For adults who grew up in the 1980s and 1990s, a movie being made about a former toy store could become one of their most anticipated movies to watch in theaters.
What Happened: Former toy retailer Toys ‘R’ Us is getting the movie treatment with a live-action film inspired by "Night at the Museum."
The "Night at the Museum" film franchise saw characters from the past come to life after the museum closed, which means we could be getting a live-action film of toys coming to life after the toy store closed, or in a way a live-action "Toy Story" movie.
Story Kitchen and Toys "R" Us Studios are teaming up on the film efforts, according to a Variety report.
"Toys ';R' Us is a cultural touchstone that continues impacting the child in all of us today," Story Kitchen co-founders Dmitri M. Johnson and Mike Goldberg said. "As ';80s kids who considered Toys ';R' Us one of the most magical places on Earth, we're honored to partner to create a film that will capture the spirit of adventure, creativity and nostalgia that Toys ';R' Us represents."
The modern film is described as being similar to "Night at the Museum" along with films like "Back to the Future and "Big." Movies like "Jumanji" and "Barbie," which also brought toys to the big screen, are also used in the description of the future film.
"It will be as boundless as play itself, evoking the electric sense of wonder that is the essence of Toys ';R' Us," Toys “R” Us Studios President Kim Miller Olko said.
Story Kitchen is well known for its work on video game adaptations for TV and film including "Sonic the Hedgehog." The studio is also working on the "Tomb Raider" franchise for Netflix and Amazon MGM Studios project and "Toejam & Earl" for Amazon MGM Studios.
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Why It's Important: No film partner was named for the Toys ‘R’ Us film. Variety reports that Story Kitchen has a first-look TV deal with Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) and a first-look deal with DreamWorks Animation, which is a Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) unit, for animated film.
As a live-action film, Story Kitchen could look to partner with one of its current partners or shop around depending on demand for the film rights.
Toys ‘R’ Us was founded in 1957 and was one of the largest toy retailers in the U.S. and world until Walmart sought to take its title for toy shopping in the early 1990s. Toys ‘R’ Us declared bankruptcy in 2017.
Now owned by WHP Global, Toys ‘R’ Us stores within stores can be found inside Macy's Inc (NYSE:M) locations. The retailer's baby segment Babies ‘R’ Us was also brought back to life through a partnership with Kohl's Corp (NYSE:KSS) in 2024.
The film could draw interest in more retail partnerships in the future.
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Photo: Sundry Photography via Shutterstock
