Hasbro Movies We Do And Don't Want From The Dreamworks-Hasbro Merger

Yesterday news broke that DreamWorks Animation had entered merger talks with toy-maker Hasbro. If the merger happens, DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffery Katzenberg would head the new single-family entertainment company known as DreamWorks-Hasbro. I'm surprised something like this hasn't happened sooner as the combination seems oh-so-obvious. But Hasbro isn't just a toy company, it has quite a few brands of its own that a company such as DreamWorks Animation could leverage into big screen computer animated features. Which movies could work under the new company? Which movies don't we want to see from the Dreamworks-Hasbro merger? Find out after the jump.

Update: It's entirely possible that the merger won't happen, as Hasbo's stock price tumbled when word of the possible merger went public. THR and Deadline both report that merger talks are off, though there is caution that talks could be revived if a different valuation of Dreamworks Animation is floated as part of the merger. We'll still present our list below, and if talks re-open, we'll report back.

A Transformers Animated Movie

Ask any Transformers fan and they will tell you they want to see another Transformers movie which focuses on the Autobots and Decepticons and not the dumb humans and stupid humor of the Michael Bay live action film adaptations.

A GI Joe Animated Movie

Fans enjoyed the live-action adaptations but they really aren't the GI Joe that kids of the 1980's grew up with. It might be fun to do a computer animated GI Joe movie which would allow Joe and Cobra to use all sorts of cool unrealistic technology. And in the family realm, Joe could get back to its patriotic core and cartoony storylines without seeming as lame as it would in live action.

M.A.S.K.

I'm probably going to get shit for this one, because people were angry when I included M.A.S.K. in The 20 Best Saturday Morning Cartoons of All Time. Sure the cartoon was a blatant toy commercial created by Kenner toys to take on Transformers and GI Joe, but it was pretty cool and the toys were even cooler. The show told the story of M.A.S.K. (\Mobile Armored Strike Kommand), a special task force of  super-powered mask-wearing characters which employed high-tech transforming vehicles  in an ongoing battle against the criminal organization V.E.N.O.M. (Vicious Evil Network of Mayhem, again: love it!).

Pound Puppies

Another one of the biggest toy fads of the 1980's, Pound Puppies spawned an animated television series and a shoddy 1988 feature film. Not that I personally want to see a Pound Puppies movie, but I can see how one would work and how it could appeal to today's children.

A Transformers / GI Joe Animated Movie CrossoverHey, everyone else is doing it, why can't Dreamworks-Hasbro get in the "Marvel-style connected universe" game? GI Joe and the Transformers have already teamed up in the comic books, and I'm sure if it was done right a big screen animated movie might be cool. Heck, why not include M.A.S.K. as well?

After the jump, see which Hasbro movies we don't want to see from DreamWorks Animation.

Candy Land

Hollywood has actually been trying to bring Candy Land board game to the big screen for a few years now. Universal was originally developing a live action movie through their deal with Hasbro (the same one that spawned Battleship) and the pitch was to do a Lord of the Rings style adventure set in a candy world. A couple years back the rights jumped to Happy Madison and Columbia Pictures with Adam Sandler attached to star with Kevin Lima (Enchanted) directing "a fantastical, live-action family adventure film with a larger than life part for Adam." Now Candy Land is tied up in litigation which will probably stall the Sander version. That opens up the possibility for a computer animated story set inside the Candy Land world.

Furby

These electronic robotic toys were released in 1998 and were the huge Christmas toy of that year. Honestly, I could see a Furby live action-computer animated hybrid movie for kids (imagine a modern day G rated version of Gremlins) but I don't want to see the computer animated world of the Furbys.

Play-Doh

Could a computer animated or stop motion animated Play-Doh film work? Yes, the LEGO movie was awesome, but Play-Doh doesn't have Phil Lord and Chris Miller. And without genius of that level behind the film, whats the point other than a cash grab?

The Grape Escape

Another Parker Brothers board game from the early 1990's which involved maneuvering Play-Doh Grape Goop figures through several plastic obstacles that could destroy the grapes and lose the game. I can imagine a computer animated movie version of this with Grapes trying to escape a vineyard which is attempting to turn them into wine. Do we need this movie? No.

Kre-O

Kre-O is basically Hasbro's version of LEGO, created in 2011 as a way to legally copy the highly successful block building toy brand.  Kre-O are only like LEGO in that they are stackable toy bricks used to create things, but the charm and enjoyment seems to be missing from these creations in my opinion. With the huge success of The LEGO Movie, I could imagine that Hasbro would love to do the same thing with their Kre-O brand — but please don't.