THE BEANIE BUBBLE -- A Bland but Passable Corporate Flick About the Stuffed Toys

Review by Camden Ferrell

2023 has had a puzzling number of movies based around various brands. This includes movies like Air, Blackberry, and the recently released Barbie. Another movie joining this subgenre is The Beanie Bubble. This movie comes from first time feature film directors (as well as wife and husband) Kristin Gore and Damian Kulash. Unlike the movies mentioned previously, this story about the iconic stuffed toys fails to leave an impact with a passable story that squanders the talent of its accomplished actors.
 
Ty Inc. was founded in 1986, and their Beanie Babies eventually experienced a meteoric rise in popularity that was unlike anything the industry had seen before. Their products still remain a staple of pop culture during this period. Even though they may not have the same appeal and incredible resale value they once held, this could still be an interesting story for viewers to watch to understand the innerworkings of this company.
 
Written by Gore and Zac Bissonnette, this movie doesn’t really have a solid groundwork for the kind of corporate-adjacent comedy it was looking for. It searches for humor in its true story, but it doesn’t always land as intended. Gore has plenty of solid comedic writing experience, but that charm seems to be lacking here. It tries to make the most of a non-linear story (a choice that is admittedly commendable), but it doesn’t do enough to compensate for the bland writing it has.

The movie features an extremely talented cast consisting of Zach Galifianakis, Elizabeth Banks, Sarah Snook, and Geraldine Viswanathan. Galifianakis tries his best but doesn’t quite capture the chaotic and comedic nature of Ty Warner as intended. Banks plays similar to her other roles that we’ve seen many times before. Snook is obviously not given the same material as her Succession character, but it is still slightly disappointing to see her give just an adequate performance in this movie. Even though the acting was passable as a whole, I am still of the opinion that Viswanathan is one of the most talented young actors working today. She’s a reliable ray of sunshine in her movies, and this is no different.
 
Other corporate movies of 2023 worked well because it didn’t just feel like a soulless dictation of a companies history, it felt like a deeply personal story with characters we can see invest in. These characters, despite being based on real figures, never feel fully fleshed out. Sure, this can be an informative look at Beanie Babies, but it lacks the character, personality, and charm that made other brand movies work so well this year.
 
The Beanie Bubble is not a bad movie, but it’s not a particularly good one either. While Beanie Babies had their moment in the 90’s, the movie doesn’t do enough to engage the audience to compensate for their waning interest in the product. It has decent acting, and it’s a pretty conventional story that certainly could have been worse. It’s just a shame that this wasn’t better considering all of the talent that was involved in this production.
 
The Beanie Bubble is streaming on Apple TV+ on July 28.
 
Rating: 3/5