Beanie Babies Film Starring Zach Galifianakis, Elizabeth Banks in the Works

Zach Galifianakis, Elizabeth Banks, Sarah Snook, and Geraldine Viswanathan all star in this comedy inspired by a true story.

ty-warner-beanie-baby-social — Image via LIFE Images Collection

Those that didn’t grow up in the 90s may never understand the craze centered around the cute stuffed animals known as Beanie Babies. Children and adults of the decade have war stories surrounding how they got the coveted Princess Diana Bear with the tag still intact. Now, almost 30 years later, the people behind the world’s obsession for collecting the most coveted stuffed toys are getting the film treatment courtesy of Apple Original Films.

The Beanie Bubble will tell the beyond fascinating tale of the seemingly overnight sensation as it shows that all it takes is two suburban women to start a cultural phenomenon. From the beginnings of their seemingly harmless desire to collect cute stuffed animals to their major legal battle with company founder, Ty Warner, the movie will hone in on the sillier side of women’s unsung journeys to the center of the Beanie Baby universe.

COLLIDER VIDEO OF THE DAY

Set to bring the comedy to life is an all-star cast that includes Zach Galifianakis (Between Two Ferns, Baskets), Elizabeth Banks (The Hunger Games, Love and Mercy), Sarah Snook (Succession), and Geraldine Viswanathan (Broken Hearts Gallery). Though we don’t know who will be playing which role yet, judging by the characters and names attached, we’ll place a bet that Galifianakis will play Ty. If this is true, the portrayal of the father of the Beanie Baby is sure to be one with gut-busting humor and deadpan jokes – both of which we would love to see.

Zach Galifianakis in The Hangover — Image via Warner Bros.

Kristin Gore wrote the film for Imagine Entertainment and pulled the story from the book The Great Beanie Baby Bubble: Mass Delusion and the Dark Side of Cute. She will also co-direct alongside her husband, Damian Kulash. Gore is known for her work writing on Saturday Night Live and Futurama while Kulash is best known for performing as the lead singer and guitar player in Grammy award winning band, OK Go. The legendary production team consists of Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, and Karen Lunder who will produce under Imagine Entertainment.

The story behind the rise of the Beanie Baby obsession has been a hot topic for Hollywood recently. At the tail end of 2021, HBO Max released a feature titled Beanie Mania that took a documentary approach to the story behind the collectibles.

The Beanie Bubble will be a great addition to Beanie Baby lore as we can see it weaving in terrific writing with talented acting to bring the story to a screen near you, just be careful with the tag. Check out the film’s full synopsis below.

“The Beanie Bubble” is inspired by the story behind one of the biggest speculative crazes that blazed through American culture in the 90s. It pulls back the curtain on the absurdities and injustices of the American Dream — particularly the female relationship to it. It’s a celebration of the women who helped power Ty Warner’s success, whose strengths and good instincts shaped and amplified the phenomenon, but whose names are not on the Beanie Babies’ heart-shaped tags.