Mattel no longer owns the rights to MOTU?

[Darkkosis]

Motu was all but dead between 1990-2002 and 2003-2022, and both of those periods of hibernation were followed by a push of new media. You can keep being obtuse if you want, but you yourself just pointed out that without media the line will hibernate for an extended period of time at the very least. Also, "current Hollywood producers" did a fantastic job updating the franchise with the CGI Netflix cartoon.

I'm gonna let you debate with the other members here, since I see you going in circles with no tangible ground to your argument IMHO. I was just pointing out that MOTU can survive without a proper media for a long periods of time somehow, and the dedicated fandom had a lot to do with it.

And as mentioned by the others, from 2003-2022 we had no real media content available other than some comics and books, but we've had the MOTUC line running for like a decade, and some other collectables that were sought after among the hardcore online fans.

As for the Hollywood CGI show argument, it might have been great for many of us to experience, but that show for some reason didn't drive enough of the "kids focused toy" sales like how Mattel was expecting, and that alone proves my point that I was making: TV shows or media content don't mean automatically the health of any toy brand. Sometimes it has to be the right show with the right story and the right animation for it to work, and that's really hard to pinpoint especially with the amount of content out there from different IPs and brands.

Do we want media content and a plethora of MOTU toys around, absolutely... But is media content logistical all the time for a healthy toy brand, no. It surly can help, but it doesn't guarantee it success.

[Fenrys]

I'm gonna let you debate with the other members here, since I see you going in circles with no tangible ground to your argument IMHO. I was just pointing out that MOTU can survive without a proper media for a long periods of time somehow, and the dedicated fandom had a lot to do with it.

And as mentioned by the others, from 2003-2022 we had no real media content available other than some comics and books, but we've had the MOTUC line running for like a decade, and some other collectables that were sought after among the hardcore online fans.

As for the Hollywood CGI show argument, it might have been great for many of us to experience, but that show for some reason didn't drive enough of the "kids focused toy" sales like how Mattel was expecting, and that alone proves my point that I was making: TV shows or media content don't mean automatically the health of any toy brand. Sometimes it has to be the right show with the right story and the right animation for it to work, and that's really hard to pinpoint especially with the amount of content out there from different IPs and brands.

Do we want media content and a plethora of MOTU toys around, absolutely... But is media content logistical all the time for a healthy toy brand, no. It surly helps, but it doesn't guarantee it success.

Whatever dude, MOTUC doesnt really compare considering it wasn't sold in physical stores (or at least wasn't for much of its run). It didn't need to maintain the same level of product and was restrictive to introducing new fans to the franchise (being an online only line). That is not a healthy place for a franchise or fandom that wants to thrive.

[Dice]

You're misinterpreting what I said. I never said it wasn't doing well, I said I wouldn't exactly call it healthiest it's ever been. The reason for this is that one MOTU line has all but been outright canceled because it's accompanying media has not been renewed and another MOTU line from MEGA (a Mattel subsidiary) is so poorly mismanaged that they can't even get figure packs out reliably and are blaming a lack of orders on cut production runs despite the products consistently selling out when they're made available. When both of those lines were running full steam alongside Masterverse and Origins, that's the healthiest the brand has ever been, with 4 concurrent toylines, 2 shows and comics all getting produced. Now that content has been cut in half more or less (granted, Origins and Masterverse production output may have gotten increased to compensate, that I'm not sure of). It's a trending decline that could get turned around or it could get ignored and the brand will go on for a few more years before it begins another period of hibernation. I'm looking at it from a long term perspective. It's more like TMNT which tends to come and go rather than Transformers (which some people in this thread have compared it to) which has had a consistent presence on store shelves (and with media) since 1992.

I'll agree that some parts of the franchise didn't hit the mark. Wasn't a fan of Revelations and even felt it hurt the line a bit. The CGI I wanted to succeed badly but only because I too believe the next generations have to find a love of this franchise for it to continue on for years to come. But I can't be surprised when it doesn't. We're past the days of high percentages of kids watching cartoons and then wanting toys. Mattel will have to recognize that at some point.

I think the brand has enough potential to keep going for a long while. Just like with TMNT and Transformers, toy lines that just put out new versions of the same old characters we love. Mattel can do the same and a lot of us are going to continue purchasing it.

Toys (IMO) aren't ever going to be what they were back before constant new media was readily available for kids. But I believe "collectibles" will be.

[Fenrys]

I'll agree that some parts of the franchise didn't hit the mark. Wasn't a fan of Revelations and even felt it hurt the line a bit. The CGI I wanted to succeed badly but only because I too believe the next generations have to find a love of this franchise for it to continue on for years to come. But I can't be surprised when it doesn't. We're past the days of high percentages of kids watching cartoons and then wanting toys. Mattel will have to recognize that at some point.

I think the brand has enough potential to keep going for a long while. Just like with TMNT and Transformers, toy lines that just put out new versions of the same old characters we love. Mattel can do the same and a lot of us are going to continue purchasing it.

Toys (IMO) aren't ever going to be what they were back before constant new media was readily available for kids. But I believe "collectibles" will be.

This I agree with, though it's only really been the last few years or so that TMNT has become kind of a staple line, only since both Neca and Super 7 got licenses (Neca's early years had the product being much harder to come by). Prior to that it'd pop up every few years or so when a new toon came out and then re-enter a state of hibernation when the show concluded. Mattel needs to figure out the balance long term to introduce new fans, otherwise the current crop of fans that seem to be perfectly content with there being no media for kids will die off and with them the franchise will die off. If that's what people want to happen, then so be it. At this point I'm done with the conversation in this thread because it's really not going anywhere. Hope everyone gets what they want from the current lines while the franchise is healthy.

[Dice]

Hope everyone gets what they want from the current lines while the franchise is healthy.

Well speaking of I'd personally love some old school merchandise like clocks, TV trays, trash cans, and toothbrush holders. All the old odds and ends from the old days I believe us collectors would buy up like crazy.

Hope someone from Mattel is listening

[Darkkosis]

Whatever dude, MOTUC doesnt really compare considering it wasn't sold in physical stores (or at least wasn't for much of its run). It didn't need to maintain the same level of product and was restrictive to introducing new fans to the franchise (being an online only line). That is not a healthy place for a franchise or fandom that wants to thrive.

A healthy place or not, it just survived... And yes I already understood your take on the subject and I'm not shutting it down per-se, but I'm giving you the bigger picture here...

You just keep taking my argument out of its context... Either you'd like to ignore my explanation, or you just wanna prove something that doesn't have a substantial evidence of its positive effectiveness from the get go.

And BTW, the not so well received shows and movies could do more harm than good for any particular franchise especially if it had a correlation with the toy business!

[Fenrys]

A healthy place or not, it just survived... And yes I already understood your take on the subject and I'm not shutting it down per-se, but I'm giving you the bigger picture here...

You just keep taking my argument out of its context... Either you'd like to ignore my explanation, or you just wanna prove something that doesn't have a substantial evidence of its positive effectiveness from the get go.

And BTW, the not so well received shows and movies could do more harm than good for any particular franchise especially if it had a correlation with the toy business!

Except what I'm saying ultimately started because someone said that MOTU is "as HEALTHY as it's ever been" and I disagreed. Also, funny you mention poorly received shows doing more damage, because the one that had an incredibly toxic reception from the vocal parts of the fandom is the one getting another season and the one that was generally more well received is the one that isn't getting continued.

If I'm ignoring your explanation, then you are equally ignoring mine, especially considering I've not said the line is dead, dying or unhealthy at the moment, but it is not "as healthy as it's ever been" because it's currently supporting less media and product than it was just a year ago. At this point we can either keep ignoring each others explanations and perspectives and talking in circles, or we can agree to disagree and just drop it, because it kinda feels like those are the only 2 options.

[Durendal]

This I agree with, though it's only really been the last few years or so that TMNT has become kind of a staple line, only since both Neca and Super 7 got licenses (Neca's early years had the product being much harder to come by). Prior to that it'd pop up every few years or so when a new toon came out and then re-enter a state of hibernation when the show concluded. Mattel needs to figure out the balance long term to introduce new fans, otherwise the current crop of fans that seem to be perfectly content with there being no media for kids will die off and with them the franchise will die off. If that's what people want to happen, then so be it. At this point I'm done with the conversation in this thread because it's really not going anywhere. Hope everyone gets what they want from the current lines while the franchise is healthy.

I guess an important question we all need to ask ourselves is: does it matter to you if MOTU eventually dies off completely?

I think it depends on the direction of the brand. I'd be totally fine with no MOTU at all than a barely recognizable singular version out there. Stuff like the CGI series and toys are ultimately just a sideshow desperately trying to change MOTU into something it isn't (much like NA before it), destined to be a mere footnote in MOTU history in the long run, along with SPOP. At least this time around, Mattel was smart enough to offer both Origins and Masterverse at the same time as traditional alternatives. Ask yourselves - how many of you would have cared if CGI had been the *only* MOTU product and media offered for the last 3 years, and the other lines didn't exist? I for one would have been totally disengaged and completely ignored it, and I strongly suspect that I wouldn't be in the minority on that. Luckily for us, Mattel is not that short sighted these days.

[Fenrys]

I guess an important question we all need to ask ourselves is: does it matter to you if MOTU eventually dies off completely?

I think it depends on the direction of the brand. I'd be totally fine with no MOTU at all than a barely recognizable singular version out there. Stuff like the CGI series and toys are ultimately just a sideshow desperately trying to change MOTU into something it isn't (much like NA before it), destined to be a mere footnote in MOTU history in the long run, along with SPOP. At least this time around, Mattel was smart enough to offer both Origins and Masterverse at the same time as traditional alternatives. Ask yourselves - how many of you would have cared if CGI had been the *only* MOTU product and media offered for the last 3 years, and the other lines didn't exist? I for one would have been totally disengaged and completely ignored it, and I strongly suspect that I wouldn't be in the minority on that. Luckily for us, Mattel is not that short sighted these days.

See, I disagree with that assessment of the CGI series. Yes, there were differences from traditional MOTU, but it wasn't really as far removed as you seem to be indicating, least not in my opinion.

[zodak74]

I guess an important question we all need to ask ourselves is: does it matter to you if MOTU eventually dies off completely?

It does not matter to my wallet one bit, but my wallet and I often heartily disagree on such matters

[Dice]

I guess an important question we all need to ask ourselves is: does it matter to you if MOTU eventually dies off completely?

I think it depends on the direction of the brand. I'd be totally fine with no MOTU at all than a barely recognizable singular version out there. Stuff like the CGI series and toys are ultimately just a sideshow desperately trying to change MOTU into something it isn't (much like NA before it), destined to be a mere footnote in MOTU history in the long run, along with SPOP. At least this time around, Mattel was smart enough to offer both Origins and Masterverse at the same time as traditional alternatives. Ask yourselves - how many of you would have cared if CGI had been the *only* MOTU product and media offered for the last 3 years, and the other lines didn't exist? I for one would have been totally disengaged and completely ignored it, and I strongly suspect that I wouldn't be in the minority on that. Luckily for us, Mattel is not that short sighted these days.

I really do care. I want MOTU to survive and flourish, even if it's not exactly how I remember it. If it grows you can always go back to it's roots eventually.


As for your question, if the CGI was VERY successful I'd be happy. I wouldn't be in love with the show but I'd be glad new generations were enjoying and latching on to it.

[Darkkosis]

Except what I'm saying ultimately started because someone said that MOTU is "as HEALTHY as it's ever been" and I disagreed. Also, funny you mention poorly received shows doing more damage, because the one that had an incredibly toxic reception from the vocal parts of the fandom is the one getting another season and the one that was generally more well received is the one that isn't getting continued.

If I'm ignoring your explanation, then you are equally ignoring mine, especially considering I've not said the line is dead, dying or unhealthy at the moment, but it is not "as healthy as it's ever been" because it's currently supporting less media and product than it was just a year ago. At this point we can either keep ignoring each others explanations and perspectives and talking in circles, or we can agree to disagree and just drop it, because it kinda feels like those are the only 2 options.

I wasn't ignoring your argument, I was giving you an explanation and a bigger picture of the whole scenario, plus you don't have any proof that the brand isn't as healthy as it should, especially for Origins and the Masterverse lines... You can disagree with the others of course, but you have to give some tangible bases to your argument here if you wanna keep at it.

Toys at retail generally don't have as much of an impact as they used to regardless of the IPs and brands except for some few like the LEGO brand for example, and MOTU is largely a "collector brand" more than a kids brand these days.

As I said before, animated shows cost money, a lot of money, a lot more than tooling and development... And currently Mattel is probably being careful with their logistics, and we don't know how much money is allocated for media vs toy lines, and we don't know what's their long term objectives and goals!

Thanks for the replies, but I think I'm done here...

[Fenrys]

I wasn't ignoring your argument, I was giving you an explanation and a bigger picture of the whole scenario, plus you don't have any proof that the brand isn't as healthy as it should, especially for Origins and the Masterverse lines... You can disagree with the others of course, but you have to give some tangible bases to your argument here if you wanna keep at it.

Toys at retail generally don't have as much of an impact as they used to regardless of the IPs and brands except for some few like the LEGO brand for example, and MOTU is largely a "collector brand" more than a kids brand these days.

As I said before, animated shows cost money, a lot of money, a lot more than tooling and development... And currently Mattel is probably being careful with their logistics, and we don't know how much money is allocated for media vs toy lines, and we don't know what's their long term objectives and goals!

Thanks for the replies, but I think I'm done here...

You are ignoring my argument though. Your not actually reading my posts and trying to say that I'm saying something other than what I'm saying. I NEVER said that the brand wasn't healthy RIGHT NOW. I said it's not "as healthy as it's ever been" due to one of four lines being canceled, amd another being on life support. That alone is all the tangible evidence I need. Besides, I already said that we should just agree to disagree since we're approaching it from 2 different perspectives.

[Darkkosis]

... Oh never mind, why I even bother...

[DC_WARLORD]

Ask yourselves - how many of you would have cared if CGI had been the *only* MOTU product and media offered for the last 3 years, and the other lines didn't exist? I for one would have been totally disengaged and completely ignored it, and I strongly suspect that I wouldn't be in the minority on that. Luckily for us, Mattel is not that short sighted these days.

Very good question.

I can only speak for myself. I enjoyed the CGI cartoon, and found it to be a very interesting take on the MOTU, but at it's roots, MOTU is a very Fantasy / Sword & Sorcery based property. Yes, it touches on Sci-Fi a bit, but my favorite elements are the more 'barbaric' themes like melee weapons, ancient stone castles, Kingdoms, medieval style elements, etc.... I would have been extremely disappointed if the CGI cartoon and it's figures were all that was offered.

Whoever owns MOTU is allowed to morph it into whatever they want, but I like what I like. I am having a blast Cherry Picking Origins and MV figures, in what is likely to be my toy collecting Swan Song.

[Mark M]

The CGI show was okay but overall I thought it was a bit too sci-fi.

[MCX-Eternia]

The CGI show was more like previous iterations of MotU than Transformers reboots are like each other, typically.
There were almost no new characters, while even reboots like Armada, the Bay movies or Animated always mixed up the cast at least a bit. The amount of technology on Eternia didn't really change: just aesthetics like how much clothing certain people wore.

[Fenrys]

The CGI show was more like previous iterations of MotU than Transformers reboots are like each other, typically.
There were almost no new characters, while even reboots like Armada, the Bay movies or Animated always mixed up the cast at least a bit. The amount of technology on Eternia didn't really change: just aesthetics like how much clothing certain people wore.

Yep, and even one of the bigger changes, sharing the power with other, fits pretty naturally into the lore of older iterations of MOTU considering Adam regularly shares the power with Cringer.

[Lich Leech]

The CGI show was more like previous iterations of MotU than Transformers reboots are like each other, typically.
There were almost no new characters, while even reboots like Armada, the Bay movies or Animated always mixed up the cast at least a bit. The amount of technology on Eternia didn't really change: just aesthetics like how much clothing certain people wore.

Yeah, it was pretty strong overall in terms of story and concept. The only thing that kept me from getting too into it was the radical character, location and vehicle redesigns, especially on the heroic warriors. Not that I disliked the designs per se, it was just too much of a visual departure for me and so there was a mental disconnect.

[Powersword123]

The CGI show was more like previous iterations of MotU than Transformers reboots are like each other, typically.
There were almost no new characters, while even reboots like Armada, the Bay movies or Animated always mixed up the cast at least a bit. The amount of technology on Eternia didn't really change: just aesthetics like how much clothing certain people wore.

Idk, I always thought the CGI show to the original Masters of the Universe was done in a similar to the way Transformers Animated (Derek J Wyatt) was done with Transformers.
Both felt very different in design and style, but a ton of nods to the original and I enjoy both more than I expected.

[ProteinNerd]

So it looks like a certain "Guru" was right after all? Mattel no longer owns the rights to MOTU!

Now its NBC Universal.

Or is this an April Fools?

https://www.planeteternia.de/cgi-bin...fhBIBS-Y8z5FQk

[Lich Leech]

So it looks like a certain "Guru" was right after all? Mattel no longer owns the rights to MOTU!

Now its NBC Universal.

Or is this an April Fools?

https://www.planeteternia.de/cgi-bin...fhBIBS-Y8z5FQk

It's an April fools joke

[Fenrys]

Why does anyone believe any "news" that gets posted on April 1st?

[Smitty.81]

Why does anyone believe any "news" that gets posted on April 1st?

Or on the weekend.

Sent from my SM-G981U using Tapatalk

[Sketchy Skeletor]

Why does anyone believe any "news" that gets posted on April 1st?

Because most people don't want their hobby messed with and almost nobody cares about April 1st in this era. It pretty much ceased being funny about 20 years ago