The Beanie Bubble

The Beanie Bubble looks at how a struggling toy seller named Ty, working alongside three women, helped turn a line of stuffed animals into a defining retail craze of the 1990s. Robbie, Sheila and Maya each play a part in building the phenomenon, while the film also examines what the boom demanded of them and what it left behind. The story moves between the business's rise and the personal stakes involved, set against the wider culture of a decade obsessed with collecting.

Kristin Gore directed the film with Damian Kulash, and wrote the screenplay. It was produced by Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Karen Lunder for Imagine Entertainment and Apple Studios, running 110 minutes. Zach Galifianakis plays Ty, with Elizabeth Banks as Robbie, Sarah Snook as Sheila and Geraldine Viswanathan as Maya. Tracey Bonner and Carl Clemons-Hopkins also appear among a credited cast of 46, supported by 79 credited crew members.

Released in July 2023, the film drew a 5.5 out of 10 critics' rating from 99 reviews. On IMDb it holds 6.3 from around 11,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.4 from 164 votes. The critics' score sits below the audience figures, though the two remain fairly close, indicating a mixed but not sharply divided response.