Recently, a few of my favourite cartoons have been cancelled. The reason: not enough toy sales.
It’s my fault really? I was so mesmerized by the character development, the conflict and obstacles, and the overall story – I forgot to go buy the toys. Don’t get me wrong: I love toys – but I appreciate the craft of the toy on its own. If it’s a cool toy, I would probably buy it. If it’s the same toy painted white and called “arctic” or glows in the dark and called “radioactive,” I’m probably not gonna buy it.
It saddens me that so much storytelling craft was poured into the series and that the continuation of the story doesn’t hinge on the merits of the show but on how much plastic is sold. Now I’m left with a perpetual cliffhanger. If only I wasn’t such a toy snob, we’d all find out how the evil villain is defeated. Instead, I have fewer glow in the dark action figures I need to unload on eBay.
-tony
