Mattel Is Making a Movie Based on the View-Master Toy

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Disco was incredibly popular – truly dominant. Its influence will last forever, with songs like Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” and the Bee Gees’ “Staying Alive” becoming timeless classics. However, disco’s own popularity eventually led to its downfall, resulting in silly songs like “Disco Duck.” We’re reminded of this now with Mattel’s recent news. The huge success of the Barbie movie meant we were bound to see a wave of strange, unnecessary movies based on toys. And a live-action film based on the View-Master toy definitely feels like one of those.

Yes, a View-Master, the thing you used to look at pictures.

Mattel Studios, Sony Pictures, and Escape Artists have hired Phil Johnston to write a live-action movie based on the classic View-Master toy. The film is planned as a family adventure with broad appeal.

Rich Moore is famous for co-directing and co-writing the movies Wreck-It Ralph and Ralph Breaks the Internet, both of which earned him Academy Award nominations. He also helped write Zootopia. He recently shared his reasons for taking on this new project.

I loved the View-Master as a child – and still do! It let me travel to amazing places from the comfort of my room, and I could spend hours lost in the images without getting in trouble. Now, I’m excited to recapture that childhood wonder in a movie, and I’m thrilled to be working with Mattel, Sony, and Escape Artists to make it happen.

So, they’re making a movie based on the concept of viewing captivating images of fascinating locations. It’s amazing! The View-Master really pioneered that idea. And Mattel is lucky they found someone who spent hours looking at those images as a child – something almost no one else did.

For analysis, we turn to Existential Crisis Barbie.

Nailed it.

We haven’t given up on this movie yet, even though the initial concept seems weak. Surprisingly, a film based on the View-Master could actually be quite good. It could be a chance to create a fun, fantasy adventure centered around a magical device, using the familiar View-Master brand as a clever disguise. If Mattel focuses on making a genuinely good movie and avoids simply creating a cheesy, low-effort adaptation like the infamous “Disco Duck” project, they might end up with a real success – a great movie with a slightly silly title.

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2025-11-11 20:34