The Beanie Bubble: Film Review
If you’re like me and can remember the Beanie Babies craze in the ’90s, then you should check out The Beanie Bubble, a comedic dramatisation of the cultural phenomenon.
The film tells the story of Ty Warner (Zach Galifianakis), the eccentric man who founded Ty Inc. and created the lucrative stuffed animals. It is told through the eyes of three women who quietly helped the company become a billion-dollar business. First, there is Maya (Geraldine Viswanathan), a receptionist who ended up writing the poems inside the tags and running the world’s first business-to-consumer website. Then there is Robbie (Elizabeth Banks), Ty Inc.’s co-founder and Ty’s on-off partner, and Sheila (Sarah Snook), his fiancée.
At the start of the film, the text reads: “There are parts of the truth you just can’t make up. The rest, we did.” That gives you some idea of what you’re in for. The Beanie Bubble is based on a true story and Zac Bissonnette’s novel, The Great Beanie Baby Bubble: Mass Delusion and the Dark Side of Cute, but it has been heavily dramatised for comedic purposes. It does have plenty of funny moments but I would have liked more of them.
Each woman is given her own storyline which they narrate on and off. The movie hops between them and their different timelines at the company or with Ty and it’s hard to keep track of the chronological order of the bigger picture at times. Despite that niggle, I liked that it focused on these unsung women instead of the famed billionaire, especially since (according to the movie) he did them dirty, took credit for their ideas or cut them down when they became too powerful.
The storytelling is pretty standard for this kind of film but I was interested in it because I didn’t know the ins and outs of the Beanie Beanies sensation or how they became so popular. Because there are three perspectives and a lot of ground to cover, none of the characters are fully fleshed out. However, I think Maya’s struggle to receive recognition for her work in the company is pretty universal. For that reason, I connected with Maya’s storyline – inspired by Lina Trivedi – and felt more empathy towards her.
I’m sure Ty has been exaggerated for comedy purposes but Galifianakis plays him like a larger-than-life horrible boss who is vain, controlling and power-hungry. Banks and Snook are reliably excellent and both get opportunities to shine when their characters are shafted by Ty.
The Beanie Bubble doesn’t tell a particularly outstanding true story but the performances elevate the material.
On Apple TV+ from Friday 28th July