Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz Shares the ‘Hardest Thing’ in Adapting Toys for TV and Film

Mattel is back in the Disney princess business at a time when intellectual property based on toys has never been more valuable to Hollywood. Of course, Mattel, which will again be making the Ariel, Moana and Cinderella dolls under the new licensing agreement after snagging the rights from Hasbro, has some sought-after brands of its own for both the big and small screens.

Shortly after his blockbuster Disney consumer products deal was announced on Wednesday, Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz shared with TheWrap the keys to adapting a toy into a TV series or major motion picture, including the “hardest” part to pull off.

“It really is about working with talent — with the best talent, who can imagine those brands and develop a concept around them that comes into play and manifests itself in other genres,” Kreiz said. “The hardest thing is to create awareness and develop affinity in fans. This is the hardest thing. Once you have that in place, as long as the execution is good, you can expand it to other domains.”

For an example of good execution, Kreiz pointed to renewed partner Disney and the studio’s development of Marvel. There is simply no better combination of toys, games and quality television and movies than what has come out of that landmark pairing. And Kreiz is seeking a similar approach with his own toy brands, while simultaneously serving licensing agreements like the company’s rekindled deal with Disney (Hasbro took over the Disney princess license in 2016 and held it until now).

In 2018, Kreiz, an Israeli-born businessman, restructured Mattel in 2018 to focus on categories — like “dolls,” “vehicles,” “infant,” “toddler,” etc. — as opposed to “girls” toys, “boys” toys and one-off product groups. (The Disney Princesses, formerly their own group, will this time be handled by the dolls team that also handles Barbie.)

As a result of Kreiz’s efforts over the past four years, Mattel has been able to recently monetize toy lines that were born — and seemingly just as soon forgotten — around the same time as its 56-year-old chief executive officer.

“We’re seeing that some I.P. that we own, that we haven’t commercialized in decades, is attracting a lot of attention — and more importantly, attracting the best talent out there,” Kreiz said, pointing to Tom Hanks’ role as Major Matt Mason for an upcoming Paramount feature as one example.

Other oldies, like Barbie, have remained goodies — but Mattel has faced headwinds trying to bring some of its classic toys to the screen (particularly the big screen).

Kreiz remains bullish on Warner Bros.’ upcoming live-action “Barbie” movie starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling that has been in development since 2014, begins production this year and is slated for theaters in 2023.(“It’s going to be great. It’s exciting, it’s really shaping [up] well.”)

There’s also a “Masters of the Universe” feature that still needs to cast its He-Man since Noah Centineo (“To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before”) dropped out last year. (“It’s progressing, but we can’t give you anything more at this point.”)

Given the challenges on such seemingly straightforward toy-to-film properties, other announced film projects may face even longer development periods, like a live-action movie based on the UNO card game and a “Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots” movie with Vin Diesel.

Mattel has had better luck in TV, where the Barbie brand has several animated shows on Netflix, as does Mattel’s Polly Pocket. And the Hot Wheels brand, previously a staple of the boys’ toys division, recently released a new racing video game to critical acclaim.

It’s a luxury to have legacy brands. Kids become grownups, have their own kids and pass down their toys. Nostalgia brings in an older generation, paving the way (and literally paying the way) for a new one.

Decades ago, TV shows and movies (though mostly TV shows) were rush-launched as glorified long commercials intended to sell toys. These days, it is long-existing toys that inspire major Hollywood releases, like Universal’s animated “Trolls” franchise and Warner Bros.’ Lego movies, to name a few outside of Kreiz’s portfolio.

We asked the Mattel head honcho why now is the golden age of the quality toy-to-screen adaptation.

“With so much availability of content, ubiquitous distribution, unlimited shelf space — it really is about the big franchise brands,” he said. “Managing a franchise, it’s a holistic experience. It’s not anymore just about this or that dimension.”

As for being back in business with Disney, Kreiz called Wednesday’s announcement “a big win,” a “milestone in our transformation” and “symbolic for the success of our turnaround.”

“What we do better than anyone is…manage evergreen franchises that resonate with consumers,” he said.

So yeah, Kreiz is pretty pleased with return to order — and he suspects Disney Consumer Products executives will be as well. If he’s right, that means, soon, a whole bunch of little boys and little girls will be just as happy about it too.