Poll: Parents want Breaking Bad toys pulled from TRU, thoughts?

[know whan purr tick]

I agree these toys should not be in stores. But WTF parents, why are your kids watching a show about making crystal meth.

Another way to look at this is that the parents were trying prevent their kids from getting exposed to breaking bad. If its on AMC they just have to keep their kids from watching it and lock it out with parental controls if available. Running into a methlab toyset at "the biggest toy store there is-" I would try to parody the theme song but I never watched breaking bad.

 

[Fox12]

The weird thing is, I remember them carrying hellraiser toys when is was a kid (not that I knew that at the time). I remember them having spawn, and predator, and alien. I remember them having an entire line of The Matrix action figures. I'm pretty sure they had robocop and the terminator as well. They probably had even more, but I can't remember off the top of my head. I was too busy picking my nose and searching for my next Goku action figure. My point is, this isn't anthing new, so I don't really see the big deal. Those films were way worse than breaking bad. I'm not sure why this is suddenly an issue.

Heck, I haven't set foot there for ten years, but don't they sell grand theft auto and saints row? Games where you can run around naked, use dildo bats, talk about drugs, and throw money at strippers?

 

[Silk_Sk]

Is anyone young enough to remember this guy?

Camel got in big trouble for advertising cigarettes with this guy. Kids were attracted to the character and were begging for whatever he was selling. I was young enough to be one of those kids.

Of course my parents told me NO in the most final, direct way possible. But the fact that I even asked was absurd. While not nearly on the same scale, the same principle applies here. Selling Breaking Bad toys at TRU implies they are selling something to kids that was meant for adults. It's not just a matter of parents not letting their kids get into that stuff. It's the fact that their kids might be asking for it in the first place. How would you feel if your kid saw a Breaking Bad toy on the shelf and started begging for it? Even if you say no, what happens when that kid sees a Breaking Bad commercial on TV and now asks to see it because they saw the toy on the shelf? Now you have to worry about stopping them from watching it. It's all completely unnecessary. We certainly see it as an overreaction, but when I put myself in the place of a parent, I see the reaction as completely justified, even if it had only been at one store.

 

[Flunk]

Toys R Us should be free to stock anything they want. But, saying that, I think it would be a smart move to segregate the adult collectibles into a separate section. It would allow them to keep the higher-margin collectors stuff and hopefully appease their family-oriented customers. For all I know they already do that, it's not like I go to Toys R Us.

Why didn't parents complain about all the "Terminator" and "Aliens" toys when I was a kid?

 

[EHKOS]

Yeah, they prolly should. It's not a comic store, it's for kids, one of those Wonderland places you get all excited when your parents take you to it. Besides, we can get these online too, it just doesn't seem like a fight worth fighting, and if it makes some people happy and shut up, then why should we put the effort into it. Not like we're losing any ground.

Then again, the TRU in my area is constantly empty, I have no idea how they stay open. But I have a secondhand game shop down the street from it and they also sell stuff like this.

 

[Strain42]

Breaking Bad toys are hardly the biggest thing to get bent out of shape over. I mean yeah, don't show the show to little kids, but what are kids going to get if they just saw one of the action figures on the shelf?

"Mommy mommy, that man has a bag of rock candy!"*

If parents were to get mad about anything, I've seen some pretty detailed gorey looking toys at TRU from stuff like Resident Evil, Walking Dead, or Bioshock. THOSE I could kind of understand wanting to get off the shelves.

Something like Todd MacFarlane's tortured souls collection...yeah, that shouldn't be on the toy store shelf. But Breaking Bad stuff...not my biggest concern.

*I'm probably underestimating what kids act like these days. For all I know there's some six year old kid going "Yeah, Walter White, *****!"

 

[Something Amyss]

Okay, why are there even Breaking Bad toys?

Is there like a Breaking Bad meth kit?

 

[J Tyran]

I have no clue what US Toys R Us stores are like, if they sell a lot of "adult" toys I don't see a problem. If its alongside the Action Man or Barbie (or whatever kids are into now, I feel old dammit) I think it might be a little inappropriate. I can just imagine an unknowing parent getting badgered into buying one and then at Christmas with the whole family there the kid comes running in and shouts "Mum, Dad! Steven stole my Meth kit and won't give it back!", should be good fun if Fox news hear about these though.

 

[Irick]

I'm more interested in the implied demographic shift here. If Toys R Us is starting to stock toys that target a much older demographic, what sort of research data are they acting on?

Are toys starting to lose their 'for kids' stigma? Is toy collecting becoming a bigger hobby? Are kids becoming more inundated to the popular culture at large rather than keeping to the parental relegated 'safe' portion?

I just need to know, this could be indicative of an interesting cultural shift.

 

[shootthebandit]

My usually response would be to side with the stores right to sell what it wants however in this case I think I agree with the 'Mums Against [insert whatever hot topic they are being spoon fed by the right wing media]. Its not that I think Toys 'R' Us shouldnt be allowed to trade freely or that their products should be censored. Its simply that the store is sort of designed for children. There are an abundance of local specialist "geek" stores that cater for adults (or failing that there are many traders on the internet) who sell this stuff and they are being driven out of business by huge corporate giants like TRU. If you are a collector or you might just have a keen interest in a certain movie/TV/gaming universe then places like this are where you want to go because they tend to have a keen interest

I'll reiterate. I dont think toys r us should remove/censor their goods but I do think that toys r us is not really the best place to go for something like this. To be honest a kid seeing a walter white toy is just going to assume that action man (do they still have action man?) Hasnt aged well

Spoiler: thought id add this since noone else has

 

[babinro]

I don't shop at Toys R Us so keep in mind that my opinion here comes from 100% assumptions.

I'm gonna go ahead and assume that Toys R Us also sells toys associated with other mature or R rated films/tv/comics. Perhaps something like Predator toys, Alien toys, toys related to comic book villains/heroes whose backstories involve questionable actions.

If I'm correct in this assumption, then I see no reason why Breaking Bad toys should be singled out.

If, however, breaking bad stuff is the ONLY toys available in this category than I'd say the parents have a point. They'd be fairly out of place in a row of my little pony toys, disney princesses and (insert other child friendly thing here).

 

[DeimosMasque]

I was actually in Toys R Us the other day and laughed when I saw the Walter White figures. BTWs, they are just three different versions of Walter White, him in a yellow chemical suit, a white one and him as Heisenberg. They don't have any "meth" accessories and are obviously supposed to be collector items for Breaking Bad fans.

It's in the section of action figures that also have old school designed Back to the Future and Terminator figures. There were also Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, Ghostbusters and Walking Dead stuff in that section as well.

The whole section seems to be for adults to get for their own fandoms.

 

[Artina89]

...Do they not realise places like Forbidden Planet sell these toys? Why don't adults just go there? Or buy it online? I don't even know where the Toys r Us is in Leeds but I can direct you to three different comic book shops that sell Breaking Bad merch.

There is a huge Toys "R" Us in the Birstall retail park, near the Showcase cinema. I went in there a couple of weeks ago, and it was the first time I had been in one for around 13 years, and was very underwhelmed by the experience. I didn't see any Breaking bad merchandise there when I went, though I did see GTA IV and GTA V, as well as a couple of Assassin's creed games, so I wouldn't be too surprised if they did start stocking Breaking bad merchandise, like any company, they will stock whatever sells.

 

[Michael Tabbut]

I haven't been in a Toys R Us since I was at least 12 years old and even then I remember them having toys from films like Aliens, Predator, and Bride of Chucky. Todd McFarlane stuff and stuff of the macabre side of collecting was there if you looked in the right aisle. I don't know if the stuff I've mentioned is still sold at the stores but if they are then no, don't ban Breaking Bad toys.

 

[Scarim Coral]

I think it is justify for them to want to removed that toy from the store. I mean when I think of Toy R Us, I think of the usualy toys for kids and for the Breaking Bad toy, I think it would be stores like Forbidden Planet or Travelling Man that would sell them.
Sure it may sound unfair for someone who only have a Toy R Us for toys but hey that whay online store are for unless it's super expensive online!

 

[Erttheking]

Well Toys R Us has the right to sell those figures, I won't deny them that.

It's a bone headed move though.

 

[DirgeNovak]

My knee-jerk reaction was to say "Fuck 'em, they can sell whatever they want", but as I started reading the thread, I must say there is a point to be made for pulling them. I've never actually been in a Toys R Us, but as I understand it, it's mostly a kids' store, and BrBa and kids don't exactly mix.

Spoiler

Unless you count the kid whom Walt poisoned and the one Todd murdered

I guess it would boil down to what other adult-oriented things they have in stock. Does Toys R Us carry M-rated games? Walking Dead figurines? Freddy/Jason/other horror movie-themed toys? If yes, keep 'em, as there is no reason to single BrBa out as "bad for kids" if you're selling other adult stuff. If no, it would be natural to pull them. If adults really want a Heisenberg figurine, they can find it elsewhere.

 

[Someone Depressing]

I suppose they thought they could take refuge in audacity, but no.

Toys based on a show about two meth dealers as they almost get killed, several times a day, on a regular basis is not a good basis for children's merchandise.

For once, the moral gaurdian moms are right.

 

[PinkiePyro]

*headdesk*

people are so lazy/stupid they are toys and its a toy store get over it... its your ****ing job to be the parent not the damn store's
and besides why are people fighting this minor thing and not the fact little kids are playing FPS games they are exposed to stuff they are too young for there and they harass and annoy those who are of the correct age to play it they should petition some way to keep squeakers off mutiplayer FPSes
make a petition on that and hell you would get the back of the majority of adult TF2 players

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

Toys Are Us is a kids toy shop so i do wonder why they would stock them? Not like kids will want them as they arent old enough to watch the show? Also i cant see adults going to that store for figures based on that show?

TRU shouldnt pull the toys, its their right to sell them. Just wonder why they sell them?