Tales of a future-past...and present

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!
It is just past midnight on what has been a pretty good turkey day. I hope yours was great!

Days like Thanksgiving tend to make me think about the past, all the way back to childhood.
When I think back that far my mind seems to drift to the greatest thing of my childhood, which is that "galaxy far, far away." Yes, I'm talking about Star Wars (1977) - the greatest movie of all time.... well, to me it is, and I know that I'm not alone.

You will find that many of my blog entries are going to deal with my love of Star Wars, and a love of the revolutionary toy line that followed in 1978 and continues to this day!

When Star Wars was released in '77 I was eight years old. I was the perfect target for this film, and likewise, the toys that followed. Before that movie I was really into Batman and Hot Wheels, and most things that a boy my age went for. However, when I saw Star Wars on opening weekend, it became my thing like nothing else ever had! It made me appreciate the power of film. Up to that point I saw movies and enjoyed them, but Star Wars changed my thinking about film. The simple story of good vs. evil, the charcters that were so unique, the special FX of which I had never seen before. The movie was truely awe inspiring, and was pulled together by an orchestral score that, to this day, I love and listen to often. Almost every boy my age was transported, and it would thrill our imaginations for years to come.

The year Star Wars was released no one expected the film to do SO well. Everyone was caught off guard, even Kenner Toys located in Cinncinatti, Ohio which won the contract to do a small line of colorful toys for the film. It was decided that to make action figures that would fit into the small space vehicles they would have to be small in scale, thus the decision was made to make the little figures just under four inches. A revolution in the toy world was born, and even today most toy lines based on a movie franchise scale their action figure toys based on the decisions that were made for Star Wars because that movie changed everything and became a pop culture icon as we all know. Movie merchandising would never be the same.

To begin our look at Star Wars Toys we will begin where it all began - "the empty box campaign," as it has come to be known.
Every kid wanted Star Wars Toys in '77 after seeing the movie. Kenner Toys had no idea the movie would be so popular! Knowing that they wouldn't meet the demand for the toys before the '77 Christmas season, they devised a plan - get your parents to buy this colorful envelope that includes a cardboard stand, and a certificate that you can mail in for the first four Star Wars action figures, and you will receive them by next spring ('78)....

Now, I got my dad to buy it. I think he was into it as much as I was! We took it home, mailed the certificate in, and I threw away the cardboard envelope!! That thing is worth quite a bit these days, but I was a kid and wanted the toys! The rest didn't matter, though today I would LOVE to have my original envelope again. There was a re-release of the envelope with an offer for four more figures just a few years back, but I will save that for a future post where past meets present.

So, next spring arrived and my figures did as well. Luke, Leia, R2-D2, and Chewbacca were the first to arrive to every eager young Star Wars fan!....

I played with those figures year in and year out, until about 1983 when Return Of The Jedi was released which sort of ended Kenner Toys' original figure movie line, but it kept going in production until 1985. At that point I was in high school and persuing other interests like girls, cars, and rock-n-roll!

Those toys that I loved would remain with me, boxed for many years, until 1995 when Kenner would re-visit that "galaxy far, far away" for a second time as Star Wars was making plans to come back to the big screen which would reawaken the original Star Wars generation, and inspire a new one - new kids, and a new toy line. This will be the focus of my Star Wars entries. Next time we will futher review old school Star Wars Toys, and see how the line evolved, and how I have evolved as a collector over the years. Should be fun!

Until next time, stay safe, and stay positive!

-Mike

"It belongs in a museum!"

So, you're probably wondering where the heck I went??
Well, I didn't abandon my blog.... I have just been, um, busy, I guess. Between work, the kids, and such, everything went to the back burner for a bit. I do promise to make many more posts in the coming weeks, so this WILL be TODAY-in-Mike's-world, and NOT this MONTH-in-Mike's-world. Again, sorry for the delay! :)

Anyway, back on track! I'm very thrilled and excited to say that there is a really neat exhibit opening at The Frazier History Museum in Louisville Kentucky called "The Good, The Bad, The Cuddly - Toys and The Movies," which will examine the stories behind some of America's most beloved toys. The exhibit, which includes art and props from Pixar's Toy Story franchise, runs from November 2oth through March 27th. This is going to be a really fun exhibit for the whole family and I hope that you will check it out.

The really fantastic part about this exhibit, for me, is that I was asked to feature some of my own toys from my childhood, as well as some of my more modern toys, in the exhibit! So, this is a thrill, and I can't wait to see some of my own stuff behind glass in a museum!
Toys=FUN!=Happiness! :)

Check out all of the information on the museum exhibit....
http://www.fraziermuseum.org/calendar_detail.asp?id=376

Alrighty! That's a start, right?
I promise not to be away for such a long time again!
Have a great day! Stay positive!