Toy Story

For those of you who don't know, I've worked for Mirage Studios, home of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, since 1989. That's a damned long time and I'm damned pleased about it. As part of my gig at Mirage, I answer the web site mail... this is both alotta fun and a royal pain in the ass, as any of you who've done Consumer Relations will know (all too well). Thankfully the fun factor far outweighs the pain factor. Anyways, Mirage is oft asked, "How do you sell a toy line?" by all the prospective millionaires out there... and since alotta people get into comics to become the Next Eastman & Laird or the Next Todd McFarlane, I figured this would be a good forum to get some info out about selling an "intellectual property" in the modern market.

Yes Virginia, things have changed since 1986, when Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird hit the jackpot... things are even different than they were a decade ago when the Toddster became a baseball buyin' bazillionaire. Todd's path is a truly remarkable one, even in a business filled with remarkable tales (ala Kevin and Peter's) - McFarlane is a genuine Mcphenomena that I don't see repeating itself any time Mcsoon. The way that Eastman and Laird made it, while extremely unlikely in the modern age, is at least a one-in-a-billion chance... which are far better odds than making it to center stage ala Todd. His path is just too damned unlikely nowadays... he's sucked up alla the energy from the Dark Side and has left none for anyone else.

So, while it's almost impossible to launch an action figure line, here's a bit of an inside view on what it takes... which, to be blunt, is a miracle.

Let us pray.

"Please God, let us make a bazillion dollars in the toy biz like Kevin, Peter and Todd. Amen."

With the opening ceremony complete, let's get down to bidness.
The biggest hurdle you must overcome is "pre-existing media." What this means is some form of product featuring your characters that has been successfully marketed. Most commonly in the recent era, this means a Japanese TV show, a theatrically released movie or a smash hit video game. Occasionally other avenues might work, like a megapopular web strip or perhaps even a comic book - but the comic book would have to be a major success or have ultra indy cred before the Big Wigs in Toyland would be interested in mebbe making a deal with you... a deal that will hinge on you getting a TV show on the air.

Look out! Another hurdle!

No major toy company will produce a line of action figures without a movie or 22 minute TV commercial (otherwise known as a "cartoon show") to promote them... so there's the migraine-inducing Catch 22 of Hollywood: the TV networks want you to line up an action figure deal before they'll commit to making a show, while the toy companies want you to sign a TV/movie deal before they'll commit to producing a toy line.

Low hurdle!

Even if you manage to get one of these deals inked, the other is not guaranteed (he types ruefully, from painful, firsthand experience). There is a minor caveat thanks to Cartoon Network and sister station Nickleodeon, as these nets are somewhat willing to put a show on the air without a toy deal. They expect to land some merchandising deals once the show takes off. They also expect you to sell all of your rights to them up front for very little cashola.

Major toy companies are only interested in licensing "hot" properties with pre-existing media. Minor toy companies are also interested in doing the same thing, but will settle for a idea that was popular ages ago, even if it isn't now (like Felix the Cat or Popeye). Trying to launch a new toy line featuring characters that are unknown is extremely difficult in today's market. The economy is still in a crunch, and after the beating most toy companies took in the 90's after launching dozens of unsuccessful lines, the risk taking executives at Hasbro and their competitors are now in the unemployment line. That leaves the old school white hairs running the show, and those cats don't like taking risks... which is why we're now seeing revivals of Thundercats, Transformers and even the TMNT.

The Megaproblem is that even if you do find a toy company or TV network interested in your characters, they'll most likely want to buy out all of your rights for a small fee (usually in the range of $10,000 - $25,000 dollars, which while being alotta jack for the starving artist, is mere peanuts if the concept hits).

History lesson: Back when the Republicans controlled Congress and Uncle Billy Bob Clinton was in the White House, the ages old anti-monopolistic laws that prevented TV networks from owning their programming were repealed... thus allowing those in Hollywood to completely control what gets aired. This was called the Telecommunications Act of 1996. For the first time, networks could own their programming and reap the full benefit of exploiting their "intellectual properties" via licensing.

So riddle me this, Batman - if given the choice of owning a show outright or splitting the dough with a creator, what will the nets choose?

Exactomungo.

Networks -1
Creators - 0

This leaves the artist in a bad situation... do you take the peanuts upfront and walk away, or do you stick to your guns and get nothing? That's your basic option these days.

The "South Park" dudes got a raw deal when they sold the show initially. Fortunately for them, they were able to renegotiate a better deal after the show became a hit... I'm not sure how they managed this, but I suspect it has something to do with the fact that they wrote and produced the show themselves... so if you don't run your own animation studio, renegotiating a deal will be nigh impossible (and even if you do, there's no guarantee that the TV execs will be willing to reink the deal... just ask John Kricfalusi).

Let's briefly examine the McFarlane model - just for shits and giggles. Toddster succeeded in the "Do It Yourself" method - or as Todd would say, the "Do it Todd's Way" method.

More bad news, I'm afraid. Toddster was coming off some massively successful "pre-existing media" when he got his start, and all of Hollywood was a-buzz over the lads at Image and the sales potential of their properties. The major players bought into this feeding frenzy and practically fell all over themselves to finance and buy into the Image gang's aura. Sadly, the Image pedigree did not pan out on TV or toy racks, save for Spawn, so independent comic properties now have the smell of death about 'em in the industry - thankfully this mostly applies to the super hero genre. However, it's almost impossible to create your own Toy Company and attempt to sell directly to major chains these days, regardless of the genres you chose to use. Not only are the Wal-Mart's not interested, even if you can make a sales pitch and they agree to buy into your line, start-up costs are astronomical.

Toddster had the benefit of having a bank account stuffed with millions of dollars when he began, as well as a pool of buyers starving for "the next big thing." After the past decade of failed action figure lines, most giant retailers will only order in the range of 50,000 figures for a concept that is unproven (if they'll buy any at all - which is less and less likely as more and more brands - and chains - fail). Due to the high costs of plastic injection molds, 50,000 units will barely even cover the die prices (which can cost $25,000, and get more expensive based on toy articulation). You'd also have to have someone willing to fly to China or Hong Kong on a semi-regular basis to run the business there... and long flights add up quick. Once again, Toddster could afford to do all of this shiznit thanks to the millions he raked in from the early days of Image... trying to build a bankroll big enough to launch your own toy company in this era of poor comics sales is nigh impossible.

So that's the scoop, kiddies. The odds just ain't good... but sooner or later someone will beat 'em... it happens about once per decade. If you're Hellbent on tryin', I hope ya make it. As the sayin' goes, ya can't win without playin', so good luck.

And if ya do hit the jackpot, remember poor ol' Uncle Dan and send a few Mcpeanuts his way, will ya?