Every week at SiftPop.com, we challenge our writers to choose what they think is the best movie under a certain topic related to a recent release. So this week, with the recent release of Barbie, we’re counting down our favorite movies based on merchandise! Let us know @SiftPop what your ranking is!
In 1985, there wasn’t a kindergarten class in North America where you couldn’t find at least one lunch box, thermos, backpack, pencil, folder, or t-shirt emblazoned with colorful bears, flaunting cheerful belly badges. Every bit of fabric in my own bedroom was festooned with Care Bears: From the drapes to the bedskirt, Love-a-Lot, Grumpy, and Funshine all guarded a Cheer Bear pillow pal that held officially licensed pajamas, and I even ate my plain Cheerios (yes, these were the dark times before the golden age of 15 flavors) out of a bowl circled in the lovable bears. To this day, Cozy Heart Penguin is one of the first ornaments on my Christmas tree, and I still use my tin lunch box to dump my pockets when I get home from work. Needless to say, I was first in line in March of ‘85 to see Care Bears on the big screen. Five-year-old me was blown away. This movie has it all… magicians, a sentient evil book of spells, a chase through an abandoned carnival, a rainbow powered transporter, the voice of Rudolph (it’s so obvious Billie Mae Richards voices Tender Heart), original songs by Carole King, and the introduction of the Care Bear Cousins. The creative team behind the Care Bears’ first feature film got so much right, it’s no surprise Care Bears is still one of the top grossing Canadian children’s movies of all time. It’s warm, witty, whimsical, wondrous, wacky at times, and most of all watchable! (Patrice Downing)
A second movie in a series surpassing the original is nothing new, but a great second movie coming after an awful original is a rarity. That’s largely due to awful movies tending to struggle financially and not get sequels. But Blumhouse is the poster child for the benefits of affordable budgeting, so 2014’s Ouija was highly profitable despite a 5% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Mike Flanagan, the king of heart in horror, came aboard to deliver a shockingly great prequel as he co-wrote and directed 2016’s Ouija: Origin of Evil. This 1960s period piece succeeds by making you care about its characters before they are ever put in harm’s way. Two years before playing different ages of the same character in The Haunting of Hill House, Elizabeth Reaser and Lulu Wilson starred as mother and daughter Alice and Doris Zander, respectively, along with Annalise Basso as the older daughter Paulina. The chemistry between the struggling widow and her two children is engrossing, as they expertly fake their way through seances to make ends meet. It’s delightful writing to have the fakers haunted for real. In typical Flanagan fashion, atmospheric and lingering scares are much more common than jump scares, and the few of those feel earned. Henry Thomas also deserves praise for how he portrays of Father Tom with subtlety and compassion. I’ve never been tempted to touch a Ouija board before, and I’m not about to start after watching this. (Jason Mack)
In My Little Pony: The Movie, the continuation of the Friendship is Magic show, Twilight Sparkle (Tara Strong) and her friends must venture through Equestria after Tempest Shadow (Emily Blunt), a unicorn with a broken horn, prettifies the land’s rulers. I was a “brony”for a while, but I had lost interest in the show when this movie came out. I was, however, still interested enough in what they could do in a big-budget film. In terms of animation, what they do is breathtaking. I always enjoyed the animation in the show, but this is another level, with stunning wide angle shots and various locations. There is also an impressive amount of world building, introducing Hippogriffs, pirates, sentient cats, and an underwater kingdom to the show’s canon. The story is on par with most of the show’s “Faith of Equestria” stories, with a reasonably memorable villain, a good collection of songs, and a solid number of twists to keep you interested for the longer runtime of a feature. Pinkie Pie (Andrea Libman) stands out with how many funny lines she has. I always loved how the show made me smile in the show, even when the story wasn’t as interesting, and it’s no different here. There’s also an exciting turn just before the final act where a character makes a questionable decision, and the characters call them out on this. Even as a show fan, I didn’t expect the story to take this turn, and it makes for a more satisfying climax. (John Tillyard)
One of my favorite things to do when we visit Disney World is to eat dinner at the Sci-Fi Dine-In. You get to sit and eat in a faux drive-in, with a giant screen playing old, cheesy, alien attack or monster movie previews. It is a wonderful homage to a time of C-rate sci-fi! If you are looking for this type of nostalgia trip but can’t afford Disney World (and nowadays who can…), then I recommend a cheaper and funnier alternative: Tim Burton’s 1996 cult classic, Mars Attacks! This is a true C-rate sci-fi/political satire that in many ways feels like Dr. Strangelove meets Independence Day. Its star-studded cast is full of scenery chewing power players, like Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Pierce Brosnan, Michael J. Fox, Martin Short, Sarah Jessica Parker, Annette Benning, and over a dozen more. I want to say Nicholson as the President is my favorite part, but he does double duty as a weird Texan casino investor, which is equally hilarious, not to mention a very young Natalie Portman playing the disinterested first daughter, who has some amazing throwaway lines, stealing every scene she’s in. The Martians that invade Earth are so goofy and off-the-wall that it’s hard to not just yell, “AHK, AHK, AHK,” at people when this movie comes up in conversation. Mars Attacks! is the perfect combination of stupid, fun, camp, and I find it impossible not to laugh and have a great time when I watch it. (Nick Ferro)
The first Trolls movie was a pleasant surprise for me. I didn’t think that a decent movie could have been made about a toy Troll with huge hair sticking up. They didn’t really have anything else going for them, but DreamWorks managed to make a fun and endearing story about where happiness comes from. Poppy (Anna Kendrick) and Branch (Justin Timberlake) are polar opposites, but they still become best friends through their adventure. I really love the soundtrack, too. As someone with two young kids, this has become a staple in our household. There’s a part at the end where all seems hopeless. It’s a typical trope that someone gives a speech that brings everyone back from the brink, but in Trolls, it’s a song. I should have seen it coming, but it made me emotional. That’s the effect Trolls had on me, even though I initially had zero expectations for it. (Mike Hilty)
If I’m being completely honest, I was more of a Yu-Gi-Oh kid growing up — my mom didn’t trust a cartoon where they just say their own name — but the Pokémon craze was inescapable in my youth, and I was always itching for a turn on the Game Boy Color on the field trip bus ride. Having said that, when Detective Pikachu arrived on the scene, promising a mystery set in a world with Pokémon, it’s hard to ignore — particularly with Ryan Reynolds voicing the titular character. This one’s pretty simple. The premise promises a mystery in a world where humans and Pokémon coexist, and it delivers on the mystery and utilizes the various Pokémon on display in ways that add a little spice to proceedings. Not anything that’s going to completely blow your mind, but a fun time to be sure. (Jake Bourgeois)
I never got into Dungeons & Dragons growing up. To be frank, I don’t know what the game consists of. I just know there are a lot of components I don’t have time for, and it’s a game you can be stuck playing for hours on end. D&D doesn’t sound appealing. There was a 2000 live action version with Jeremy Irons and Marlon Wayans which failed, and who can remember that one or the two sequels behind it? But the reboot, Honor Among Thieves, which has nothing to do with the game, but in the same campaign setting, is a comedic heist adventure. Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley brought a fresh take to new characters and a new story with laughs, action, and emotional depth. Edgin (Chris Pine), Holga (Michelle Rodriguez), Simon (Justice Smith), Xenk (Regé-Jean Page), and Doric (Sophia Lillis) are a ragtag team who takes on their former partner, Forge (Hugh Grant), and Sofina the Red Wizard (Daisy Head) to receive what is owed to them. The cast works well together, the comedic takes hit every time, and the action sequences are exciting and humorous, showing the true meaning of family and honor. D&D: HAT is a fun film. Even if you’re not a fan of the game, you will become one for this movie. (Chantal Ashford)
Some people say that toys are cute fun and entertainment, but they don’t really prepare you for life. We all remember being told at some point to just put them down, that those action figures won’t help you prepare for things like growing up, leadership, loss, or grief. Well, Optimus Prime and the rest of the Transformers beg to differ, and they made it clear to every kid walking out of The Transformers: The Movie that toys have a lot to teach about life. Join the Autobots as they cope with the loss of their leader, and reclaim and protect their home world from a new threat in the form of a super-powered Galvatron (Leonard Nimoy), himself on the hunt for The Matrix of Leadership for his master Unicron, voiced masterfully by Orson Welles in his final film. Sitting down for a rewatch made for a truly fun night which had me wishing I still had some of my old Autobots that entertained me on so many road trips. It also reminded me there really isn’t a film that yanks at all the nostalgia strings quite like The Transformers: The Movie, and there definitely isn’t one set to the most perfectly ‘80s soundtrack, bookended by the great hits “The Touch” and Weird Al’s “Dare To Be Stupid”. (Matt Lawson)
Who ever thought that basing a film off of a board game could produce such a comedy classic? Clue is a wonderful mixture of comedy and whodunit mystery. This ensemble cast is incredibly stacked with some of the funniest people in film, from Tim Curry to Madeline Kahn to Michael McKean. Each character has their crazy quirks which make them hilarious and mysterious. This board game was perfect to bring to the screen, and in a post-Knives Out landscape, the whodunnit is back on all our radars. Clue plays with so many tropes of the genre as well, and delivers some genuine twists and turns along the way. It is so mysterious that people didn’t even get the same endings. Theaters offered one of three, and each of them is crazy and fun. This adaptation has pitch-perfect costume and production design that just drives home the quality of the film. If you want a blast of a good time with a nice little flick on a stormy night, there are not too many better options than this one. (Shane Conto)
Movies about merchandise have become a popular choice over the past few years, and one of the best is The LEGO Movie. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller roll comedy, drama, and heart all into one great movie. The movie tells the story of Emmet (Chris Pratt), just a regular LEGO man who becomes The Special to stop Lord Business (Will Ferrell). They’re also joined by Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Morgan Freeman, and so many other great actors. The theme “Everything is Awesome” is still is stuck in my head to this day. As someone who grew up loving LEGO, and still builds sets, I love the story of Emmett being a regular dude who builds what the instructions say. I am like that; I never explored new things to build with my sets, and always wanted what’s on the box. This movie is special to me, and will always hold a place in my heart. (Austen Terry)
Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins
The ying to Barbie’s yang. If she was the toy every girl had to have growing up, G.I. Joe was stereotypically that for boys. Though I didn’t catch either of the two original films, when Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins came out, there was enough to pique my interest. The film serves as the origin story for the titular character as he trains in the ninja arts. The cast is boosted by some of the hottest names in Hollywood, with Henry Golding in the title role off the back of the success of Crazy Rich Asians, and Samara Weaving in a brief appearance as Scarlett. Oh, and did you forget there are ninjas? It has some solid action sequences that give you the martial arts fighting you want from a movie that promises ninjas. (Jake Bourgeois)
Masters of the Universe
1982 is basically the pop culture equivalent of the Big Bang for ‘80s awesomeness, bringing us the first CD player, Michael Jackson’s Thriller, Diet Coke, and the first He-Man action figures. Less than a year later, the iconic animated series was born, and in 1987 we finally got a live action movie on the big screen. He-Man (Dolph Lundgren), Teela (Chelsea Field), and Man-at-Arms (Jon Cypher) face off against Skeletor (Frank Langella), Evil-Lyn (Meg Foster), and Beastman (Tony Carroll) in a battle for Eternia, that for some reason is mostly fought on Earth with the help of Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill), Monica (Courteney Cox), and Principal Strickland (James Tolkan). While I remember being disappointed that technology hadn’t advanced enough for Orko to appear, I loved every minute his stand-in, Gwildor (Billy Barty), took part in. Pair that with a standout performance by Langella, who absolutely owns every scene, throw in a rib revelation, and a throne room so intricate and massive that it was the largest indoor set ever built at the time, and you have Masters of the Universe. (Patrice Downing)