[Steevy Maximus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Moore

I think the problem with MOTU in general is that it's a very 80's concept that hasn't found the right niche in today's market. If they could ever get a movie off the ground, it would bring in people who had forgotten the line, and don't visit sites like this.

To be fair, I think the same could EASILY be said of GI Joe. Where as Hasbro has basically positioned GI Joe as a "name" for military toys (when a kid wants military toys, among the first names out tend to be "GI Joe"), Mattel has largely done NOTHING with MOTU outside of big launches every 10-ish years which end up being forgotten quickly. Unlike GI Joe, which has a lot of political baggage by nature, MOTU doesn't have that. I see no reason why we don't have MOTU on the market as a default "fantasy" toyline.

But I think the biggest hold up on MOTU as a brand is Mattel. Outside of DCU Classics and Justice League Unlimited, NOTHING Mattel has handled in the last 10 years has shown any sort of longevity. And most of that is owed to Mattel's own corporate short-sight.

Mattel wants the big money NOW, and the idea of "growing" a brand like Hasbro has done with Transformers and GI Joe is foreign to them. Remember, this is a company that couldn't keep a comic BATMAN line on retail shelves (doing largely the same crap they are doing now with Brave and the Bold).

For MOTU to come back to retail (in any form) will take one of two things:
1. A big budget live action film. Which is currently stuck in development hell and even then, isn't a sure fire thing to make the brand into a juggernaut (GI Joe comes to mind)
2. A change in Mattel Management. Right now, Mattel has access to some of the strongest brands ever created. But the existing management either doesn't care or simply wants a quick return. If it weren't for owning Hot Wheels, Barbie and Fisher Price, Hasbro would have long ago become the number one toy company.