Top 10 Toys That Need To Be Movies

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

THE LEGO MOVIE looks to be a huge hit this weekend as it both reverently showcases how cool LEGOs can be while telling a funny original story. But LEGO is not the only toy that deserves a big screen outing. Here are ten toys and games from the past that could make for entertaining big screen features. If you disagree or have another pick, add it in the talk back below.

#1 – Thundercats

Really a cartoon that happens to have toys, but THUNDERCATS remains one of the iconic 1980s childhood toys that has not gotten a big screen incarnation, live action or animated. It seems like a no-brainer with the possibilities in animation and special effects that this would be a movie, but we still wait for it, impatiently.

#2 – Masters of the Universe

We have been teased with a big studio remake of the He-Man cartoon for a while now. I am partial to the Dolph Lundgren version of MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE, but it never quite felt like the He-Man I grew up with. It should be an easy movie to make if you keep with the classic fantasy landscape of the toys and cartoon rather than try and make it scifi like the first movie did.

#3 – NERF

I know, how do you make a NERF movie? Easy: make THE EXPENDABLES but with children, using NERF. In this very politically correct era we live in it may not be easy to make a movie with kids shooting each other even if the bullets are made of foam, but imagine how awesome it would be. Just make the movie with the same seriousness as an adult action movie, but with NERF weapons. Am I the only one who thinks this would be awesome?

#4 – Stretch Armstrong

The Stretch Armstrong toy was just a stretchy dude with a mullet and a tank top, but the possibilities are endless. Stretch is like Mr. Fantastic crossed with Flash Gordon and that right there is worth the price of admission alone. There is a great likelihood that a movie based on this toy could be a fun summer movie or it could end up being another INSPECTOR GADGET. If cast correctly, Stretch Armstrong could be awesome.

#5 – Hot Wheels

Just give me a batshit insane car racing movie appropriate for all families. You know, like SPEED RACER but a little less hyper. No anthropomorphic cars, no guns, just an insane DEATH RACE style action movie with crazy car designs and amazing special effects. NEED FOR SPEED and FAST AND FURIOUS are fine for those who want gritty car racing but I want something with crazy jumps, bizarre obstacles, and just out of left field fun.

#6 – Simon

Remember the memory game Simon? It used to drive me crazy once the pattern got complex, but I always pretended I was diffusing some sort of bomb or gaining access to a secret lab when I played it. I don’t know if you could make a feature film just based on that, but having some sort of code-breaker needing to access a facility protected by Simon may be a cool concept.

#7 – Mouse Trap

Board games have even less plot development than action figures, but Mouse Trap seems like the perfect game to movie concept. The Gore Verbinski film MOUSE HUNT was very close to what Mouse Trap could be on the big screen, but I would rather see it as more of a horror concept. Imagine a home infested with rats and the only way to catch them would be elaborate machines. Or, you could tell it from the mouse’s perspective.

#8 – Play Doh

It can be anything, literally! Make a movie about kids who make things with the name brand clay and they magically come to life. It could make an awesome adventure movie along the lines of JUMANJI. Like THE LEGO MOVIE, all you need is the name Play-Doh, and the rest writes itself.

#9 – Micro Machines

Taking any big concept and shrinking it, literally, can make for a fun movie. Combine the concept of FAST AND FURIOUS with ANT-MAN and you get Micro Machines. The miniature toy cars could represent the vehicles for tiny special agents or criminals within their own world at a fraction of the size. Take THE BORROWERS or last year’s animated movie EPIC and put them in souped up cars. I would watch that.

Source: JoBlo.com

About the Author

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Alex Maidy has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. A Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic and a member of Chicago Indie Critics, Alex has been JoBlo.com's primary TV critic and ran columns including Top Ten and The UnPopular Opinion. When not riling up fans with his hot takes, Alex is an avid reader and aspiring novelist.