Livestream: When action figures don’t count as child’s play

At a time when one could access kiddie content only via Doordarshan and VHS, the borderline messianic action figures of He-Man, GI Joe, Luke Skywalker (Star Wars), and even Barbie held the keys to our imagination to become fodder for animated conversations and imaginary conquests in back benches and recess hours. 

Thanks to a new documentary on Netflix, that literally serves as a blast from the past, we are taken into the guarded corridors of toy making giants such as Mattel and Hasbro to dig up some skeletons from the past – and discover what truly made these toys so iconic. 

The four episodes that make up Season 1 are rife with trivia and stunning revelations surrounding the trillion-dollar American toy industry. 

For instance, Mattel co-founder Ruth Handler, took inspiration from an animated German comic strip, for adults no-less and its fully realised toy version, the Bild Lilli to come up with Barbie, which went on to become the biggest selling toy globally with more than 1 million units shipped. The dolls Barbie and Ken were the namesakes of Ruth’s children. 

The entrepreneur in the 60s had also turned gender politics on its head with her gutsy move of endowing Barbie with breasts, challenging the norms of a business that was dominated by the male demographic. 

The story of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is equally enticing. Mattel executives, who wanted to take on George Lucas’ billion-dollar empire, founded on Star Wars, were at the end of their wits trying to come up with a line of toys that could put them back in the game. With ill-fated forays into toys with the likeness of Conan, the Barbarian, Mattel were looking for the proverbial shot in the arm. 

Enter He-Man and the World of Castle Grayskull. The franchise had sales totalling $400 mn in 1986 alone, but then things begin going downhill for Mattel, when the companion live action film bombs at the box office. 

The documentary, while managing to capture the Zeitgeist of the pre-Internet era, also is an unapologetically frank examination of the American spirit of entrepreneurship. For those looking for a rush of nostalgia and insights into the workings of the toy industry, this feature checks all boxes.