With the success of** The Lego Movie** this year, the floodgates have swung open for a torrent of new toy-based films. Minecraft** is in development and here comes a more direct competitor to the plastic blocks franchise, **Playmobil.
European production company On Entertainment has scooped up the rights to the brand, put together $80 million in financing and hired DreamWorks Animation veteran Bob Persichetti to start developing a film based on the toys.
Invented by German cabinetmaker Hans Beck, after he pitched a line of model planes to toy company geobra Brandstätter and was asked to develop figures instead, the first line arrived in 1974 comprising knights, Native Americans and construction workers. While it took a little while to gain acceptance, the figures took off in popularity and started worldwide sales in 1975. They’ve been huge ever since, selling more than 2.7 billion figurines.
The challenge now will be to find a fresh take for the story, much as the Lego team managed, without repeating their clever, meta-referencing structure.