Toys ‘R’ not always fun on screen
The film world is full of schisms. Star Trek v. Star Wars. DC v. Marvel. Ford v. Ferrari. This season brings another divisive property to the screen with the release of Playmobil: The Movie, based on the German building toy.
Of course, cinema has been awash in “building toy” films since 2014’s The Lego Movie, which begat a 2019 sequel, two spinoffs ( Lego Batman, Lego Ninjago) and at least two more planned features, The Billion Brick Race and Lego Batman II.
Playmobil: The Movie wasn’t screened in advance for Toronto reviewers, but it was released last summer in Britain and — let’s just say it didn’t click with critics, most of whom referenced the superior performance of the Lego franchise.
“Much like the Playmobil toys, with their poky feet and weird, lobster- like hands, Playmobil: The Movie is similar but inferior to the Lego equivalent,” wrote Ed Potton in The Times of London.
“Disappointingly, it is a borderline dopey, sentimental children’s adventure mostly without the wit and spark that converted grownups and kids to the Lego films,” wrote The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw, who also decried the plastic surgery given to star Anya Taylor- Joy: “( Her) doll-like beauty is reduced to a dull Playmobil ordinariness and she is given short hair.”
And in Variety, critic Guy Lodge wrote the “hyperactive film never transcends its blatant product- flogging purpose ... The words ‘ Collect ‘ em all!’ never actually appear on screen, but the directive is felt.”
And under the headline “This Plastic’s Not Fantastic,” the Daily Mail’s Brian Viner suggested rainy British weather on the movie’s opening weekend “might be this film’s best chance of maximizing box office numbers.”
Alas, Playmobil: The Movie has, in a host of overseas markets, made just a shade over US$ 12 million at the box office, which bodes ill both for its North American release and for any sequels. Lego may have the upper hand at the movies, at least until Tinkertoy, Meccano or Lincoln Logs decides to try building a franchise.