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Beanie Mania (2021)
In the modern day, Beanie Babies have once again started to make a comeback; this time, not in lieu of anyone's 401k plans.
A woman boards an airplane headed to Hawaii. In the woman's hand is a duffle bag filled with products she doesn't want seen and can't trust them to be shipped. In exchange for the bag, the woman receives $20,000 cash. No, the bag is not filled with drugs or counterfeit goods, it's filled with...Beanie Babies.
The year was 1993 and a new company known as Ty Inc. Was about to embark on a journey filled with chaos and heartbreak. At the time, Ty only employed approximately 14 people in a small, 5 room office building. In these offices, Beanie Babies would be created, cementing Ty Inc.'s spot in toy history. Clever business tactics coupled with a booming secondary market and sprinkled with a FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) that is uniquely American, Beanie Mania was created.
From 1993 to 1996, Beanie Babies were not much more than a pile of beanbags that mom and pop gifts shops had trouble moving. As we know, the slow sales didn't last long. In 1996, Ty saw a 1000% increase in total sales.
As the years moved on, the creatures' following started to grow. Sales increased, things like trade shows and special Beanie Baby publications started appearing, and a little thing called the internet popped up in American homes. While all of these things factored into Beanie Mania, you'll learn in this film that it wasn't until Ty Warner (creator of the Beanie Baby) decided to retire certain babies, 51 to be exact, that collectors took notice. Suddenly people turned collecting Beanie Babies from a hobby into an investment plan.
During the height of Beanie Mania, it wasn't uncommon to read an article about someone investing $10, $20, even $60,000 into the stuffed animals. People of the '90s thought Beanie Babies were a safe investment sure to stand the test of time. After all, eBay resellers topped $500,000 in profit in 1997 alone. According to Beanie Mania, at any given point there was up to 100 price guide publications on bookshelves, only adding to the mirage that investing in stuffed animals was a sound economic venture.
Ty Warner knew how to keep the Beanie market fresh. By limiting his availability to the media, giving the illusion of scarcity, and refusing to enter business agreements, an artificial market was created. In 1998, sales of Beanie Babies topped $1.4 billion. By the new millennia, sales began to slow and people quickly started to regret all the time and money spent on a bag of plastic beans.
In the modern day, Beanie Babies have once again started to make a comeback; this time, not in lieu of anyone's 401k plans.
The Film:
Beanie Mania showcases a number of people who were considered heavy hitters during the height of the beanie baby pandemonium. Primarily made up of stay at home moms, this core group of collectors took a fun hobby to an extreme, and, in some cases, got rich along the way. This group of beanie crazed devotees made cross-country road trips, created spreadsheets for their inventory lists, and even made their love official with a vanity license plates "B BABIES" on their new Mercedes-of course paid for with profits from Beanie Baby reselling.
Kind of like crazy cat ladies, except the cats were stuffed, we see people hoarding stuffed animals all over their houses and consuming their lives. Some of those interviewed even admitted that their beanie collecting went from a hobby to a full addiction. Collectors risked credit card debt and bankruptcy all for the purposes of owning a few rare beanies.
As Beanie Mania enters it's final few minutes, archived footage gives homage to all the people in the late-1990s that wishfully stated that there was no end in sight and touted what a fine investment Beanie Babies would be. Although we may see random upticks in the toy's demand on sites like eBay, a lot millennials are left with nothing more than boxes of stuffed animals worth a few bucks, thanks in part to their parents greed taking over the market of a childhood toy.
Worth the Watch?
Yes. Beanie Mania is filled to the brim with 90s nostalgia. From classic Socker Boppers commercials, the obnoxious sound of dial up internet, and tons cringe worthy footage of what at home computing used to look like, the film is a blast for those of us whose formative years were in the late-90s. Sadly, the film will also indirectly showcase how FOMA can completely take over an individual's life affecting their relationships and financial health.
The stories featured in the documentary will having you shaking your head, wondering how people got so wrapped up in the Beanie craze. I would have liked to seen a little more time spent on the history of Ty Inc. And how the idea of Beanie Babies was created. Even with the lack of Ty history, high quality archived news footage of Beanie Baby history pieced together with interviews from some of the earliest supporters of the toy, tells a great story of a crazy, yet some how simpler time, an era called Beanie Mania.
-The Documentary District-
Closed for Storm (2020)
Like the sign that reads "Closed for Storm", the park is frozen in time with several of the office calendars still showing August 2005 as today's date.
Closed for Storm is just another example of how the bureaucracy of major corporations and government often leave citizens to pick up the pieces when hard to handle situations surface.
It's hard to believe that it has been 15+ years since Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc on the New Orleans area. It's even harder to believe that there are places like the former Six Flags New Orleans (Jazzland Park) that have sat untouched for the last decade and a half. Walls caked with mold, buildings graffitied, ride vehicles stripped of anything valuable, towering rollercoasters that look like they could collapse at any moment, and a sign that has fittingly read "Closed for Storm" have remained in place for the last 15 years. These are just some of the disheartening images Closed for Storm features.
In Closed for Storm, several people were interviewed about the abandoned park, each one nostalgic for what once was and what could have been. You can't help but feel the disappointment in a number of the interviewees' tones when it came time to talk about the redevelopment, or lack thereof, of the property. As mentioned, we see bureaucracy show itself near the end of the film when plans for redevelopment of the area appears to leave out the voices of the citizens of East New Orleans and ultimately leave them with no real resolve.
Not only was it sad to see the archived footage of people's homes destroyed in 2005, but it was just as sad seeing this same area struggling to bounce back all these years later. The citizens of East New Orleans were promised increased property values and a Disney-like atmosphere, but instead, they were left with views of an abandoned amusement park and a never-ending cycle of unimplemented redevelopment plans.
The Film:
Closed for Storm is filled with aerial shots of the the former Six Flags New Orleans property, stitched together with home videos from the early 2000s. Much like Bright Sun Films' YouTube videos, we get an inside look at several of the abandoned buildings and observe the damage that Mother Nature has done. Promotional videos are the perfect touch for viewers unfamiliar with the park's significance or history to understand the importance of the former Jazzland. Like the sign that reads "Closed for Storm", the park is frozen in time with several of the office calendars still showing August 2005 as today's date.
In Closing:
If you have ventured to this film from Bright Sun Films' YouTube page, you're a fan of theme parks, or you familiar with New Orleans/Jazzland history, then this film is perfect for you. For those of you who may not understand the history of Six Flags New Orleans, I would still highly recommend Closed for Storm. The film pieces new footage with old footage in a way that tells a proper story of the park and its history.
-The Documentary District-
Always at The Carlyle (2018)
Given the star studded cast featured in the credits, my hopes for this film were high...
Given the star studded cast featured in the credits, my hopes for this film were high. I was extremely disappointed in the information provided (or lack thereof).
Rather than taking us back in time to understand the history of such an iconic NYC establishment, all I got out of the Carlyle was a list of past celebrities and royal patrons. If you're interested in funny, never-before-told stories about the Hollywood elite you may enjoy Always at the Carlyle, although I would argue even for those viewers the hour and a half runtime is far too long. If you wanted a historical story on a piece of New York City lore, you won't find much here. In fact, those interviewed will tell you how much they won't or can't tell you about the hotel and their guests...you'll probably wonder why they are even featured in the documentary.