Was the Indiana Jones toyline made for kids or fans?

IndySeven said:

When I first saw TOD when I was 12, I wasn't that scared. But, when I watched it a lot last summer, I started getting nightmares that I was Indy, my mom was Mola Ram, (dressed in robe, bison head and everything!) and that she was ordering Thuggees with swords to kill me! Man, that dream was crazy!

I was never really scared of anything else in Indy, although when I saw Raiders when I was a kid, my mom always covered my eyes whenever there were snakes or spiders! I don't see why, they weren't that scary.

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WillKill4Food said:

Who was it that predicted we'd have an influx of teens and smaller kids a few weeks before and after the film?

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Heh,Both Resident Alien and I.

I'm actually kind of shocked we havn't seen any new "OMG!!1 INDIE iz imortil" threads in a while.

Those will come on May 23!

I think it's mainly for fans, because many of the new people don't know Indiana Jones at all. I am 18, and all my friends find it strange that I like the movies, I mean many haven't even seen it, and don't want to see it. They kind of like respect the movies but wouldn't like to to see them. (By respect I mean they don't want to say anything bad about them). And I surveyed an age group of 5-14, and very few kids new about Indiana Jones. people from 13-14 did know about him but they haven't seen the movies.

metalinvader said:

Heh,Both Resident Alien and I.

I'm actually kind of shocked we havn't seen any new "OMG!!1 INDIE iz imortil" threads in a while.

Those will come on May 23!

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Thanks for reminding me that although childish, at least our newest members type in longhand.

Maby after this movie a new generation of youth will get into Indy

Maybe, and that's what I kind of fear.
Don't get me wrong, I love Indy. But I like adventure films in general. I don't like the mindset that everyone has where anybody with a brown hat or safari shirt is automatically an Indy ripoff. Yeah, they often are, but how else would an adventurer look? Indy looks like his predecesors and his films are just like theirs, but perhaps a little better thought out.
Instead of a bazillion (forgive me, I like that word) new Indy comics/books/etc., why not newer adventurers. That's why I love National Treasure and Tomb Raider, not to forget ol' Clive's novels. And I just hate to see them compared to Indy. They're in that genre, but they are completely different films.
And, perhaps worse is the fact that I love to write. Naturally, I want to write adventure stories and would like to write adventure novels for publication someday. But I've got the Hell scared out of me that something I'll write may be somewhere in an Indy book or young Indy show (I've only watched the films) and that my story will be deemed a ripoff by adventure-lovers.
So, in short, I just don't want Indy to wear out it's good name. This fourth movie needs to be the last. Indy needs to be young and vibrant, and if another old Indy is produced, 40% of his films we'll have him as an old man. Indy needs to stop while he's good. Pass the fedora (or pith helmet or any hate that the next adventurer will have) to a new generation of writers looking to make their mark on the world.

WillKill4Food said:

Thanks for reminding me that although childish, at least our newest members type in longhand.

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<I>Most</I> do, though we have a few around who haven't quite grasped such things as spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.

Or, y'know, the fact that sentences exist.

Kids Or Fans???

..I'd say 50/ 50....while I was @ a LOCAL TRU here in EDMONTON,ALBERTA...I was asked many questions about the line from a mom and her 10 year old son...he was stoked about the toys ...his mom just wanted to get outta there !...///

WillKill4Food said:

yeah, he probly shouldn't watch the power of the ark scene.

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This makes me wonder. Are kids today generally more sensitive and protected than we were at that age? It seems that there is more of an effort in place to shield kids from stuff in movies, yet at the same time video games can show pretty horrific things. I was pretty young when I first saw Raiders and it never bothered me. Granted, Luke discovering the skeletons of his aunt and uncle in Star Wars sent me out of the theater crying and I would always leave the room during that part when the film was shown on TV for years after.

WillKill4Food said:

MayPass the fedora (or pith helmet or any hate that the next adventurer will have) to a new generation of writers looking to make their mark on the world.

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I understand where you're coming from as a writer myself, but that does come off as a selfish reason not to want any more Indiana Jones films. The way I see it, Indy IS Harrison Ford and if he feels (as do Spielberg and Lucas) like doing another movie or two while he still can, I'm all for it. You can view it as a younger Indy trilogy and then the older Indy films. (Heck, there could always be a CGI younger Indy film with Harrison doing the voice.) I think it's a real shame that one or two Indy movies weren't made between Last Crusade and KotCS. I think the more Indy adventures with Harrison the better, and there's artifacts and sites I'd like to see him go after on screen, like Noah's Ark and Atlantis (Yeah, I know they were in the spin-offs.). The comparison of adventure fiction to Indy is hard to avoid, but there's still a demand for it, and it's up to the writer to make it stand out on its own. And if new Indy brings out more of a demand for that kind of fiction, that that only benefits you as a writer trying to sell your work.

Almost each time I've been out to a store this week checking on the Indy stuff I've seen kids around 7-8 buying Indy Legos. I was talking to the parents and kids telling them about which sets are the neatest and they seemed to be really excited about getting something Indiana Jones.

On the other hand each time I've gone to check out with my Indy stuff the adult cashiers have been looking at my items and saying how cool they are. One said she had to get some figures for her boyfriend and another was talking to me about how excited he was for the movie.

I think the toy companies have done a good job (and the movies themselves are the main sell) marketing these toys to both adults and kids. The Legos seem to be more attractive to younger kids and the figures seem to be more collectable than for playing with for adults. I think because Indy's been around for 27 years now you have adults who grew up watching and now they are showing the movies to their kids and getting them excited about it. It's really cool to see how many different people are getting excited about the toys and the movies.

I think the new Indy toy line is made for both in my opinion. Kids first and Indy collectors maybe a close second. Big mainstream toy lines like this need kid support to sell in the numbers Hasbro needs to make it profitable.

Hasbro has put a lot of effort into the line to make it kid friendly. There's the Adventure Heroes just for starters and the regular 3 3/4 inch line has lots of articulation, action features, accessories and fun mini playsets like the Temple Pitfal and Temple Trap. Not to mention the bonus relics are like getting an extra toy surprise in the box.

This is a toy line not just an adult collector one. Compare Hasbro's $20 Whip Cracking Indy figure to the limited edition $80 Sideshow Indy. Sure the Sideshow figure looks fantastic and it darn well better for $80! The Hasbro figures are affordable and sturdy with fun action features. This stuff is meant to be played with.

The packaging is also quite eye catching. The Indy toys really stand out on the shelves. As fast as the stuff is flying off the shelves adults aren't the only one's buying it.

They were made for collectors.
If they were made for kids, there wouldn't be multiple versions of Indiana and Mutt (especially Mutt!) available.

MolaRam1968 said:

If they were made for kids, there wouldn't be multiple versions of Indiana and Mutt (especially Mutt!) available.

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Multiples of main characters is standard in toy lines for kids. Main characters are always packed more per case. Because the toy companies righty understand not every kid is going to want secondary characters like a Cairo Swordsman or a Belloq, but they will want an Indy and a Mutt.

I am the true Mola Ram. Avatars are meaningless.

MolaRam1968 said:

I am the true Mola Ram. Avatars are meaningless.

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That's awesome. Now back to the topic at hand...

This makes me wonder. Are kids today generally more sensitive and protected than we were at that age?

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Naw, I saw it when I was around her kids age. But, she said that her children were afraid of one scene, so I thought that they probably shouldn't see the most violent scene in the movie then.
In fact, I'd say today's kids see just as much violence, sex, and other bad things (or good things, depending on your view) that you saw as a child.
Wild sex and graphic violence are rampant on TV, not mention graphic sex and wild violence.

MolaRam1968 said:

I am the true Mola Ram. Avatars are meaningless.

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ummmmm no your not?






I saw raiders when i was 5 and yeah it did scare me the sight of the bloddy Satipo and the well of souls and the ark scene but i still loved the movie and watched it over and over again than i got TOD and it scared me a little but like ROTLA i kept coming back for more by the time i saw LC I was ready for a grusome ending and it did not scare me at all

I gotta say I wasn't too impressed with these figures when I saw them at Target today! This is the first time I saw them in person, and I don't know, I just wasn't wowed by them. Certain ones are nice, but thankfully for my bank account I wasn't compelled to buy any of them. The only one I really want is the German soldier with/motorcycle, maybe Toys R Us has them, because the stock was limited at Target. They must be flying off the shelves, unlike the Iron Man stuff!

After seeing them, I do really think they are geared towards both the collector and kids. The emphasis is more on kids, but the serious collector should find plenty to like as well.

deckard24 said:

I gotta say I wasn't too impressed with these figures when I saw them at Target today! This is the first time I saw them in person, and I don't know, I just wasn't wowed by them. Certain ones are nice, but thankfully for my bank account I wasn't compelled to buy any of them. The only one I really want is the German soldier with/motorcycle, maybe Toys R Us has them, because the stock was limited at Target. They must be flying off the shelves, unlike the Iron Man stuff!

After seeing them, I do really think they are geared towards both the collector and kids. The emphasis is more on kids, but the serious collector should find plenty to like as well.

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I know what you mean my favorite figures are the Nazi soldier and Nazi soldier's two pack. I than asked myself what the **** is wrong with me? I hate Nazi's in real life but for some reason like them in the Indy movies.

Nurhachi1991 said:

I know what you mean my favorite figures are the Nazi soldier and Nazi soldier's two pack. I than asked myself what the **** is wrong with me? I hate Nazi's in real life but for some reason like them in the Indy movies.

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I feel the same way. Nazis make great villains as long as they're not taken too seriously. (They make great villains if taken seriously too, but not in the same way.)