Brian Volk-Weiss is the President of Comedy Dynamics, running its production, development, management, and distribution departments.
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» All Producer InterviewsHi Reddit! Brian Volk-Weiss here to chat about The Toys That Made Us, and much more.
I am an avid toy collector but also run the entertainment company, Nacelle Company which owns and operates the company Comedy Dynamics.
The Toys That Made Us premiered on Netflix on December 22nd. Netflix gets on the nostalgia-train with this eight-part series focused on iconic 1980s toys, including Star Wars, G.I. Joe, Transformers, Barbie, He-Man, Star Trek, Hello Kitty, and Lego. The documentary includes interviews with some of the most important people involved with making the icon toys that we all know and love.
The second part of the series will premiere this Spring. Watch the first four parts on Netflix here.
And you can learn more about the series here.
Read more about me and how the show was created: Brian Volk-Weiss's Mount Rushmore of Toys.
So, Ask Me Anything!
Thnak you for all your questions!! Was a lot of fun!!
Hello! Great show :)
Any plans on making an episode about TMNT?
Abrazo desde Mexico 🇲🇽:)
Thank you!!! We absolutely will do TMNT and MLP if we get a second season!
What was up with that thing in the background of the interview on the Barbie episode? You know the one.
:)
It's a piece of art work Jill had in her office when we shot her interview.
Hi! Do you have any plans to cover Japanese kaiju / monster toys?
If we get more episodes ordered then there is a very good chance we do that. we went to japane for our transfomers and hello kitty epsiodes and would love to go back!
Is there any talk of an episode about the retailers - specifically, Toys R Us which was a mega giant in the 1980s? I would LOVE to see footage of toy aisles from that era.
We would LOVE to do an epsiode about the retailers, and how much the market chnaged from the 50s to the 90s, then how Amazon chajnged everything again.
We would LOVE to do an epsiode about the retailers, and how much the market chnaged from the 50s to the 90s, then how Amazon chajnged everything again.
We would LOVE to do an epsiode about the retailers, and how much the market chnaged from the 50s to the 90s, then how Amazon chajnged everything again.
We would LOVE to do an epsiode about the retailers, and how much the market chnaged from the 50s to the 90s, then how Amazon chajnged everything again.
We would LOVE to do an epsiode about the retailers, and how much the market chnaged from the 50s to the 90s, then how Amazon chajnged everything again.
Seriously. All those he man creators and we can’t find out the truth behind Wonder Bread? Someone knows
We looked into it EXTENSIVELY and could not find anything or any one to support the theory. this topic alone could get its own episode. but you can rest assured that we put a LOT of time an energy into this question and came up w nothing. we spoke w wonder bread as well.
Any chance for a Real Ghostbusters episode??
Absolutely a chnace if we get more seasons green lit!
Can you please do an episode on old school WWF toys and Starting Lineup figures for us die hard sports fans?
We will almost definitely do a show on WWF if we get a seconds season. Not sure about starting line up, but it's possible.
What was your favorite toy to shoot?
Didn't have a fave because it was all amazing but some star wars things we saw were amazing!
What kind of toys do you collect?
Star wars is in first place, and then a close second is tied for gijoe and transfomers...and of course LEGO!
Did you have a favorite toy growing up?
Star Wars for sure!
Absolutely love the show! So glad Netflix picked it up.
How did you pick which toys to investigate? I can think of so many! (I would love to see Cabbage patch dolls, Polly Pocket, TMNT My Little Pony). Would a second series be on the cards?
Thank you!! We had four criteria that we used as a ROUGH guage to figure it out: has the toy been in production non stop since its inceptuion? is it iconic enought to be on a mount rushmore of toys? is the actual story good? and does the toy ahve a ravbid fan base?
and we absolutelt want to do a MLP epsiode if we get more seasons!!!
If the show continues on for more season ( crossing my fingers!) will you all be looking at smaller toy franchises like say “sectaurs, or Silverhawks? Or is the plane to stick with longer running more popular brands?
It all depnds on how many seasons we get...if we get a big order then we would absolutely look into the less iconic toy lines, as long as the stories and people behind those lines are interesting.
Any modern toy lines that you enjoy collecting?
I love almost everything that NECA makes!
When will you do an episode on Kenner's The Real Ghostbusters toyline? It has to be one of their most unique runs ever made. Iconic with the purple packaging as well.
If we get more seasons green lit then yes; it's VERY possible!
how does financing work with netflix -- do they give a lump sum or do they ask to see budgets and expenses and give accordingly? Do they provide any data from user behavior to help with editing the show, picking show length, length of cuts etc...?
All i can say about this, because our deal w netflix is confidential, is that we pitched them the idea with a tape we had made, and they bought the show, and after that we worked out the budget together. Also, they give us a lot of great notes that helped us make a show which we felt would be enjoyed by huge toy fans and new to toy wrold fans.
Any chance for one on kenners alien/predator line?
If we get a big order for more epsiodes we would absolutely look at toys like this that have a unique story that's worth telling, despite not being iconic lines. lot of fans of those toys here!
Ever think of doing a show on Charan/ToyBiz and all of the great Marvel action figures they produced in the 90's?
If we get a second season we will very very likley do something on super heroes, which of course would include marvel action figs.
Hello!
I absolutely loved this series and I cannot wait to see the other episodes!
I've got a few questions:
Is there any chance you'll do an episode about those Japanese soft vinyl toys (or sofubi as they're more commonly known) if this show gets picked for more seasons?
Was there something you guys wanted to cover on your series that you simply didn't have time for?
Are there any book/miscellaneous sources worth checking if I wanted to learn more about the toy industry?
What's your thoughts on those ZBots toys from Galoob (I think that's who made them?) from back in the 90's?
thx for the kind words! We would LOVE to do a deep dive into the japanese toy world, so if we get a big order then that's possible. For some book suggestions dm us on face book and we will send you a list of some of the books we used to research the show.
I'm eagerly awaiting the Transformers show, and would like to know how in depth with regards to the variants you go into? Transformers as a toy brand have many international incarnations, and variations from all over the world created fans the same way they did here in North America.
We went to japan and interviewed a lot of the Takara team that created what would become the G1 line roughly 35 years ago, and we got very indepth on that. we cover mostly the 80s era but do get into the 90s and 2000s transformners a bit, but not as indepth as some people would have liked. we will release cut scenes on face book about once a week so people can see the cool stuff we saw.
[deleted]
It did! We are in post production on it and it comes out in about 4 months!
Thanks! Sorry I quickly deleted my question after reading the intro. I'm looking forward to the other episodes!
thank you!!
Omg! Can’t wait!
The he-man episode is AWESOME.
Congrats again!
Thx you!
Are there any current toy trends, like Pop Vinyl figures or smart toys, that you feel share similarities to the types of iconic lines you cover in the show?
What i personally find very interesting about POP and a few other similar lines is that it's a real trend that's been going on for YEARS. i'd love to know more about how and why it started and what the future holds for this type of toy.
I'm very interested in the theme of why these toys are so popular now and what lead up to their invetion. and of course also what is planned for the future of this type of toy.
Love the show! I know this season is all tapped out, but is there any hope of getting an episode of the toy lines that didn't make it? Odd balls like Bucky O'Hare, Sectaurs, Visionaries, Battle Beasts, Army Ants, etc? Maybe rooting out why they didn't take hold? Anyway, can't wait for the second half of the season to start!
there are a LOT of bucky o hare and army ants fans here in the office...so it all depends on if netflix orders more episodes or not and if they do how many they order.
Hey Brian! Absolutely loved the show. As an aspiring toy inventer myself, this series was a huge inspiration for me. Spring can't come soon enough. Fingers crossed for season 2 as well. I'd like to learn more about the toy industry in general. Could you suggest some websites or books / reading material about the toy industry?Thanks.
Thanks! DM us on face book and we can send you a list of the books we read to help make the show! and good luck w your invetions!
First of all, I loved the show, completely. The Masters of the Universe episode really took me back to my childhood. Just such a wonderful piece of nostalgia.
My question is --- What happened to all of the action figures you shot for your B-roll? Were they from a personal collection or were they purchased for the show? Who on the staff got to keep them?
About a quarter of the toys in the show are from my personal collection, and the rest are from the collections of other people who were kind enough to let us shoot them. And thx for your kind words!
If you could only keep one toy, which one would it be?
It would have to be my die cast millenium falcon that i've had since i was about 3 years old...it's the first piece of my collection and it still has crayon all over it from when i was a kid.
What is your opinion on art toys like Kidrobot?
Love them because they're so original and in many ways trend setting.
Would you ever consider doing an episode on my absolute favorite toy line of all time --- DC's SUPER POWERS?
If we get a second season then that's very likely! :)
Did George Lucas give a reason why he didn't want to be interviewed? Do you think he felt it would look bad on him to talk about the toy deal he did for the original film?
That is a piece of art that she has on display in her office.
We were given no specific reason for him not wanting to do an interview, but his people were extrememly nice and tried to be as helpful as they could.
When watching the Barbie episode viewers must bare witness to what has been simply called "The Chair". What exactly is this chair, and was there ever a discussion about removing it from the background of the shot?
That was a piece of art in her office and no, we did not discuss removing it because a big part of my theory in producing/interviewing is that you film people where they are most comfortable, as that says many things about them as well as the words that come out of their mouths.
The chair is a piece of art and no, we did not dicuss removing it because it's in the office where she wanted to film and we like to show people's environment as it normally is.
Any possibility doing an episode on Playmobil?
It's possible for sure!
If you get more seasons in the future, would you consider doing episodes on 90s hits? Despite being born after these 80s toys were crazy popular, I can still appreciate the spectacle of it all (especially as a toy collector now, it's really cool to learn about), but to really hit that nostalgia bone would require moving forward a few years in history. An episode on Street Sharks, for example, I'd find very interesting.
We will do stories on as many eras as we can, as long as the stories are good and the toys had some sort of impact at the time of their release. we love the 90s era, fyi!
What is your LEAST favorite toy line?
Jacks! :)
can you please add madballs to your list?
We have madballs in the office right now! love them!!
Can we have an episode just dedicated to Arcades and how they began and evolved into the consoles we have today?
I mean you could talk about pong, atari, midway, snk, and branch out into home consoles, handhelds (tiger, gameboy, sega vs. nintendo), etc. There is so much content you could do, it's massive!
Something LIKE that is possible, but only if we get more epsiodes ordered.
Great series! Any plans for season 2? I'd love to see an episode on TMNT or the WWF wrestling figures of the 80s. Thanks for your response!
Thx! We have a lot of ideas for season 2, and tmnt and wwf are at the top of the list, tied a MLP!
Hi Brian,
Fun show! Have you given any thought to an ep on AHI (Azrak Hamway International), the company that also operated as Remco and made licensed toys from 1973 up that were the "runner up" figures to popular toys lines from Mego, Kenner, Mattel, Hasbro? I'd love to know how the story behind their almost knock-off quality items.
Thanks, keep up the good work and good luck with continuing seasons.
We have an idea for a show that would incorporate much of what you're talking about, but we need to get a second season green lit before we can actually do it.
There's rumor of a 2+ hour edition of the Star Wars episode. Any idea if that cut could be released?
i am sorry to report that that rumor is false. tho we are putting out cut scenes on face book roughly once a week. we did one for star wars last week.
Hello from Puerto Rico!
I would love some episodes about M.A.S.K, Bravestarr or even Shogun Warriors, Whats the darkest toy line you would like to feature?
We LOVE MASK!!! And you have some fans of bravestarr here too...if a second season is ordered then it's possible we will cover MASK, but not sure about the other two at this time.
Is there more to the Dolph Lundgren interview? His appearance was so brief. Also, was there any talk about the potential Masters of the Universe movie sequel that Cannon canceled?
We shot an hour with Dolph and will release more of it over time. He was amazing. We spoke with a few people who worked on the movie and the possible sequil and that could be a episode all by it self, lol! :)
Awesome! I love that movie. I've always been intrigued by the never-released sequel.
Agreed!!