This article lists feature length animated and live action theatrical, television and direct-to-video films based on toys, tabletop games and trading cards. Many of these films are based on dolls and action figures made by American toy companies Hasbro and Mattel. [1]
Prior to 1977, toys were released together with films as merchandising tie-ins. Films that were suitably toyetic spawned numerous licensed properties, often marketed heavily to children. Beginning in the late 1970s, this approach was flipped as films began to appear that were based on popular toys. In 1977, Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure debuted as the first theatrical motion picture in which a consumer toy was the star. [2] During the 1980s, action figures got their own films, such as Masters of the Universe ( The Secret of the Sword ) and Transformers ( The Transformers: The Movie ), as did dolls, such as Pound Puppies ( Pound Puppies and the Legend of Big Paw ) and My Little Pony ( My Little Pony: The Movie ). Also in the 1980s, the greeting card companies American Greetings and Hallmark Cards created popular characters that were made into toys, on which films were later based, such as The Care Bears ( The Care Bears Movie ), Rainbow Brite ( Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer ), and Strawberry Shortcake ( Strawberry Shortcake: The Sweet Dreams Movie ).
A resurgence of live action film adaptions of toy properties began in 2007 with the release of Transformers , the first film in what would become the Transformers film franchise. The first film in the G.I. Joe film franchise, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra , was released two years later. In 2008, Hasbro entered into a deal with Universal Pictures to make at least 4 films based on its brands and products. In 2012, the poor performance of the first film from this partnership, Battleship , caused other projects in development to be shelved or sold off to other studios. [3] The success of The Lego Movie in 2014 showed that even intellectual properties without an existing narrative, or even familiar characters, could be profitable and its success renewed the interest of toy companies and film studios in producing toy-related projects stuck in development hell. [4] [5]
On 3 November 2017, Hasbro Studios entered into a five-year production and distribution deal with Paramount Pictures to develop additional productions based on Hasbro brands. [6] In 2021, Mattel Films announced a development of 13 films in production based on Mattel toys and games, such as Hot Wheels, Magic 8 Ball, Masters of the Universe, Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, Polly Pocket, View-Master, American Girl and Uno, as well as an original intellectual property in Christmas Balloon. [7] After being in development for over a decade, a live-action film adaptation of Barbie was announced by Warner Bros. Pictures with actress Margot Robbie cast as Barbie and Greta Gerwig directing. [7] [8] [9] Released on 21 July 2023, Barbie was the first live-action Barbie film after numerous computer-animated films and specials. [10] The film received critical acclaim and grossed more than $1 billion in worldwide box office sales, becoming the second highest-grossing film of 2023, the highest-grossing film of all time solely directed by a woman and from Warner Bros. in their centennial anniversary and the 25th highest-grossing film of all-time.
Wang Film Productions Co., Ltd. is one of the oldest and most prolific Taiwanese-American animation studios since 1978. The company, based in Xindian, Taipei and Los Angeles, California, has done traditional hand-drawn 2D animation/ink and paint for various TV shows and films for studios across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.
Brian Drummond is a Canadian voice actor. He formerly served on the board of directors for the New Westminster-based Urban Academy along with his wife, Laura Drummond, also a voice artist. Usually working in Vancouver, he is often cast in antagonistic or authoritative voice roles.
Tabitha St. Germain, formerly known as Paulina Gillis Germain and also known as Tabitha or Kitanou St. Germain, is a Canadian voice actress. She has been actively doing voice-overs for animated series and films, video games, and commercials since 1985. Her best-known roles include Fllay Allster in the Ocean dub of Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, Scary Godmother in the Scary Godmother television film duology, Heloise in Jimmy Two-Shoes, Lightning Liz, Nanny Boo Boo, and other various characters on League of Super Evil, the eponymous character in the PBS Kids series Martha Speaks, and the speaking voice of Rarity and Princess Luna among other characters in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.
Nicole Lyn Oliver is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her roles as Princess Celestia and Cheerilee in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and Zoe Trent in Littlest Pet Shop.
Kathleen Barr is a Canadian voice actress. She is best known for voicing Marie Kanker and Kevin in Ed, Edd n Eddy and Trixie Lulamoon and Queen Chrysalis in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. She also voiced Henri Richard Maurice Dutoit LeFevbre in Liberty's Kids, Dot Matrix in ReBoot, Kaiko Nekton in The Deep, Wheezie in Dragon Tales, and Gelorum in Hot Wheels: World Race and its 4-film sequel AcceleRacers.
Andrea Libman is a Canadian actress. She is known for providing voice acting in various animated shows, such as voicing the characters of Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy in the Discovery Family series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and its spinoffs. She has also appeared in Little Women, Andre, and a guest role on The X-Files.
Michael Donovan is a Canadian voice actor and director.
Marÿke Hendrikse is a Bahamian–born Canadian voice actress who works primarily for Ocean Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She has played several roles in anime, most notably Revy in Black Lagoon and Lunamaria Hawke in Gundam Seed Destiny. She is also known for her roles as Susan Test in Johnny Test, Gilda in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Sonata Dusk in My Little Pony: Equestria Girls and Yasmin in the Bratz franchise.
Kidtoon Films is a distributor of children's animated films in the United States. The company is a subsidiary of The Bigger Picture, a Cineverse company. SD Entertainment previously owned it, which produced many of its earlier releases. The company is based in Woodland Hills, California.
Magna Home Entertainment was an independent home entertainment distributor headquartered in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, operating within Australia and New Zealand. As of February 2009, Magna Home Entertainment became a fully owned subsidiary of Beyond International (ASX:BYI), an Australian television production and distribution company. Magna Home Entertainment is the sister company of Melbourne-based home entertainment distributor Beyond Home Entertainment, also a subsidiary of Beyond International. Magna Home Entertainment distributes television series, documentaries and feature films.
Diana Kaarina is a Canadian actress based in Vancouver, British Columbia. She is known for her voice acting work in animation and video games, notably as the voice of Barbie in the eponymous film series between 2010 and 2011. She is also active in theatrical performances.
Discovery Family, currently rebranding to Discovery Family Channel (DFC), is an American cable television channel co-owned by The Cartoon Network, Inc. and Hasbro Entertainment, which are divisions of Warner Bros. Discovery Networks and Hasbro respectively.