The Beanie Baby boom and bust of the 1990s is getting a narrative film for Apple TV, starring Zach Galifiankis and Elizabeth Banks. Succession's Sarah Snook and Blockers' Geraldine Viswanathan will also star. SNL's Kristin Gore writes and co-directs with her husband Damian Kulash, lead singer of OK Go (a band known for their elaborate music videos).
The film will be called The Beanie Bubble and is based on Zac Bissonnette’s 2015 book The Great Beanie Baby Bubble: Mass Delusion and the Dark Side of Cute. A documentary called Beanie Mania was also released on HBO Max on December 23, 2021, showing a resurgence of interest in the craze.
Collecting the soft toys, with their signature heart-shaped button bearing the brand-name Ty, became something of an obsession or mania for some people in the 1990s. They believed it was an financial investment that would one day be worth thousands.
One of the most striking images of the time was a couple in court, dividing up their Beanie Baby collection during divorce proceedings.
The description for the movie reads: “It pulls back the curtain on the absurdities and injustices of the American Dream — particularly the female relationship to it. It’s a celebration of the women who helped power Ty Warner’s success, whose strengths and good instincts shaped and amplified the phenomenon, but whose names are not on the Beanie Babies’ heart-shaped tags.”
Zach Galifianakis was last seen (or heard) in the animations Ron’s Gone Wrong and Missing Link. Elizabeth Banks is becoming better known for her directing than acting, with projects such as Pitch Perfect 2, Charlie’s Angels and the upcoming Cocaine Bear.
Geraldine Viswanathan has carved out an impressive career in independent films and rom-coms, including Blockers, Hala, Bad Education, The Broken Hearts Gallery and 7 Days.
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