Billion Dollar Babies: The True Story of the Cabbage Patch Kids

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Billion Dollar Babies: The True Story of the Cabbage Patch Kids

Released Nov 24, 2023

1h 34m

Documentary

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Before the Cabbage Patch Kids, no one could have imagined a world where police would need to break up fights between rampaging adults in toy stores. But after the Cabbage Patch Kids, every manufacturer in the world was desperate for their own "riot-worthy" toy. Everything had changed, and we were never going back. Billion Dollar Babies: The True Story of the Cabbage Patch Kids is the evolution of that change, told through the lens of what is arguably the most beloved toy of the 1980s. It's one filled with doll hospitals with delightfully attentive staff tending to every need of the "babies" birthed from a cabbage patch before their adoptions, dangerous counterfeit dolls and intense U.S. Customs raids, inevitable black-market sales, a glut of spin-off products, severe doll shortages and a rabid media frenzy that gave rise to a BILLION-dollar toy brand unlike anything the world had ever seen. Oh, and did we mention the "custody battle" over the origin of the idea? An unassuming and relatively unknown artist from rural Kentucky filed suit claiming she was the true creator of the dolls, setting off a contentious four-year legal battle over the Kids. This is the story you never knew about the dolls that stole America's heart... and turned us all into total maniacs.

Louisa Moore

Screen Zealots

An entertaining, exhaustive look at how masterful merchandising, American capitalism, and a homegrown idea came together in one perfect storm that turned an army of ugly little dolls into legendary pop culture icons.

Dec 3, 2023

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Frank Swietek

One Guy's Opinion

An amiable study of Cabbage Patch Kids mania as something that would be replicated in future years—a memorable event in itself, but one that’s also revealing about American mercantile culture in a wider sense.

Rated: B

Dec 1, 2023

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Miyako Pleines

Spectrum Culture

Billion Dollar Babies is a thrilling deep-dive into the Cabbage Patch Kids phenomenon that does double duty by highlighting the economic impact of the toys while also setting the record straight.

Nov 30, 2023

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Monique Jones

Common Sense Media

The film isn't quite as tight as it could be, feeling a bit like a Spark Notes version of itself -- and it could have gone deeper into the nitty gritty of how the Cabbage Patch Kids were created.

Rated: 3/5

Nov 29, 2023

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Jennie Kermode

Eye for Film

It quickly becomes apparent that this is more than just the story of the dolls. It is the story of the modern age.

Rated: 4/5

Nov 27, 2023

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Avi Offer

NYC Movie Guru

Captivating, illuminating and well-edited.

Nov 23, 2023

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Andrew Jenks

Director

Neil Patrick Harris

Narrator

Andrew Jenks

Screenwriter

Dan Goodman

Producer

Brian Hunt

Producer

Dan Goodman

Executive Producer

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Synopsis

Before the Cabbage Patch Kids, no one could have imagined a world where police would need to break up fights between rampaging adults in toy stores. But after the Cabbage Patch Kids, every manufacturer in the world was desperate for their own "riot-worthy" toy. Everything had changed, and we were never going back. Billion Dollar Babies: The True Story of the Cabbage Patch Kids is the evolution of that change, told through the lens of what is arguably the most beloved toy of the 1980s. It's one filled with doll hospitals with delightfully attentive staff tending to every need of the "babies" birthed from a cabbage patch before their adoptions, dangerous counterfeit dolls and intense U.S. Customs raids, inevitable black-market sales, a glut of spin-off products, severe doll shortages and a rabid media frenzy that gave rise to a BILLION-dollar toy brand unlike anything the world had ever seen. Oh, and did we mention the "custody battle" over the origin of the idea? An unassuming and relatively unknown artist from rural Kentucky filed suit claiming she was the true creator of the dolls, setting off a contentious four-year legal battle over the Kids. This is the story you never knew about the dolls that stole America's heart... and turned us all into total maniacs.

Director: Andrew Jenks
Producer: Dan Goodman, Brian Hunt
Screenwriter: Andrew Jenks
Distributor: Abramorama
Production Co: NBCUniversal Syndication Studios, Believe Entertainment Group
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 24, 2023, Limited
Runtime: 1h 34m

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