Cinema has magically brought some of our most cherished childhood toys to life, crafting riveting and exciting tales for audiences in the process. For decades, the entertainment industry has turned to these beloved objects as a source of inspiration, taking on some of the most popular toys and games and adapting them into big-screen extravaganzas. The genre of film has been continuously bankable for years, meticulously and thoughtfully selecting brands that are sure to fuel nostalgia for curious moviegoers. From Troll dolls to Legos, Care Bears to Mr. Potato Head, Hollywood is no stranger to successful toy adaptations.
Updated July 11, 2025: In honor ofBarbie, this list has been updated with even more great films based on popular toys.
Undeniably one of the most lucrative and adored film franchises of all time,Pixar’s hit movieToy Storywas a game changer for pictures based on childhood playthings, introducing the world to pull-string cowboy Woody and his partner-in-crime Buzz Lightyear, the modern astronaut (who is getting his own movie,Lightyear). 2023 saw toy franchises like Transformers, Barbie, and Dungeons & Dragons all get feature film adaptations, and the trend doesn’t look to be slowing down anytime soon. These are some of the best movies based on toys.
12The Care Bears Movie
The 1985 animated fantasyThe Care Bears Moviewas one of the first movies to be based directly on a toy line, introducing audiences to the Care Bears characters and their companions, the Care Bear Cousins. The film focuses on orphanage owner Nicholas Cherrywood (Mickey Rooney) as he tells the captivating story of the eponymous characters, who live in a cloud-filled land called Care-a-Lot while describing how they teamed up with a troubled brother and sister as they set out to help a neglected young sorcerer’s apprentice.
American Greetings, the owners of the Care Bear characters, began development on the project in 1981 and was created by Nelvana studios, with producer Carole MacGillvray initially finding it hard to find a studio to take on the picture; she toldAdweek,“They kept telling me things like ‘Animated movies won’t sell’ and ‘Maybe we’d consider it if you were Disney,’ but most just said, ‘You’re very nice, good-bye.’”The Care Bears Moviewent on to gross $23 million, making it the most successful animated production outside the Disney market at the time.
11G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Directed by Stephen Sommers,G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobrawas the first to bring the Joe’s into live action. Based on the military toys that got their start in 1963 and were popularized by several animated series, the film had a lot of ground to cover to establish this new canon. Centered around the elite team of G.I. Joe soldiers, an elite military ops with the latest technology, they’re sent to stop an arms dealer and fight off the rising Cobra organization.
Related:G.I. Joe: Every Live-Action Movie, Explained
While the movie represented a huge milestone for the franchise, it was met with poor critical reception, potentially due to being made during a writer’s strike. Even Channing Tatum has gone on record to say that he"hated that movie"and was pushed into doing it despite not wanting to. Despite the reaction, it did get a sequel in 2013’sG.I. Joe: Retaliationand an attempted reboot with 2021’s prequelSnake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins, which were both panned and quickly forgotten about. After an absence in the mainstream, the ending ofTransformers: Rise of the Beaststeased a crossover with G.I. Joethat looks to bring the two toy franchises together on the big screen.
10Transformers
Michael Bay directed the 2007 sci-fi action extravaganzaTransformers,which is based on the mecha toy line of the same name and stars Shia LaBeouf as a teenager who gets caught in the middle of a war between the heroic Autobots and menacing Decepticons, two factions of alien robots who can disguise themselves by transforming into everyday machinery.
ProducerTom DeSanto revealedwhy he wanted to sign on with the electrifying picture, having said, “In all the years of movie-making, I don’t think the image of a truck transforming into a twenty-foot tall robot has ever been captured on screen. I also want to make a film that’s a homage to 1980s movies and gets back to the sense of wonder that Hollywood has lost over the years.” Steven Spielberg, a massive fan of the comics and toys, served as an executive producer for the action flick, which went on to become the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2007 and helped establish the lucrative blockbuster franchise. WhileBumblebeeandTransformers: Rise of the Beastsmight be considered better movies, it is hard to argue with the impact that the 2007 film had on both the franchise and the wider entertainment industry as a whole.
Based on the quirky and cute Good Luck Trolls dolls, DreamWorks’ 2016 blockbuster animated comedy hitTrollsbrings the little furry characters to the big screen, following two trolls who embark on a quest to save their village from destruction by the Bergens, creatures who eat trolls to be happy. The endearing movie features a splendid voices like Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, and Zooey Deschanel, and its colorful and vibrant visuals and toe-tapping soundtrack helped make the animated picture a massive surprise hit.
Timberlake’s earworm single “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” contributed to the success and overall impact ofTrolls,which went on to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. Critics praised the feel-good flick, withthe Chicago-Sun Timesproclaiming, “You simply will walk out–or perhaps dance out–of the theater feeling very happy with yourself.” A sequel,Trolls World Tour, was released in 2020, anda third film is set for release in 2023.
8Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
Abigail Breslinportrays the titular character in the 2008 comedy-dramaKit Kittredge: An American Girl,which is based on the American Girl doll and focuses on the young and resourceful Kit as she helps her mother run a boarding house after her father loses his job during the height of the Great Depression. Chris O’Donnell, Joan Cusack, and Stanley Tucci also appear in the emotionally driven film, which was created for the silver screen due to the warm reception of the made-for-television adaptations of other American Girl characters.
Kitt Kittredge: An Americangirl was a modest hit at the box office and was favorably received by critics, with many praising the sincerity and faithfulness to the brand.Entertainment Weeklycalled it, “A gently thoughtful, audience-appropriate entertainment that assembles swell actors to play colorful characters who don’t shy away from depicting serious hard times.”
Comedy genius Seth MacFarlane made his directorial debut with the rude-and-crude 2012 comedyTed,which tells the story of Boston native John Bennett, whose childhood wish brings his teddy bear friend Ted to life; the two have remained inseparable since, but John’s relationship with the talking toy prevents him from moving forward in life. The raunchy and hilarious film stars Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis, with MacFarlane providing the voice and motion capture of the foul-mouthed, alcoholic title character, an offbeat update of the classic stuffed teddy bear toy.
The director toldColliderwhy he enjoyed depicting the contrast between youth and adulthood, explaining, “Adults acting like children and children acting like adults is generally a pretty reliable comic device…This movie is a bit more textured and has a lot of shades to it, but in terms of the dynamic, we’re essentially playing the teddy bear as the physical manifestation–in a symbolic or literal way–of John’s inability to grow up and get on with is life.”Tedwent on to earn over $500 million and earned positive reviews, and spawned the 2015 sequelTed 2.A prequel seriesis currently underway.
6Small Soldiers
Joe Dante’s 1998 sci-fi action flickSmall Soldierstells the story of two factions of toys that have been programmed with military microprocessors, centering on teenager Alan, who buys a set of Commando Elite action figures completely unaware that he’s putting his neighborhood in danger when one faction turns lethal and sets out to eliminate their enemy. The entertaining film touts an impressive cast, including Kirsten Dunst, Tommy Lee Jones, and Phil Hartman, with the picture being the last big-screen role for the latter, who was tragically murdered two months before its American premiere.
5Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Based off of the hit role-playing game and toys of the same name,Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thievesbrought the RPG back to the silver screen earlier this year. After the bad taste of theDungeons and Dragonstrilogy left in people’s mouths back in the early 2000s, there was a lot of pressure on this film to redeem the film franchise. Directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, the Chris Pine-led movie went under the radar upon its release despite it being asuperb fantasy adventure.
Centered around a charismatic bard, he puts together a team of unlikely misfits to steal a magical artifact and reunite with his daughter. The film made it a priority to embrace the nature of D&D tostay as faithful as possible to the loreof the game. It took over 20 years, but there was finally a D&D movie that actually felt like you were watching a campaign play out in live-action. Even with it being a thrilling fantasy film that got everything right, thepoor box office numbers don’t look good for a sequel.
Inspired by the murder mystery board game of the same name, the 1985 black comedyCluetells the story of six guests who are anonymously invited to have dinner at a strange mansion, and when their host is shockingly killed, they must get to the bottom of who committed the grisly crime. The epic game is currently owned by the American game and toy company Hasbro, famous for its iconic products likeMy Little Pony, Mr. Potato HeadandFurby,and the movie honors the nature of its inspiration by featuring various different endings and scenarios.
With an A-list cast of some of Hollywood’s finest, includingthe iconic Tim Curry, Christopher Lloyd, and Eileen Brennan,Cluegarnered mixed reviews and performed poorly at the box office, but later went on to develop a considerable cult following and is now considered an ‘80s comedy classic. A remake of the film is currently in discussion, with James Bobin in talks to direct.
3The Lego Movie
Depicting the Lego line of construction toys, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s 2014 animated adventure comedyThe Lego Moviefocuses on the ordinary Lego mini-figure Emmet (Chris Pratt), who leads arevolutionary resistance movementto stop an evil tyrannical businessman (Will Ferrell) from gluing everything in the Lego universe into eternal stasis.
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Animation supervisor Chris McCay was extremely inspired by the style and visual aesthetics of Brickfilms and the qualities of the Lego Studios sets and elaborated on thepurpose of the playful picture, “We wanted to make a film feel like the way you play, the way I remember playing. We wanted to make it feel as epic and ambitious and self-serious as a kid feels when they play with LEGO.”The Lego Moviewas both a critical and commercial hit, garnering praise for its animation, humor, voice performances, and story; it kicked off the lucrative media franchise that led to two popular spin-offs, a television series and a direct sequel, 2019’sThe Lego Movie 2: The Second Part.
