Statue Disclaimer
I should make a disclaimer here as I begin. Many people do not open their toys (this is a whole other discussion of it's own). Please keep this in mind whenever you're reading anything about toys. As my friend Cat says, "I don't collect toys - you play with those. I collect 'statues.'"

And now, for your entertainment, I have my twisted tail of love, money, power and corruption... collecting toys, especially those that are movie related.

Way Back When
Remember when we were kids (when I say "we" I am referring to the other children of the 70's), this was no big deal. You got toys to play with and if you were lucky, you got some cool ones from your favorite mass marketed TV show, movie or whatever. Within the last few years, buying the new hot movie toy has become a race against the "toy mongers," kids, and other fans of the film.

Example: the greatest toy franchise ever launched - Star Wars.

If I had a time machine I'd go back to the 80's and get all those Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi and all the spin off toys that came out. I'd be RICH! Flash back to when you went into the grocery store, toy or hobby store and got these for, like, $1.99. Present day... it's a fricking EVENT. Toys R Us has people lining up at midnight when the doors open and you are allowed to buy only an allotted amount of toys. This makes the national news broadcast and gets written up in magazines, as well as in comics! What the hell happened here???

I have 2 theories and they work well together to form the "Big Picture." (Forgive the pun!)

Theory #1: Toy Mongers
We know who these people are - they do this for profit only. They need to buy all five of the hardest-to-find toys in the set that are on the shelf so they can sell them all on eBay. And those of us who must have this toy no matter the cost, buy them. The vicious cycle never ends. Sure, it drives up the value of the toys I might be lucky enough to find, but I am not planning on selling them (remember, that's only if you don't take them out of the package).

Theory #2: the Toy Industry
Next we have the people who sell toys. They get crazy ideas to short pack and do promos around toys just to gear people up for this buying frenzy. This goes hand in hand with Theory #1, I think. The toy industry sees what happens in the second hand market and tries to find ways to make it pay off for the toy company.

Harry Example
Last year's clear plastic Harry Potter is a good example. Clear toys have been around for a while as a "special edition" in comic toys (there is a nice reference to the Star Trek toys that had this effect in the Collecting Riker article, too). But the "invisibility cloak" so perfectly fit for this clear toy idea that one had to be made! Why? Because then people will buy one more Harry Potter toy, that's why! You got your Hogwarts Harry, Harry for Quidditch and then clear, "invisible" Harry. When this first came out it was hard to find: kids wanted it, collectors wanted it, and adults who liked the books and the movie wanted it. So the "Toy Mongers" jump in and thus they vanish from the shelves. Now, a year later you can still find them, but I bet more than one person spent double the cost on this toy. Funny thing is now... it's no big deal.

The irony here is Professor Dumbledore turned out to be the true short-pack toy. And on top of that, they made a mistake with his hands. On many of them, the hands are backwards. They haven't made another one of him... yet. Now Prof Quirrell: they made him and he sold out fast because he was supposed to be one of those rare short-pack toys. Then to my dismay, and probably a few other people too, they did a second one. He's not even in any of the other books and he got a second figure! Well, this new one is available in mass quantities at a toy store near you. His head spins around and so will yours if you paid too much for him!

I could go on and on about the Harry Potter line of toys and everything else they have made to suck you dry of every penny you have (did I mention they have now made two of Professor Snape? I love Alan Rickman, but I haven't been able to bring myself to buy these yet. Maybe I should just go get one of the Sheriff of Nottingham toys from Robin Hood. Wonder what those are going for on the second hand market?)

Beyond Potter
So, what was once a simple toy you ripped out of the package has now become a highly sought-after collectable. Some people still take them out to play with; some of us (like me) keep one mint in the package and if we have the funds, buy one more (hopefully on clearance) to play with. As I speak, I have several Harry Potter, Star Wars, DC and Marvel toys on my desk at work. I bring them to work (as I live here 40 hours a week); it's the only time I get to play with them.

And so ends my story thus far of movie toys and the buzz around them.

Part 2 (if I am allowed to put it out for your viewing pleasure) will focus on toys from the movie/comic angle.

Look up in the sky - it's a bird! It's a plane! It's an overpriced superhero toy!