"Breaking Bad" Action Figures Removed From Shelves After Parents Protest

[Brigid]

http://www.wthr.com/story/26849679/2014/10/21/breaking-bad-action-figures-removed-from-shelves-after-parents-protest

I gotta admit, I wouldn't buy them for my 8-year-old nephew.

[shenmue]

1. I know

I don't think they're good for a kid's store. Fine for adults. Adults can do what they want. But not exactly right for kids.

[Brigid]

3. I have a Daryl bobble head.

From "The Walking Dead."

[Peacetrain]

2. Pretend bags of crystal meth are not an appropriate toys or collectibles!

And the answer they gave yesterday of saying it was meant for 15 and above was possibly the worst excuse ever..Like this was a rational collectible for a 15 year old..
Edit to add.. that was in the hand of one of the figures.. a bag of meth .. good gravy.. what were those developers thinking with.. their toenails??

[Fred Sanders]

4. Parents would protest toy meth crystals and drug dealer figurines, who would have thought?

What next, ISIS action figures?

[Peacetrain]

5. What a shocker huh?

[Brigid]

9. ISIS figures?

Don't give them any ideas.

[Brigid]

7. No, their wallets.

$$$$$$

[Peacetrain]

8. Good Point!!

[Travis_0004]

6. I wonder if they removed them or sold out

When the story first broke, my first thought was "I want one"

[Brigid]

10. Well, like I said . . .

I have a Daryl bobblehead.

[Stardust]

25. Me, too. Now I wanna Jesse action figure, yo!

[Ykcutnek]

11. Now their kids are safe.

Phew.

[Beaverhausen]

12. They aren't for kids

Why would you think of buying it for a kid?

[Brigid]

16. I think you would be surprised.

[Warren DeMontague]

13. Did anyone notice that this story came from Florida?

Maybe Floridans might consider focusing more on dealing with their actual meth people, instead of the 6" tall plastic ones?

[BlancheSplanchnik]

20. .

[alphafemale]

14. Nanny state strikes again.

Protect me from seeing things I don't like.

Good lord.

[Beaverhausen]

15. Would you buy him a toy gun?

Would he know who Walter white is?


PS. My nephew went to ComicCon and brought us the special edition Walter White action figure.

[Brigid]

17. OK, one at a time.

1. No.
2. I hope not.

[VScott]

18. Outraged, angry moms...

are easily one of the the most irrational, ignorant, poorly educated voting blocs in this country...
and that's a scary thing no matter which party one belongs to.

[zazen]

27. please edit this to outraged, angry "parents" (even though I disagree with that statement too)

I'm sure you didn't mean this to be as misogynistic as it sounds, but as a highly educated, pretty goddamned rational, pretty pissed off mother and progressive feminist, I see a lot of potential in voting blocs of mothers. Mothers helped get women into the Senate in 92 after Anita Hill. They were sick of the whole Clinton/Lewinsky crap and helped get rid of Gingrich. Pissed off mothers have done a lot to reform financial fraud in Iceland. In the 19th century, though they couldn't vote, they helped in the abolitionist movement and in many social causes.

Outraged, angry moms are one of the most potent sources of serious, longterm change for human welfare on this planet. We've just been overworked, underpaid, and devalued for so long (precisely because of that power).

Please rethink your comment. thank you.

[Solly Mack]

19. When I was first diagnosed with cancer I got all kinds of Walter White T-shirts from family.

"Say my Name" with the drawing of him with the "Breaking Bad" title, with the green lettering highlights for the elements, as well as the drawing of him with the word "Ozymandias" , and another one with "Heisenberg" , and a couple with other characters/aspects from the show. (Jesse, Saul, (better call) & Los Pollos Hermanos)

I wouldn't buy those action figures for young kids but I see no need to remove them.

[backscatter712]

21. And I was so looking forward to the Hydrofluoric Acid Tub playset!

Comes complete with dissolving action figures!

And then we've got to have the Gustavo action figure with Face-Off action!

Then we can do the Easy-Bake Meth Lab!

[zazen]

28. bwwahhhh! that's really good. . . (and I still think they should be removed)

Yeesh. Twenty years ago, my now ex-husband and I would be falling over in Toys R Us imagining Gangland Ken and Crack-W**** Barbie. Who'd a thought they'd actually bring it to fruition?

Breaking Bad was a masterpiece, precisely because it dealt with the nuances and simultaneous grandeur and banality of humanity's struggle with evil. Extracting the props of that show without the nuance is ridiculous. It's like having a rapist doll from Thelma and Louise. Not appropriate for children.

[hedgehog]

22. I think they're aimed at teen and adult collectors.

Just odd to see at ToyR Us - more typically at a comic book store.

[CBGLuthier]

23. If you don't want your kid to have one don't buy one for your kid

But to decide that no one else can buy one for themselves or their kids is bullshit. Meanwhile their store is full of fucking guns that are declared kid safe and kid approved. We never once bought or allowed our kids to have toy guns but we also never once told the stores to stop selling them.

Busybodies trying to run everyone else's lives make america suck.

[NV Whino]

24. Here's Cranston's comment

But this doesn't sit well with Bryan Cranston, who plays the lead character on the show; he took to Twitter Monday saying, "I'm so mad, I'm burning my Florida Mom action figure in protest."

[Initech]

30. Bryan Cranston definitely wins the internet with this one.

[hifiguy]

31. Shut 'er down.

He wins.

[Marr]

26. God, save me from busy body parents and their precious children.

They make action figures for an incredible range of movies, comics, books, tv shows... they're targeted at collectors, not children. I see no reason a toy store shouldn't sell them. The only other place you might see them is a comic shop, and those aren't always available. Not to mention, the same people would likely object to such action figures being in comic shops, too, since their precious golden child might stop by.

[Blue_Adept]

29. Great comments, folks!

Except, well, Toys R Us kind of relies on the collectors more than kids, especially throughout the year. Most parents only end up in the stores closer to Christmas.

The stores, for many years now, have been catering towards the adult collectors. A lot of us grew up in the 80's and had tons of toys and now that we're looking to recapture part of our childhood, through so many modern shows being made into toys, they're available there and have been for some time.

They're not sitting next to all the kids toys within the store either.

These kinds of toys have been there for an age. But there's also some incredibly violent type toys that have been there that get a complete pass because of hypocrisy. The Terminator figures, Alien figures, Predator, the entire line of things that McFarlane Toys often produces.

This is just a story of someone who's flat out scared of something and threw a hissyfit. TRU could face a decent little backlash from it by the hardcore collector market that visits daily looking for new arrivals and picking up other things along the way.

But really, in the end, THESE ARE NOT FOR KIDS.

Who's being punished? Adults.

Fuckin' chicken littles, every one of 'em who supports this.

Better get any of the bodice rippers, Twilight novels and other undesirables out of book stores because there's large children's sections in there too. Or better yet, eliminate the children's sections, you don't want them in there with all those books that are squarely aimed at adults.