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Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
National
Richard Roeper

Whimsical ‘Beanie Bubble’ recalls rise and fall of a fuzzy toy fad

Ty Warner Zach Galifianakis Elizabeth Banks Chicago Al Gore Geraldine Viswanathan Kristin Gore Sarah Snook Apple Original Films
Ty Warner (Zach Galifianakis) goes into the stuffed toy business in “The Beanie Bubble.” (Apple Original Films)

As much as I enjoyed the whimsical, girl-power, suitably satirical nature of the Apple TV+ original feature “The Beanie Bubble,” it’s too bad the movie makes you work so hard to enjoy what should have been a straightforward, comfort-viewing experience.

Allow me to get my local bias out of the way first and note it would have been lovely if the unlikely story of the eccentric entrepreneur Ty Warner and the explosion of the Beanie Babies phenomenon had actually been filmed in the Chicago area, given this is where the story originated. Alas, this is another Atlanta-fills-in-for-Chicago project, and it’s arguably the least convincing onscreen imitation of our city since Toronto tried to be Chicago and the burbs in “My Spy” in 2020.

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