Summary
Overview
The How Did This Get Made podcast hosts Paul Scheer, Jason Mantzoukas, and guest Drew McWeeny dissect the 1992 Barry Levinson film 'Toys' starring Robin Williams. They explore how this visually stunning but narratively confusing comedy about a toy factory taken over by a militaristic general became one of cinema's most baffling failures, despite taking 10 years to write and being considered one of Hollywood's best unproduced screenplays for over a decade.
Introduction and Setup: A Confusing Childhood Memory
The hosts introduce the 1992 film Toys, with Paul recalling his childhood confusion after seeing it in theaters. He explains how Barry Levinson spent 10 years writing this script, which was considered one of Hollywood's best unproduced screenplays for 15 years. The movie was supposed to be Levinson's first film before Diner, but ran out of money. After the success of Good Morning Vietnam, Levinson finally got to make his dream project, which turned out to be a spectacular failure.
- Barry Levinson spent 10 years writing the Toys screenplay, which was on Hollywood's best unproduced scripts list for 15 years
- The film was originally planned before Diner but ran out of money, so Levinson made Diner instead
- Paul remembers being confused leaving the theater as a kid who loved Robin Williams and comedy
- The movie took 10 months to film and cost $43 million but only made $23 million worldwide
" If you had equally had said, oh, Barry Levinson had a 104 fever for two days and he wrote this movie, I'd be like, yep, I believe it. "
The Bizarre Plot and World-Building
The hosts attempt to explain the film's plot: a toy factory run by a loving toymaker has two heirs (Robin Williams and Joan Cusack) and a British general brother (Michael Gambon) who takes over after the toymaker dies. The general starts making war toys with his son LL Cool J, whose mother was a Vietnamese spy. The entire film takes place in a surreal Magritte-inspired world where houses are pop-up books and nothing follows normal logic.
- The peaceful toymaker's British general brother takes over the factory and starts making war toys
- Michael Gambon plays an American general with a British accent whose son is LL Cool J
- The film's visual style is heavily influenced by surrealist painter Magritte, creating a fantastical world
- No baseline reality is established - everything exists in this toy-like universe with no connection to the real world
" Imagine a less charming and more preachy Willy Wonka. "
" This is an American general who has a British accent and is resentful of his British accent. "
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