Creepy Crawlers
Wait, there were action figures?!
Ep. 005 is live!
Most of us have memories of Creepy Crawlers. The 90’s commercial, if anything, is likely seared in our brains as though it were the damn “I feel like chicken tonight” jingle. The premise of Creepy Crawlers, namely the Magic Maker, is quite the storied one. As we discuss in this week’s episode, the toy owes its genesis to Mattel’s Thing Maker. The Thing Maker was, essentially, an open faced hot plate that reached nearly 400 degrees. From there, a child could use plastic to make vacu-form toys. This model would be used from its inception in 1964 until 1973, after the Consumer Product Safety Commision took over toy regulation from the FDA. Scrutiny towards toys that utilized heating elements rose, so the Thing Maker found itself benched for a time. In 1978, though, Mattel released their safer update named the Thing Maker II. This time, users would heat the plasti-goop which would then be poured into plastic molds to be cooled. This version was not very effective, successful, or long-lived.
Finally, in 1992, the version most of us were familiar with hit the market. ToyMax released a new Creepy Crawlers set with metal molds, and a plasti-goop similar to the original formula. The process of creating said Creepy Crawlers was now achieved by use of a light bulb, similar in practice to the Easy Bake Oven, which was referred to as The Magic Maker. This new model proved very successful, and resulted in PLENTY of licensed molds being released, as well as new types of plasti-goop such as metallic, color change, glow in the dark, and even scented. The toy hit its third hiatus in 1997 with yet another newly designed Magic Maker, a tie-in with Jurassic Park, and a planned line of Plasti-Goop figures called the Mutant Squad. Yet another revival was attempted in 2001 by ToyMax, but this go ‘round...the revisit was even more brief.
Ultimately, the property was bought by Jakks-Pacific and in time they would take a crack at a redesign with an injection mold version in 2010. While the premise seemed very cool, the execution had its issues. Most reviews cited numerous problems with the new style of molds leaking. After shifting from being a Toys-R-Us exclusive, Jakk’s Pacific version of Creepy Crawlers began appearing at big box stores such as Target and K-Mart, until it slowly faded away. The last plans for Creepy Crawlers came when Mattel announced plans for a 3D Printer version of the Thing Maker in 2016. Consumers consistently inquired when this new version would be ready for market...until in 2019, when Mattel apologized via Twitter that they would no longer be moving forward with the new 3D Printer version. Though this plan was abandoned, the three of us agree: the future of this line and concept is in 3D printing. Truly, the idea of a children’s 3D printer is not that far away, and when that time comes...any toy company worth their salt would be wise to explore the prospect of applying it to the Thing Maker/Creepy Crawler brand.
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!
Now, while I do recall this cartoon on TV, I am still in disbelief that the Creepy Crawlers cartoon even existed. The fact that it had TWO seasons boggles my mind further. The cartoon has a somewhat convoluted premise: the child protagonist Chris Carter (no, not from X-Files, I checked) goes to work at a local magic shop for a disgraced illusionist, Professor Googengrime. Chris was evidently trying to build/create his own magic trick, what it exactly was supposed to be is never stated, but there is a planetary alignment! In short order, his device(?), The Magic Maker, is bombarded with cosmic rays and is capable of creating life. From there, it creates 3 heroic Goop-Mandos who go on to try to stop the scheme of the week cooked up by Dr. Googengrime and the Crime Grimes he creates after he absconded with the Magic Maker. Rinse, repeat, every Saturday morning. The show did spawn a toyline, as was the style at the time. The standouts of this line, in my opinion, are Rumble Bee and the sole vehicle of the line, The Goozooka. I have to be honest...I love action figures, I love it when toy companies take a chance, put themselves out there in regards to a premise and a character line...but sometimes, a toy company needs to know when to say “no,” and this is one of those times. Far be it for me to yuck someone else’s yum. However, this toy line joins the likes of “Water World”, “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves”, and “Aliens” as a toy line that probably didn’t need to happen. I’m still surprised Kenner didn’t take a chance on figures for “The Postman” to give us three Kevin Costner options in the toy aisle.
This toy line just wasn’t for me. But, if you collected it and have fond memories of it, please share your tale with us! Regarding the Creepy Crawler Magic Maker, I truly think I was in a thin margin of kids that just weren’t into it. Could it have been that I was starting to age out of the demo that would like it? Possibly. The stronger likelihood is probably very simple: I’ve always liked action figures, vehicles, and playsets more than what I will call “activity toys.” Spirograph was fine for the occasional evening. Light Bright was a ways in my rearview. Etch A Sketch…meh? I wanted to play and have figures act out my stories. If I needed an engaging activity I colored, or I drew for hours on end. Sad to say, Creepy Crawlers just wasn’t for me, but maybe it was for you. Again, please share any fun memories you have of the line, and/or the Magic Maker, we’d love to hear about it. I truly hope you enjoy our episode on Creepy Crawlers; for me, the real treat was witnessing Jason get quite excited and involved with this property.
We will have more for you in a week, hope this whole spooky season is terrific and fun. Thanks, and enjoy!
-Derek
