User Reviews

This entertaining look back at the world adapting to Star Wars through the eyes of toy makers is a fun trip through childhood memories and the scramble of a small group of creatives to try to solve problems and anticipate what kids want to play with.

As with the rest of the world, Kenner had no idea what they had on their hands when Star Wars hit silver screens in 1977. Faced with instant demand, a group of wide-eyed toy designers at a Cincinnati-based company named Kenner did everything they could to figure out how to sell the "toyetic" gold represented by the characters and machines of Lucas' galaxy far far away. From that starting point, this documentary follows how Star Wars licensed (and un-licensed) toys are designed, consumed, and what the future holds for those who play in the Star Wars universe.

Heavy on nostalgia, the story is most engaging when told through the viewpoints of the collectors and Kenners' early designers. Once that story is told, this episode didn't have much more to offer, which occurred roughly two-thirds of the way through the episode. For me, it didn't answer the question that bothered me most as a 10 year old, "Why did no one make a to-scale, die cast Millennium Falcon until after the original trilogy was done?"

The Star Ways offering of The Toys that Made Us is all about the people; the designers, administrators, and a particularly interesting lawyer from Kenner (eventually Hasbro) who have brought the Star Wars toys to fruition over the last 40 years. The history of the Star Wars franchise is pretty well-worn territory, so there is not a lot new to glean there, but the tale of the toy company that gave life to the toys and how they have ridden the crests and valleys of Star Wars popularity is fresh and interesting. Watch this episode for the joy of the design process through the eyes of the designers and the surprising fun of patent law through the deightfully wry toy company attorney.

The story behind Kenner's original Star Wars line is well-worn, and at this point, there isn't much about the figures' production that I don't already know. But the producers wisely take the Kenner-centric approach, profiling the rise of an obscure Cincinnati toymaker. And that puts an interesting spin on this story. Sure, there's your typical fan testimony (even from Steve Sansweet himself, allowing us to get as close to Rancho Obi Wan as we ever will), and it's couched in the warm blanket of nostalgia this series implies. I guess I was expecting something along the lines of Retroblasting with a Netflix budget, which in some ways it is (and that's a good thing), but the reenactments are a nice touch. It left me looking forward to more episodes.

7/10

Finally watched this doc from "Netflix" called "The Toys That Made Us" and I must say wonderful and informative exciting look at childhood memories! Episode one looks at "Star Wars" and it's toys from "Kenner" this brings back so many memories and times from my past and being a kid! As every "Christmas" and birthday my tree and wrapped packages included plenty of action figures, and play sets! Born in 1978 I caught the craze in full swing as that is the years from 1978 thru 1983 that the toys were like hot cakes! As it became a billion dollar industry for "Kenner" and this documentary tells an interesting backdrop story of how it all started at the top floor of a Cincinnati small toy company! And how timing and legal issues always followed the toy line! Overall need I say more as the interviews, montage footage and clips from collectors and conventions tell it all excellent episode of a pop culture gem that brought me back to my childhood! May the action figure toy force be with you!

I loved the part about the original movies but I hated how they bashed the prequels, it gets old. All they do is talk about how annoying they thought Jar Jar was and then they skip over episodes 2 and 3. The prequels were a huge part of my childhood and I pretty much got Star Wars toys every Christmas and birthday during that time. A ton of prequel toys were made and I don't know how they can skip that. Lastly, isn't this show kind of about nostalgia? If so, why mention the Disney Star Wars movies at all? The Disney one's aren't old yet and I don't think I'm alone when I say they were unoriginal, simple, and pretty annoying to watch.