LOS ANGELES — Fans were devastated this week as Mattel, MGM, and Lena Dunham’s Good Thing Going production company announced that the rights to produce, distribute, and market the Polly Pocket film were accidentally sold at a yard sale, sources have confirmed.
“The rights to make the film based on those old Polly Pocket toys was last spotted at approximately 9:00 AM last Saturday on a folding table between a record player with no needle and three mismatched NERF darts, and were reportedly gone by noon,” said Detective Charles Franks, lead investigator on the case. “Details of the sale are still being revealed, but an unknown buyer picked up the adaptation rights, as well as a ceramic pineapple and a lidless mason jar, for a total purchase price of five dollars.
The sale was able to go through due to an error among MGM staff when efforts to sort film rights into “keep” and “sell” boxes coincided with efforts to clean the playroom before company arrived, leading the Polly Pocket rights to be placed in the “sell” box shortly before MGM’s yard sale began.
Producers fear this will further compound delays already caused by the combined SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, and have begun scouring local yard sales to try to find the buyer and convince them to resell the film rights.
“I thought it was strange seeing it for sale on the table there,” said Linda O’Brian, a fellow attendee of yesterday’s yard sale. “Especially knowing how popular all that Mattel IP is with the kids right now. Mine are a little too young to be making full length films, but otherwise I would have jumped on it too. You can never start planning too early for Christmas.”
Shortly before press time, MGM CEO Jennifer Salke provided a comment, stating, “I deeply regret my part in this regrettable accident and I will do everything possible to make amends. I will note, however, that I will not miss stepping on the Polly Pocket rights every time I walked across the living room.”
MGM executives have attempted to quell potential tantrums from Polly Pocket fans by bringing home the rights to make UNO. Early reports indicate that it is not the same, however.
