know, even if you didn't know anything about the Turtles, like you just said, Eric, you could probably have a pretty good idea of what their personalities are like just based on their appearance alone. Yeah, for sure. Now the Turtles line has a long history of working with some incredible designers and sculptors.
00:13:45
Speaker
What was it like working with Phil Ramirez on the mutant mayhem figures? No, working with Phil was great. I mean, obviously he's been a sculptor for a long, long time and he worked on some of the very original Ninja Turtles when he was at Varno Studios.
00:14:02
Speaker
you know, when we were looking for sculptors and, you know, again, you know, nothing gets Varner either. He was, did a very, very good job and still does great work today. But, you know, we, he, I know he was working on other projects, specifically our Star
00:14:19
Speaker
or truck lines, sorry, as well. And we knew Phil was out there, found out that he was working on his own. And to be able to work with Phil was great. I think he did a great job. And I think he put his heart and soul into it as well, because
00:14:37
Speaker
I think turtles holds a special place in his heart too because you know what yeah he did work on the original line and uh obviously that was successful and because he worked on that you know I think it was a challenge to him too in terms of okay I worked on this originally how do I make this better how do I you know uh one up myself I guess in terms of you know teenage mutant ninja turtles and I think he did a fabulous job
00:15:05
Speaker
So sticking with design, can you walk us a little bit through the creative process of how the new turtles get created from screen to toy? Sure, sure. So really, I mean, it all starts with Nickelodeon and getting that original character art from them, not only of the four turtles, but all the other characters as well.
00:15:32
Speaker
you know, nothing's ever final, especially the process starts very, very early on. So even though we received character art from them, you know, we know in the back of our minds is probably going to change on their end as well. And, you know, like I said earlier, I mean, the turtles are teenagers, so they have that teenage body, you know, it's skinny, it's not developed. Their muscles aren't there yet. And at the same time, you know,
00:16:01
Speaker
From a toy standpoint and who this is targeting, a kid, you know, we want the turtles to look heroic and look like they can kick butt. So, you know, obviously we go back and forth with Nickelodeon in terms of, okay, well, what if we make, you know, them a little more muscular and, you know, is that back and forth in terms of, nope, that's probably a little too muscular.
00:16:23
Speaker
Muscular and you know then they will push back and then we'll push back so it's a little bit of back and forth but at the same time, you know, I think both companies know what the ultimate goal here is and you know, it's to create a great action figure that's gonna appeal to kids and the collectors and those kids and collectors have to think that the turtles look heroic. So yeah, there's a bit of back and forth.
00:16:46
Speaker
But at the same time, you know, and it's great to get everybody's opinion too, because the more back and forth you go, I think it just leads to a more perfect action figure, a more perfect look for an action figure for a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Yeah. And it's really one of the other things too, that kind of jumped at me from these figures that, you know, just kind of thinking about them, you know, and the process as well. The art style has that kind of very frenetic, almost like,
00:17:16
Speaker
comic book to life, you know, where it looks like a moving comic book. Um, and it's interesting because some of the, like the lines on the figures are a little rough, like, like even like the, the, you know, outlines of the eyes and the mouth, like they have that kind of, you know, jagged fill to them. They're not as, you know, they're not like perfectly clean. And, you know, I, I think it's, it's a clever way to kind of bring that very 2d looking art style to a 3d figure.
00:17:45
Speaker
No, definitely and you know that's where Phil comes in and did a great job because look at I mean these figures have facets in them. They have facets in their heads and their body and you know being able to capture that lock and then when you decorate the figures to making sure that the decoration is on the lines.
00:18:04
Speaker
that are integral to the sculpt. It's, you know, it's a process. And obviously, it takes somebody with great skill, like Phil has to be able to sculpt these and really bring them to life and make them appear like they do in the movie with that unique look and that unique style.
Exclusive TMNT Figures and Future Releases
00:18:21
Speaker
Yeah. So speaking of unique looks and unique designs, Seth Rogan recently shared photos of a special four pack with
00:18:29
Speaker
Beachbum Mikey, Cowboy Leo, Astronaut Raph, and Spock Donny paying homage to the turtle disguises from past releases. I immediately think of the sports ones. So what went into that design and can we expect to see the mutant mayhem styled turtles do more of this going forward?
00:18:49
Speaker
Uh, well, I can tell you that those four turtles were like, Oh, these are such great characters. And they based the designs on what we did back in the, uh, in the nineties. So you small, those same four characters dress, as you said, Leo as the cowboy, um, Mikey as the beach bum, Donatello as Spock and Raf as the astronaut.
00:19:16
Speaker
And this is a great set. And, uh, you know, I think, you know, the fans of yesterday will remember and find it very appealing. And you look at their unique looks, right? Yeah. Now, if they could get in like the pizza shooter, that would see, I was thinking, listen, like I, I love a good, like well-timed multi pack. Let's get the four new turtles as the universal monsters. Like let's, let's do that for a Halloween four pack at Walmart. That's.
00:19:46
Speaker
That's where we got to go next. Yeah, and who knows? That could happen.
00:19:56
Speaker
Sticking with the idea of the toy culture of the turtles, one of the best parts of course is the world building aspect with vehicles and playsets. We've seen a little bit of column A and a little bit of column B so far. How did you approach those concepts of playsets and vehicles for Mutant Mayhem?
00:20:20
Speaker
So when it comes to the vehicles, the pizza van, the pizza fire van, as we call it, I mean, we knew that was going to be in the movie. And again, kudos to Seth Rogen and his crew, because that van has a lot of elements taken from the original party van as well. So that was a no-brainer. April Scooter.
00:20:51
Speaker
Yeah, obviously that wasn't from the original series, but you know, we're like, you know what, let's, uh, let's plus it up a little bit. Let's take the side car from the cycle that we did back in the eighties and nineties. I had a, a side car and we'll put it on the scooter and, uh, put a unique feature on it in the fact that it transforms.
00:21:12
Speaker
from a sidecar or could ride from the back as well. And again, I think that a lot of the fans from yesterday will remember that and be able to recognize, oh, the sidecar was a very popular cycle back in the day.
00:21:28
Speaker
And then the Ninja kick cycle, you know, that was based just on a very cool inventor concept that we saw where the figure can hold on to the handlebars and you toggle the pizza slice on the back seat from side to side and the figure
00:21:45
Speaker
jumps off the seat and kicks from side to side as well. So that one, and look at, I mean, cycles always traditionally have done very, very well in the turtle line. I think, you know, kids, four or five and six year olds, and even probably a little bit younger, definitely recognize and like mortar cycles. And, you know, you see that in the toys as well because cycles always traditionally have performed very well in the line.
00:22:15
Speaker
Yeah, the, uh, the, the, the module, not modular, but you know, the, the configuration of the sidecar thing. I, I, I was playing with that thing for like a good hour, taking photos. Cause like, Oh, like you put Mikey over here with a little nunchuck attached to the wheel. It was, yeah, it's so much fun. Like so much fun. And now a word from our sponsors.
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Speaker
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TMNT Playsets and Vehicles Discussion
00:25:46
Speaker
Now, we saw the playset as well back in New York, and I had a couple really, really neat elements to it, like a slime element. Is there any kind of update on that?
00:26:00
Speaker
Yeah, so the slime element is still included in the play set. And to give you a little bit of background on the play sets, I mean, look, when we relaunched Turtles back in 2012, there weren't too many play sets in the male action aisle. And we're like, you know what? It's Ninja Turtles. And one of the key scenes or key placements or key areas in the turtle world is that lair.
00:26:29
Speaker
And it's no different than the Batcave and Batman. We're like, you know what? We got to have a cool, cool turtle lair place set.
00:26:37
Speaker
We're like, all right, well, let's design something that is going to be our flagship for the line. And we're like, OK, we're going to build a big playset. And at the time, that playset was $100. There was a lot of questions. Oh, will a consumer pay $100 for a playset, especially in the male action aisle? And lo and behold, yeah, definitely, because that layer playset sold really, really well.
00:27:03
Speaker
So when we were looking at designing a new place, we're like looking at, you know.
00:27:08
Speaker
The times today and inflation has gone through the rough, costs have gone up. We're like, well, you know what? Let's just take a step back instead of doing that humongous playset that in today's world would probably cost 150 bucks. You know, let's downsize it a little bit. And again, pay homage to the original sewer layer playset that we did back in the day. So we obviously made it smaller, made it modular with the subway station that you can move.
00:27:39
Speaker
and place wherever you want, but we loaded it with a ton of fun features. And yes, ooze is still definitely a big, big part of the play set and still has the tube where you can pour the ooze into and ooze the baddies or use the ooze ball and roll that down the tracks to take out some baddies as well.
00:28:01
Speaker
Yeah, and you know what, we did it all for less than $100. So very happy about that. And I think the fans appreciate that as well. And in the fact, you know, the line itself, I think we've done a good job of keeping it affordable. And look at I mean, the core of the line is still the action figures. And, you know, if you look at
00:28:22
Speaker
The retail today is hard to find an action figure for less than $10. And that was our goal was really provide a lot of value, not only with the action figures, but include a lot of accessories as well, which should allow kids to be able to collect deep into the line to be able to purchase action figures for less than $10.
00:28:48
Speaker
To your point, and again, not without throwing anything or anybody under the bus, but $10 for what you get inside that blister. You get the figure, you get the weapons tree, you get a hero accessory that has a little extra paint on it.
00:29:08
Speaker
you know, plus all the articulation, you know, they, they move, they don't move like old turtles, you know, they have, you know, all the, all the extra joints and everything. Um, you know, I really do think that there is a lot of value there and, you know, especially in the, uh, you know, what we saw on the play set and the vehicle so far, I think, you know, you're, you're, again, like you're really toe in that line, you know, that makes it accessible for kids and, and easy to, you know, for,
00:29:35
Speaker
kind of inundated collectors these days to, you know, to add. Yeah. And that's always been like a hallmark of the line is like, you know, the value you get for what you're, you're paying, you know, you are getting accessories that can go across the line. You know, it's, it's really that, that impetus that'll get you kind of, okay, yeah, well, if I get more, I get more accessories. So.
00:30:05
Speaker
It's really that, that cool kind of the bridge to more stuff that's in the line. Yeah. And look at, I mean, you know, we love including accessories because at the end of the day, it is, it is a toy as targeting that younger kid. And, you know, it's great to have an action figure, but if you have accessories that, uh, you know, the figure can hold and you can actually play with, um, you know, I think it just makes it that much more special.
00:30:34
Speaker
And I'm also recreate, you know, their favorite scenes from whether it's the movie or the TV show. And I'm just excited too that, you know, a new generation of collectors gets to experience the, the, the pleasure of, uh, disassembling a weapons tree. There's nothing there's like, I have to say, like I've opened a couple of the retro ones with my daughter and like the original weapon trees. And it's like the first time I got to do that after a while was like, gave me like the, the warm and fuzzies.
00:31:01
Speaker
But like getting to do it on a new figure, like a new style, new design, like I literally sat there like a kid like, you know, like opening the weapons tree. It was so much fun. I missed that kind of stuff. Yeah, that was always my favorite part is like, okay, giving characters stuff. Yeah. Like, oh, they have more stuff that they can carry, not just
00:31:26
Speaker
you know, Katana or a Bo staff or anything like that. My favorite weapons tree item. So I'm not, I'm admittedly, I'm a Donnie guy. I'm not a Mikey guy, but my favorite weapons tree accessory came with Mikey on this. I love the microphone nunchucks. Those are hilarious. And I really, really hope they show up in the movie, but, uh, very funny. Like I, I just, I love how goofy the turtles can be, but like without it being.
00:31:55
Speaker
They could be goofy without being stupid. And I love that delineation. Also, we can't all be Mikey people, Eric. I get it. You're wrong, but I get it. Oh, we're going to put Pat on the spot with that later. Don't you worry. Don't you worry. David, I think the next one is yours, right? Oh, OK. So yeah, we talked about the
00:32:22
Speaker
before it was tooling in different heads and different belts. Playmates has been putting those vintage 80s and 90s tools to work, but with Mutant Mayhem now, the focus of the line, will there continue to be retro releases?
00:32:38
Speaker
Yes, we have retrofigures lined up through 24 and we'll see what happens going forward past 24. But yeah, there is definitely a plan in place to keep on
00:32:54
Speaker
bringing back some of those old tools. And in some cases, you know what, those tools aren't available. And we're retooling from scratch those original figures. But instead of giving them new bells and whistles, we want those to retain that same look, retain that same style, retain that same feel of when they were shipped back in the 80s and 90s.
00:33:19
Speaker
Um, yeah, probably if I had a guesstimate, probably 80% of those are, everything's based on the original tools, but there are some parts of the tools that have broken or are lost. So we've had had to retool in some cases, entire figures, but in most cases, different pieces or parts from those original characters as well.
00:33:42
Speaker
Well, that's good to know. And I know a lot of people, you know, really enjoy seeing those retro figures out again. Either, either people who, uh, you know, still have their original ones, but they are so played with that having, you know, like a new version to kind of keep nice and shiny. Um, you know, and I'd also, again, like just going back to all those accessories, how many, how many ninja stars have, have we lost over the years? You know, Shurikens, right? Um, you know, how many of those little pieces?
00:34:11
Speaker
Or Eric even seeing like, you know, one of the things I'll never forget is, you know, your daughter, my niece opening the, that movie star path. Oh God. She, for the first time. That's like, seriously, it's one of her, you know, like the, the mind of a seven, a lot of the time she got her, she was six. Now she's, you know, she's almost eight, but like, you know, the mind of a six year old, right? Like play with something, you know, get really, really into it for like a half hour and then like onto the next thing.
00:34:40
Speaker
She has done that with so many things but continues to pull that box because she uses it to store the turtles. Pulls it out front of the couch and dives right back in. And every now and then I sneak in when she's not looking and I slip in another figure in there from my old collection. And then she opens it and she's like, oh, now April's in here. I'm like, I wonder how she got in there.
00:35:04
Speaker
Um, yeah, but, uh, it's, it, yeah, it's really cool seeing the retro stuff and, you know, I'm, I'm not gonna lie. Like when I'm cruising through Walmart and target seeing, you know, the, uh, the storage shell turtles, you know, back on shelves again, it's like, oh man, these still look awesome on pegs in a retail environment, huh?
00:35:24
Speaker
Yeah. And that was one of the keys to was, you know, not only the, you know, the figures, but the packaging too, and trying to retain that original look, that original artwork, because, uh, you know, obviously times have changed and a lot of that artwork didn't exist. So we had to recreate it and, you know, taking the time to recreate it so that it looked as close as possible to the original looking packaging that, uh, you know, that, you know,
00:35:51
Speaker
Today's grownups remember from back in the day, um, very, very important as well. And the thing I like about those two is like, they're, they're made for if you want to open them, but that's like some nice, you know, like carding on them where if you want to, you know, put them in a, like a protector and put them on the wall or display them, you know, mint on hard, they're, they're going to stay. Like that bubble is not coming off unless you want it to.
00:36:20
Speaker
Yeah, definitely.
Engagement and Social Media Promotion
00:36:23
Speaker
All right. So our next section here, we're going to head into some, uh, follower Q and a. So Dave, uh, you know, for, for, for the people that may be listening to this episode for the first time, what should they do? Yeah. So they should smash that subscribe button and
00:36:40
Speaker
Read the stories. View the stories. View the stories. Read the stories. We're going to story whenever we're going to have a new episode and a guest on. And that's where we are going to ask you to ask questions. And you can be like our four Q&As today and have your question featured just by following at AIC underscore podcast on the gram as
00:37:08
Speaker
as the youths would say, and also on the Twitter. And while you're at it, smash and like the subscribe button on YouTube and hit the bell so you know when we're gonna have more videos. Never gets old, gets better every time. Everyone give it up for, unless you're driving and you need both of your hands, give it up for Dave. Little clap for Dave.
00:37:38
Speaker
It gets better every time. The fun part is, I think those are all real words. No cap, Dave. No cap. You're doing great. As Dave mentioned, this is our Q&A section. We completely understand that the folks that we have come on the show get very limited time with the general public to talk about these toys.
00:38:04
Speaker
we understand that privilege so we wanna make sure we get some of your questions, our followers, highlighted here.
Pat Linden's Favorite Ninja Turtle
00:38:13
Speaker
So, as Dave mentioned, Pat, we've got four for you today. Dave, would you like to do the first one? I would love to. And we alluded to this one before. So, at OBX Rock, Outer Banks Rock, asks,
00:38:35
Speaker
Who is your favorite turtle? Who is my favorite turtle? I've always liked Leonardo because he's the leader of the group. But at the same time, I really like Michelangelo too because look at he's the funny one. He's the jokester.
00:39:00
Speaker
Some of the lines that he says is just plain fun. And honestly, like Raphael too, because he's the strong one, he's the no-nonsense fight at all costs.
00:39:19
Speaker
you know, fight first, ask questions later. And then you have Donatello, who is the brains of the operation. And, you know, push comes to shove. He's the one that comes up with the plan. But at the end of the day, Leonardo, Leonardo is probably my favorite turtle. All right. So we have three different picks here. I, you know, I respect you both, but you're both wrong. It's the answer is Donatello. So that's
00:39:47
Speaker
Listen, whoever was the genius that caused me to put sprinkles on my pizza when I was a kid, that's who's the best. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. And I guess that's the reason why I like anchovies. What are you going to do? There's a turtle for everyone, folks. There is no best turtle. You can have your favorite, but there is no best. All right. Your favorite is the best.
00:40:17
Speaker
Are yes accurate. Alright, so our next one comes from a friend of the pod I'm gonna give him a shout out here at toy farce if you are not following at toy farce on Instagram Please do so. He is hilarious and also super nice Frenchman
00:40:36
Speaker
So definitely follow toy farce and he asks with all of the retro reissues Is there any chance we'll see the Jim Lee turtles get a re-release?
Re-release of Jim Lee TMNT Figures
00:40:50
Speaker
The Jim Lee turtles good question. I Don't believe that is in our current plans to read launch. However that could change and
00:41:05
Speaker
It could be that it's not in our plans because of rights issues more so than the tools not being available. I think there would be a couple additional hurdles to cross in order to bring those back since it was a kind of a third party creation, so to speak. But I'm going to write that one down and bring that up with the powers to be and check into that.
00:41:34
Speaker
Definitely. Definitely a good idea. Awesome. I mean, yeah, those were some very, very unique designs. I think, uh, yeah, for sure. Uh, it would be interesting to see them come back and, you know, especially, you know, Jim Lee, you know, only gets more famous as time goes on. So, um, yeah, and great question to a farce, uh, Dave, you're up with the next one. Um, at Richie rich 0 1 6 1 0.
00:42:01
Speaker
asks, have you have you considered a more adult focused line of more detailed and articulated turtles that come in at a higher price point? Yes, we have. And watch out in 2024 with the the 40th anniversary of Ninja Turtles, because we will be doing a couple of things that
00:42:28
Speaker
that I think the true pure collector will really appreciate.
Upcoming TMNT Anniversary Line Tease
00:42:34
Speaker
And I'll leave it at that. I don't want to go too deep into it, but yeah, definitely doing the turtles and redoing those and giving them more of today's sculpting technology is something that we've been looking at.
00:42:56
Speaker
Awesome. That's exciting. I didn't realize that it was already the 40th anniversary. Jeez. So 40 years from the original comic book, right? Yeah. Yeah. Wow. Jeez. No, no, I mean, yeah. I'm that makes sense. Um, all right. So our, our last, uh, Q and a question here comes from at dat figures debt figures asks,
00:43:20
Speaker
Will the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and more specifically, Mutant Mayhem, have a retail presence in 2024? Yeah, definitely. Definitely. I mean, so in our basic figure line, there is enough characters that stretch into 2024. And there are some vehicles, too, that we will be launching that are
00:43:49
Speaker
based on vehicles from the movie that will appear in 2024. And then we'll expand a couple of segments too, specifically role play that will have mutant mayhem, look and feel that'll come together in the form of toys in 24 as well. Very cool. More, more to look forward to.
00:44:11
Speaker
Um, so, so with that, you've survived our Q and A section, Pat. So, uh, you're two for two. You're two for two. Um, we did it again. We did it again. Uh, but, uh, before we let you go, um, since you have already been a guest on the show and you've already had a chance to answer our standard, uh, final question that we asked all of our guests, uh, Dave.
00:44:35
Speaker
Would you like to fulfill your role as this podcast's James Lipton and ask our alternative final question? Why, yes, I would. Since you have already been on our show before and have answered our show's final standard question, we have prepared an alternative for you. If you could form one ultimate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles team using any variants of the four turtles from Playmates history, what would it be?
00:45:06
Speaker
So, obviously that original turtle from the 80s, 90s would be one. The 2012 turtles would be a second. Mutant Mayhem would be a third. And probably the 2003, four kids turtles would be the fourth.
00:45:34
Speaker
And I think you have a good mix in there because back in 2003, that was based on Peter Laird's vision of having the TV series follow more in line with the original comic book, which was kind of dark and edgy. And, you know, the turtles for that kind of took on that look.
00:45:59
Speaker
Obviously with mutant mayhem, they look a little younger, so you have that more teenage look. And then the 2012 series, again, I think paid homage to the original classic look, but at the same time had a cool look all of its own as well. So I think those four would be my choices.
00:46:26
Speaker
And, you know, obviously there has been movies and other TV shows, but I think those four, uh, you know, probably are nearest and dearest to my heart. Great answer. And you know, I'm thinking this is one of those ones, Dave, where we should probably answer too. We should probably put it, put teams together. Yeah. Do you want to go first or you want me to go first? Oh, okay. Um, do you need time to think? Cause I was kind of thinking, thinking about this while Pat was answering. So I think I have my four.
00:46:57
Speaker
I actually think I gave you my answer. Did you really? When I first came up with the question. Okay. So you look up your answer. I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll give mine. I'm going universal monsters. Yes. I actually do have it. That's funny. Okay. I'm going, I'm going universal monsters mashup. Um, I'm going, I am going mutant mayhem. Um, I'm going to go, uh, the sports one.
00:47:25
Speaker
I'm going to do a sports one. And I'm going to go a 2003 turtle as well. That's going to be my four. So I actually sent it to you down to the character, but I'll just go the line. OK. So I have the WWE crossover. I forgot about those. But which one did you put? Wait, which one did you put for his thing? Raffaella Sting. Raffaella Sting, yeah.
00:47:53
Speaker
No, I kind of forgot that one myself. What were the other ones? It was Randy Savage. Ultimate Warrior and Undertaker. Undertaker and then John Cena as well. Oh, that's right. John Cena. Yeah. Yes. Yeah, it was Sting. And The Rock, I think we did The Rock too, so. Yeah, there were, I think there were two series. Yes, there was. Because I think The Undertaker was one too. Yeah.
00:48:19
Speaker
Oh, wow. Yeah, I haven't I haven't thought about these in a long I'm googling them right now. I haven't thought about these in a while. Yeah, the ones that I was thinking of were yeah, Sting, Cena, Undertaker and Macho Man. Yeah, we're the four the four that I was thinking of. Wow. Yeah, those are awesome. All right, sorry, I cut you off movie star movie star. Original gotta go with my first ones and mutant mayhem. And I had Donatello as my mutant mayhem.
00:48:49
Speaker
Um, Michelangelo as my movie star and Leo as my OG. Nice. Nice. Yeah. Uh, love those, the movie star ones with the, the like rubbery. Yeah. I thought that was really cool. And like, it was one of those things where I was like, Oh, cool. Like I've wanted these. It feels like, it feels like the costume looks like it would feel on the screen. But they were from a secret of the use. Yes. Yes, they were.
00:49:20
Speaker
I guess they were. Pat, so with that before we say good evening, just remind our listeners, where can they find out the latest news on Playmates Toys? Where can they follow on social media?
00:49:37
Speaker
Well, definitely follow Playmates Toys on social media, on our Facebook as well as Instagram. And we are revamping our website as well, giving it a new look and feel that's obviously Ninja Turtles will be based on that mutant mayhem look. And hopefully that will be done no later than mid-July. Awesome.
00:50:03
Speaker
We'll have all the latest toys and introductions there as well. And obviously I hope the fans continue listening to you guys and your podcasts and we'll feed you information as soon as we get it.
00:50:19
Speaker
And I know there's another event called Sweet Sweet that's coming up that will happen in New York. And we will be there for that as well. And then shortly, gosh, I mean, with Toy Fair moving to September this year, we'll have a booth at Toy Fair too. And that will have the latest and greatest on Ninja Turtles. And what's new in the Ninja Turtle world will be featured at Toy Fair as well.
00:50:47
Speaker
And we should be, we will definitely be at Sweet Sweet and we should be at Toy Fair as well. So we'll be sure to see you guys there. With that, Dave, I think the only thing left to do is to send everybody home.
Closing Remarks and Credits
00:51:04
Speaker
Yeah, Turtle Power.
00:51:08
Speaker
Thank you, dear listener, for hanging out with us today. Subscribe, rate, and review us wherever you listen, and then tell your friends to do it. Thanks also to Joe Azari, the golden voice behind our intro. Our music is Game Boy Horror by the Zombie Dandies. Find more about them both on our show notes.
00:51:25
Speaker
Follow us on social media at AIC underscore podcast on Instagram and Twitter. Stop by and say hi. Show us your toy hauls and share your toy stories. Maybe we'll talk about it in a future episode.
00:51:48
Speaker
This has been a non-productive media presentation, executive producer Frank Kablaui. 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.