The next Barbie? Build-A-Bear Christmas movie coming to St. Louis theaters this weekend (2024)

RICHMOND HEIGHTS — Move over, Barbie. A new toy movie is coming to theaters. Build-A-Bear Workshop’s first theatrical animated film, “Glisten and the Merry Mission,” will be on the big screen at Cinemark theaters starting Friday.

The movie follows young elfling Marzipan and her mother Cinnameg on adventures to rediscover the enchanted snow deer named Glisten and save Christmas. The film’s characters are based on the St. Louis-based company’s holiday plush collection. Actors voicing the characters include Julia Michaels, Dionne Warwick, Freddie Prinze Jr., Chevy Chase and Billy Ray Cyrus.

And Build-A-Bear is banking the movie will help it sell more bears.

“Films create an affinity for characters and that becomes marketing for characters in our own stores,” Sharon Price John, Build-A-Bear CEO, said on Wednesday at the company’s first retail shop, in the Galleria mall. “We wanted to create story arcs and character arcs inside of our own store.”

Build-A-Bear is no stranger to Hollywood. Build-A-Bear Entertainment, a division of the company, has produced a few live-action movies and even a documentary on the founding of the company, released on streaming platforms in October. But “Glisten” marks Build-A-Bear’s theatrical debut.

And more movies are in the works. The company is already partnering with film star Reese Witherspoon’s production company on an upcoming live-action movie.

A lot of Build-Bear’s business is based on licensed products. Movies and television shows such as Paw Patrol, Star Wars and Harry Potter collaborate with Build-A-Bear so that the retailer has licenses to sell Yoda plushes and Hedwig owls.

But those movie studios are more focused on advertising their films than promoting toys, Price said.

So instead of relying on Hollywood to make the movie characters that often drive Build-A-Bear sales, the company is looking to take charge. By making their own movies about their own toys, Build-A-Bear can reap the benefits of movie ticket and toy sales, both. And with record profits in 2021 and 2022, the retailer has extra cash to try its hand in film.

“It reverses the model to some degree,” said John, the CEO. “We recognized some years ago that a lot of business was based on licenses, like it is in a lot of the toy industry.”

Raphael Thomadsen, a marketing professor at Washington University, said that if the company has the resources, making a movie is worth a shot.

“I think it’s a good idea to try. The real question is going to come down to the quality itself,” he said. “If it’s a good movie and takes off, that will be the upside. If it’s not as successful, there will be less upside.”

Brands that make their own movies have mixed results, Thomadsen said. And he didn’t understand why Build-A-Bear would make unrelated movies.

“I tend to think companies should stick to their core strengths,” he said.

Moreover, Build-A-Bear will need to invest in supplemental advertising to bring in audiences. “Unlike Lego or Barbie, (Glisten) is not as top of mind,” Thomadsen said.

But John said the company has long created small storylines around its annual Christmas collection.

And the plush line has been so successful, creating a movie was “a natural next step,” said John, who co-wrote and helped produce the film.

“It’s not like, ‘Hey, let’s go make a movie out of nothing and see if it works.’ It’s a, ‘We know that these characters resonate with our consumers and many of them will come back for many years to experience the Merry Mission each year.’ Now we’re just taking it to the next level,” John said.

Build-A-Bear has a number of other feature-length films and animated content planned, John said. Some films will be based off of Build-A-bear toys and characters; others will not be.

Currently, the company is involved in a movie reimagination of Goldilocks and the Three Bears with Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine production company.

Previously, Build-A-Bear Entertainment and Foundation Media Partners created “Honey Girls,” based on the toy retailer’s plush collection of the same name. It also worked with Hallmark to produce “Deliver By Christmas” and “Christmas CEO.”

Last month, a documentary on Build-A-Bear’s 25-year history premiered at the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park. “Unstuffed: A Build-A-Bear Story” is currently available on demand via Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play and more.

The release of “Glisten” is coupled with a cookie collaboration with Great American Cookies and an interactive gaming app inspired by the movie’s storyline.

As the movie’s exclusive partner, Cinemark is offering free kids’ movie tickets at participating Build-A-Bear stores with the purchase of a stuffed toy.

On Wednesday, Build-A-Bear also released its first interactive bear, Bearlieve Bear, which responds to touch and voice by opening its eyes, wiggling its ears and saying small phrases. The toy makes a cameo at the end of “Glisten and the Merry Mission.”

The movie will be released in St. Louis at Galleria 6 Cinemas in Richmond Heights, Chase Park Plaza Cinemas in the Central West End and 24:1 Cinema in Pagedale. It will also be available in select Cinemark theaters around the country and on streaming services in December.

Build-A-Bear was founded in 1997 by Maxine Clark. Currently, the brand has nearly 500 locations across the globe.