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Imaginary Worlds

Class of '84: Turtles, Transformers and Toys Takeover TV

Feb 28, 2024
Explore the origins of Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, from toy creations to cultural dominance. Learn how the creators navigated success and creativity, and the challenges of creating content to sell products. Hear from industry experts and delve into the rags to riches story of the Turtles creators and the creation of iconic Transformers characters.
40:56

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

  • Creation of Transformers involved collaborative efforts between American and Japanese companies, while Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles started as an indie comic project.
  • Turtles and Transformers both faced challenges in balancing content creation and toy sales, impacting their creative processes and original intentions.

Deep dives

The Rise of Star Wars Action Figures and the Toy Industry

In 1976, George Lucas had a hard time convincing toy companies about Star Wars action figures, except for Kenner in Cincinnati. Kenner's success with the toys led to the idea of creating media to promote toys. Ronald Reagan's deregulation policies allowed toy companies to exploit this by focusing on creating TV shows starring the toys they aimed to sell. Mattel found success with He-Man, a concept born from brainstorming sessions that accidentally mixed a barbarian theme with characters resembling a mix of Conan and Star Wars.

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