For about 5 minutes, Toys R Us had some Breaking Bad action figures of Walt and Jesse et. al with hazmat suits and accessories like little baggies of blue meth. I was just about to buy them as a Christmas present for an adult BB lover. They look very detailed and would make great gifts. Then, some random person who goes by “Florida Mom” started a Change.org petition calling for the removal of the characters. The petition read, in part, “[Selling] a Breaking Bad doll, complete with a detachable sack of cash and a bag of meth, alongside children’s toys is a dangerous deviation from… family-friendly values.”
Seriously, you live in Florida and you think an action figure of a fictional drug lord character is a bad influence on your kid? (#nodisrespecttofloridians) What about Walking Dead action figures? (Ooh they have zombie Merle!) Those have actual zombies and freaking guns. What about toy guns? There are so many other toys to complain about and these are marketed to adults, not children.
Anyway Toys ‘R Us caved and pulled the action figures. Aaron Paul (Jesse Pinkman) took to twitter to point out the hypocrisy. Bryan Cranston (Walter White) was a bit more humorous about it. Here are some tweets from Aaron and Bryan:
Wait, so @ToysRUs pulled all of the Breaking Bad figures from their shelves and still sells Barbie? Hmmmm…I wonder what is more damaging?
— Aaron Paul (@aaronpaul_8) October 23, 2014
And what about all of the violent video games you sell @ToysRUs ? Do you still sell those? Florida mom really messed it up for everyone. — Aaron Paul (@aaronpaul_8) October 23, 2014
Here’s the petition to sign to keep the toys on the shelves! Why can you sell guns and not Walt and Jesse? YeahBitch https://t.co/8iEFsLBCIn — Aaron Paul (@aaronpaul_8) October 24, 2014
Toys R Us puts Breaking Bad toys on ‘indefinite sabbatical.’ Word on the street is that they were sent to Belize. Nicely played Florida Mom.
— Bryan Cranston (@BryanCranston) October 22, 2014
Ooh Aaron referencing video games makes me remember one of my favorite Breaking Bad scenes. Spoilers if you’re still waiting to watch this show. (Just watch it already.) One of my favorite scenes/episodes is when Jesse, Mike and Gus Fring annihilate their entire Mexican competition by poisoning them at a party. Jesse was depressed prior to this and was spending his time playing first person shooter video games. Then, when he was confronted with real gunmen he had lighting fast reflexes that mirrored the game. That’s just a small example of the many clever and subtle plot twists in this show.
I digress, Toys ‘R Us needs to start selling these action figures again because they will probably sell out and I need an easy gift idea. The petition that Aaron links calls for Toys ‘R Us to continue selling collectible characters that are aimed at adults, and points out that these toys are in a separate section of the store and are not alongside toys for children. At the very least, they should sell them online. Nevermind, you can buy them on Amazon of course. Yeah bitch.
Photo credit: WENN.com
If you don’t like the toy, don’t buy.
Exactly. I cannot imagine any adult who would buy them for a child. They seem far more likely to appeal to BB junkies. If kids aren’t watching the show ( and they should not be), they won’t give a hoot about the figures. Mid- late teens who may watch it ( I don’t think it would necessarily appeal to young teens- social commentary, cancer, et cetera) probably wouldn’t be in the market, either.
Excuse the absence of mimif. She is on tor with proxies signing the aforementioned petition with a variety of names, including Mrs Heisenberg and Amy Sedaris.
Lmao I sent the link to my bf last night and told him not to come home without my action figures. Also, Cranston’s tweet is highlarious.
It is. He is beyond fantastic.
I just clicked on the petition and they have an update. WE are the ones who KNOCK!! Shit I’m dying over here, I gotta find a big yellow tent for my dollhouse now.
mimif! I thought of you immediately when I saw this. Inquiring minds are dying to know, does the WW figure come with your favorite tight, white accessory?
Haha, Trix is for kids! My bf just brought me home a 6 pack of righty whities and called it good. 😉
I’m sure there are other ‘toys’ that don’t belong in a children’s arena, but since I’ve never been to Toys R Us, I have no idea what those might be. A children’s toy store has no business selling BB action figures complete with meth baggies in-store. Online, sure.
#nodisrespecttomethheads
That’s what I was thinking. I haven’t been in a toys r us in years but I don’t remember an adult section. Is there really an adult section away from the children’s section? I thought the entire store was the children’s section.
They sell some highly collectable, expensive action figures and the like that are geared more towards adults who collect as a hobby. The kind of action figures they never remove from the box. Picture the movie 40 year old Virgin.
I agree. It’s a hilarious toy and totally appropriate at venues geared towards adults (I’m thinking Spencers or Think Geek). Toys R Us is not one of those venues. As for the argument about video games that Aaron Paul brings up…well just because another toy is bad too doesn’t make your toy appropriate. I also feel many of those violent video games should not be sold at a toy store geared towards children. But I don’t run the world.
They are smart to comment on Toy R Us pulling the dolls.
I too would do everything I could to amp up the controversy and pump up those Christmas sales. (They get a cut of the $$)
As I mentioned before, as an addict I still find this whole thing absurd. Solution? Just sell them online if people are sincerely concerned about their kids seeing this item (and WHY wouldn’t you be watching your kid go to the “adult” section of a store?)… Also, can the makers of the “toys” not find another distributor? Like WalMart? A Comic Store type?
i am much more concerned about toys r us selling toy guns and insanely violent video games than i am about BB toys targeted at older kids and adults. and AP has an excellent point about barbies. either way, it’s up to freaking me to make sure that my child doesn’t play with crap i don’t want him playing with. i’m the parent, not toys r us.
Half of the problem is the parents, really – if not most of the problem. A kid shouldn’t be able to walk into a store and buy a mature game – I know husbands first job was at Walmart and he told kids to get lost if they tried. But when there are parents buying their 10 year olds gory ass games, there’s only so much a store can do.
And really – what little kid is watching breaking bad? A little kid isn’t going to grab one of these toys and start acting out an intense situation with dealers, and competitors on their own. They would have to have seen it to really know any story on it.
People buy them to collect a lot of times, anyway. I remember being a kid when the reboot of Star Wars came out. Kids were playing with Sith Lords, making their action figures kill each other dramatically and all that jazz.
No, you are right that it is unlikely that a little kid would be watching breaking bad (unless the parents are idiots). But a pre-teen who knows what drugs are in general might come across these and find them cool, without knowing anything about the show. The point is, the show did not glamorize meth. If anything, it showed how dangerous it is. But toy meth does not come with that context, so it normalizes something very dangerous. And really, Sith lords are fictional sci-fi characters. Meth is real and incredibly dangerous. As I noted below, I would not have gone as far as signing a petition because there are far too many things I have a problem with at these stores (guns, for example). But I cannot see it as ethical defending this either.
Sadly my middle schooler has told me that many of his classmates watched BB. I was flabbergasted — as much as I think it’s actually a great cautionary tale about how drugs can destroy lives, the highly graphic content of the show is just not appropriate, imo.
Good for your husband for trying to monitor the kids who tried to buy adult games.
They are nice with his baldness
Lol, I noticed the same thing! Forehead is proportionally much smaller on the doll.
Wait. Why would adults play with action figures?
Play with Mr. Potato Head and the little tubs of slime like a normal person.
They’re mostly collectors items & will never come out of their box.
… And I’m still infatuated with Mr PotatoeHead. I loved his character in Toy Story.
I *accidentally* just reported your comment Jaderu. (I am the danger.)
*drowns Mr. Potato Head in tub of slime*
*Drives you to a safe house*
It’s ok we won’t delete it! -edit- I didn’t get the report email. You have to go through a couple of steps to report and there is a captcha too or else we would get so much spam through there.
@Celebitchy, sorry I was totally joking. I’ve never actually reported anyone for anything. Idle threats* to my celebitches when they write something I (jokingly) disagree with. Thanks for taking the time to ‘splain it and stuff tho! 🙂
*fun threats. Not scary get you banned threats like the ones Kiddo makes.
LOL I was thinking “OH great mimif got the principle involved and now we have to mind our peas and cucumbers”
*throws Mr Potato Head mustache at mimif*
My reply to Heisenbergif:
http://media.giphy.com/media/PL7LgdtwsesmI/giphy.gif
@mimif sorry I am slow today! I’m not trying to be principal. *hangs head* Sometimes I read the comments in the stories I write that I love (I’m such a BB geek), otherwise I’m usually not that vigilant unless people are arguing or something.
Don’t apologize to the dead baby eater. She’ll ricin your potato.
Great Jaderu, now you’ve made the principal feel bad, nice work. And are you argy bargying with me, Kiddo? Cuz Celebitchy will delete your comments. Did you know Kiddo is really Florida Mom, everybody? Huh? Yeah bitch, restrain this!
@geisenbergif, “Florida Mom” is opening in theaters next week, starring George Zimmerman as mom. Everyone says it’s a *blast* (of sanctimony and guns, lots of toyguns sold at toys R us)
Screw you guys and your confusing insider humor! 😉
LOL @CB It’s not insider humor it’s “openly joking behind closed doors”.
@Celebitchy, now there’s your club membership right there. Welcome! And well done, like a baked potato.
Bravo! Dying ova here.
*reports Celebitchy for spam* 😉
@Jaderu & heisenbergif: tears in my eyes.
@Seapharris7 He’s my all time favorite too! And yes, I have a collector’s item. It’s an Indiana Jones Mr. Potato Head. Still in the box. My shady sister gave him to me for christmas.
@mimif I’m inching closer and closer to planting my arse on the couch and binging the first season of BB.
DO IT. I own two box sets now, I’m that obsessed.
Wait, did I read that correctly? And Indiana Jones tater head? *swoons*
*attempts to resuscitate drowned tater head*
Also, is this the same shady sister that shanked kiddo behind the short school bus?!
Yup one and the same. My sister is the real slim shady. (chicka chicka chicka)
I love Aaron and I love Breaking Bad. But it’s kind of an adults-only show. I don’t think these dolls are appropriate for kids. Barbie sucks too, but at least there is no meth-cooking Barbie.
My Barbies only smoked weed, but like they say, it is the gateway drug.
That explains what happens to their hair. Well that, and a gallon of vodka coupled with a way too-handy pair of scissors.
Mine would dive into the buckets of the little plastic green army men and turn up hours later with their hair all mussed. Now I’m not saying anything but I’m just saying, she also had a Malibu house SOMEHOW…
So basically you’re slut shaming your Barbies now Reece? 😉
Your words not mine. I’m just saying I never as a child understood how she could afford a house in Malibu with no job. 😉
(I really didn’t know about collectible Barbies til my 20s though)
PS. To just add to what I said below here, I also would watch the soap operas and tv shows my mom watched so…
No one is saying they are appropriate for kids. They are in the adult section of the store. And yeah, Barbie only encourages little girls to be ultra, impossibly thin, enormously busted and pretty! pretty! pretty! all the time. Unrealistic standards of beauty haven’t been proven to be damaging AT ALL. Right…
There is no adult section of Toys R Us. I have a toddler, so I have been dozens of these stores in various states. There is no adult section. And while I agree that Barbie creates self-esteem problems (my daughter does not own any or play with any), that is no where near the same damage of playing with toy crystal meth. Perhaps there should be a toy crystal meth lab next to the toy doctor kit? Seriously, I love BB and I would buy these in a heart beat, but as a parent, I really don’t like the idea of toy drugs at a toy store (along with many other items that are sold that also bother me).
It seems like something that she should be sold at Newbury Comics.
@Sillysimone, regardless of whether it’s labeled as such, I think you know what I mean. There are sections in Toys R Us where there is more adult content (I, too, have a toddler and have visited my fair share of toy stores). This isn’t being sold next to the Spider-Man and Batman figures. It isn’t as if a 5 year old is going to walk in, pull Walter White off the shelf and offer up a credit card. Part of parenting is saying “nope, that’s not for you.” It isn’t that hard. And also, you underestimate the culture Barbie contributes to if you think one tiny little plastic piece (blue meth) of a toy set is going to cause the same damage as *that* culture.
They seem more like a novelty toy for adults or teens than something parents would actually buy for their kids to play with.
Of course, there will always be the unsuspecting yet well-intentioned relative who picks one up as a gift for a kid. I’ll never forget when my aunt and uncle gave my little brother (who was about 10 years old at the time) a cassette tape that was recommended by the music store clerk for his birthday. We laughed so hard when he opened “Fever For Da Flavor” with tracks such as “Knockin’ da Boots”, “S*x Me” and “L*ck U Up”.
Good times, childhood memories, ahhh.
That’s what I thought when I saw his reference to Barbie. It’s true Barbie might glamorize a certain kind of looks, but it’s a modern day version of paper dolls for little girls. At least they aren’t cooking meth. At least not yet.
i love the show but my first reaction was also: shouldnt be in a kids store. i had no idea what else they are selling. they cant just ban one of those things, all of that has no place in a kids store.
i also dont get how parents can let their children watch The Walking Dead, always makes me cringe when i see those convention pictures with kids dressed up.
Yeah he hit the nail on the head with the video game comment. Oh man did he ever, but that is too much money for the stores to give up for publicity…sorry, I mean morality.
😉
The thing is 99.999999% of children won’t even notice the figures. It’s not like they’re selling Batman meth lab play sets. Kids (should) have no idea who they are. This is such nonsense.
And if a kid did see it and say they wanted it, the parent can say NO.
I have to disagree. I don’t agree with many of the items that Toys R US sells and I would add BB as one of those items. I would not have started a petition, but it would certainly concern me. There is no “adult” section at the store. Toys are not grouped by age, but by kind. While my toddler is not going to be wondering around Toys R Us by herself, an older child would (there is no reason they should not). I adore Aaron Paul and I was addicted to BB. I would love to buy these adult toys, but I would not like to buy them at a store where I also buy my daughter’s Lalaloopsy dolls. These should be sold at stores not targeted to children or novelty stores. I would even love to see a mini Lego BB meth lab under a laundry facility. That would be an amazing collectible for BB lovers, but I would not want it in the Lego aisle of Toys R Us. So I have to disagree. Moreover, while I agree that Barbie is damaging to self-esteem (my daughter does not own one), that toy is not remotely on the same level of damage as “drug” toys – crystal meth being one of the worst drugs out there.
Why does “Florida mom” get to make everyone’s purchasing desicions for them? Can I get products I don’t like banned if there are enough wackos to back me up?
21 years old and still love Barbies, sue me.
Bryan’s other tweet was hilarious too. Another tweet said, “‘Florida mom petitions against Toys ‘R Us over Breaking Bad action figures.’ I’m so mad, I’m burning my Florida Mom action figure in protest.”
But seriously, if you don’t like the toys, don’t buy them. Or say the word ‘no’ or try rationalizing with your kid, depending on the age. It’s called parenting. They were marketed to adults that watched the show. Making a big deal over the action figures will now draw more attention to them and possibly make them more desirable to kids, which I would think was not the intended effect.
Yep. All this woman did is draw more attention to them. I never knew there were Breaking Bad toys until this. Too many people think they can dictate what other people can buy. If you don’t like it, don’t buy it. It’s simple.
Those stupid action figures should never have been put on the shelves of a children’s store to begin with. Anyone with common sense can figure that out and why. These are for adults who collect weird sh#$. Therefore they belong in a collectors shop or sold online through various sites. Don’t bash the mother who complained she was right. Meth is an ugly ugly ugly drug that destroys people from the inside out and by default their families.
From someone who experienced this first had I don’t think it should have glamorized in a tv show to begin with.
That’s my two cents…..tare it to shreds if you like.
BB did not glamourize meth. At all. It destroyed the life of everyone it touched.
That was one of the strengths of the show, it never at all glamourized drug use, production,or sale. Unlike for example the movie Blow which was 90 minutes of drug fueled glamour followed by it all falling apart.
Courtney, Yes. I said above that in some ways I’d like my young teen son to see it because it does such a great job of showing the devastation vs. glamorizing meth in any way, but I can’t because there’s just too much other graphic content.
Seriously, how would anyone’s kid know of Walter White or any BB characters if the parents aren’t watching the show with them in the room. Therefore, they wouldn’t know the action figures.
Oops, this was meant for Whatever.
I think you have some valid points here, however it’s the hypocrisy that (most) people are upset about. I’m just upset that KIDDO eats babies for breakfast.
You serve ’em up.
Every single one of my posts is now getting mod’d. 😂
How can you tell? Are you self-flag-galating?
Because every time I post, it feels like I sat on an urchin.
You have a point there.
OMG I made that exact same point to someone the day this story broke. Barbie Dolls suck!
Dude, I like to make fun of pearl-clutching, but action figures with meth baggies aren’t really appropriate toys to be sold in a Toys R Us bricks and mortars store. I mean, good point on the video games. I do agree that in the US people get much more hysterical about drugs and sex than they do about murder and war.
I hate that Barbie is always characterized by the body. Yeah, it’s problematic, but you know what Barbie does right? The dolls come in a variety of ethnic variations. They come in ball gowns and with shopping bags, sure, but there are also pilots and doctors and teachers and a bucketload of other professions that some girls may never consider if they never see it in a doll. There’s an underlying comment in there that even a female driven toy is defined by her body type.
Breaking Bad is a show about a school teacher descending into debauchery to become an immoral, murderous, drug dealer. And the character is white, of course, because we’d never fetishize anything but white crime. You don’t see dolls of Stringer Bell on the shelves of Toys R Us, after all. So no, the two aren’t comparable. Not even a little. He has a point about video games and American violence, but he’s totally off base to drag Barbie into it.
I agree with you Barbie is rad.
Those Bratz dolls on the other hand…
Oh man, I forgot about those. Yeah, THOSE we can agree are ridiculous and problematic. Still don’t know if they’re on the level of “murderous drug dealer,” though.
Your point about fetishizing white crime is absolutely brilliant and spot on. I would love a Stringer Bell action figure, but that will never happen in a million years. Florida’s moms will probably be even MORE up in arms about that, to be honest.
And as a devoted fan of Barbie, i completely agree with all that you’ve said about her.
Oh, this increases the value of the toy. I’m so buying one. Lol.
Aaron Paul’s action figure looks like Pauly Shore.
The six o clock news is more toxic to children than having BB dolls in a toy shop.
I don’t think it’s a fair comparison to The Walking Dead. The characters on that show are dealing with post-apocalyptic fallout, and undead monsters. Breaking Bad characters are the monsters on the show. Their lives are destroyed because they destroyed them, as well as everyone else they came into contact.
I’d like to think little kids don’t watch either show.
I don’t really understand why these are being sold at Toys R Us anyway… aren’t these more collectables than “toys”? So wouldn’t lots of other retailers who sell these types of things carry them anyway? Why does Toys R Us carry them? And really, Toys R Us shouldn’t be carrying violent video games either, that’s what EB is for.
Mind you, I haven’t been in a Toys R Us in a long ass time so I’m not even sure if they sell these types of things, but last time I checked they didn’t have an “adult” section (which sounds bizarre anyway?)..