Throughout the 1980s and into the ’90s, cartoons and toy lines started going hand-in-hand. You know some of them quite well. Transformers, G.I. Joe, and Masters of the Universe come to mind. We talked about how the revival of MOTU may not have been the best idea, but there was merit to it. Sometimes it’s good to revisit these franchises. Of course, it needs to be done with good reason and the right business sense. A live-action movie with a massive budget probably wasn’t the best for He-Man. Sometimes a smaller, softer launch is called for. That’s what the Mighty Max franchise deserves.
Mattel)
Polly Pocket vs Mighty Max
While the popular discourse around gender has changed since the ’90s, there’s still a marketing sense around certain toys being made for girls vs. boys. Polly Pocket was a toy line marketed towards girls. It featured a tiny figure, named Polly, and her mini playsets. The gimmick was not just the miniature angle, but that the playset itself could fold up. It could be in the shape of a make-up compact or a heart, a seashell; something cute, basically. Someone decided they needed to have an equivalent line marketed towards young boys. That’s what gave us Mighty Max.
The toy line started in 1992 and featured the titular Max. He was a blonde kid with a hat. The hat was not just part of the wardrobe; it was what made him mighty. The hat has magical properties. Despite looking like a baseball cap with an M on it, it could also open portals. Max happens upon the cap and gets transported to various worlds. This is where the playsets represent the various worlds. He never seems to land in a happy place. It’s always something not good. A dungeon, a dragon’s lair, a mad scientist… Just not good things. But then again, Indiana Jones wouldn’t have been much of a series if Indy just purchased stuff at an auction, right?
Mighty Max For Everyone
Now seems like a great time to bring them back. Polly Pocket has a Buffy the Vampire Slayer set we talked about. That’s actually pretty in line with Mighty Max. So why not bring him back in full? One of the great things about breaking down the walls of gender barriers is reinforcing that toys can be for anyone. Action and adventure don’t have to be the domain of men or the masculine side of the spectrum. It’s a field that everyone can dive into.
What makes Mighty Max even more worthwhile as a property is the animated series that it had. From 1993 to 1995, two seasons aired for 40 episodes total. The show kept the premise of the toy line but expanded it. Max was the chosen one. He’s a teenager, living with his mom, and finds the hat as he was destined to do so. His creativity and tenacity are what empower him; the hat just helps bring him to where he needs to be.
Mattel)
A Cast of Characters
He’s accompanied by two companions. There’s Virgil, the wise one. He’s supposedly the last of the Lemurian people and is some kind of bird. While a bit stuck-up and pretentious, he’s where the show’s lore comes from. He’s also voiced by the late, great Tony Jay. That gives his voice some heavy authority. Then there’s Norman. He’s the muscle of the group. Supposedly an immortal warrior, he takes on the physical tasks that Virgil’s wisdom and Max’s craftiness can’t solve. He’s voiced by the also late and great Richard Moll. Oh, and Max, he’s voiced by legendary voice actor Rob Paulson.
Another reason worth bringing up in the cartoon is Tim Curry. The overarching antagonist for the series was Skullmaster. Curry played him with all the villainous aplomb that he could muster. What’s more is how he could be legitimately terrifying. For a kid’s cartoon, the show could be pretty intense. One episode, “Bring Me the Head of Mighty Max,” had Max relentlessly being pursued by a horde of unkillable zombies. The constant sense of foreboding gave the story a heavy atmosphere for a kid’s cartoon. And there were a lot of other ones like that too. Kind of amazing what they were able to pull off.
More Than Just a Toy Commercial
This is exactly the kind of show we need right now, though. Was it made just to sell toys? Maybe. That was surely part of the intent. But the show wasn’t written or produced that way. The series used the toys as inspiration to just go off and do their own thing. It worked extremely well and created a series that holds up even today. It just suffered from coming out at a time when a bunch of competitors were in the market. In today’s programming landscape, a revival would fare much better on the right streaming platform.
We’re not talking about a major film production event either. Instead, we’re saying, reintroduce the toy line and the original cartoon to start. Reproduce some of the original toy sets and bring the cartoon back. Put it on Tubi or Prime Video to start. Then, make a new series that continues from the original. Get Paulson to play Max, now an adult, but his son is the new chosen one. Bring back Norman and Virgil with new voice actors and set them off on adventures that play up the horror element a bit.
A Little Horror Goes a Long Way
Sometimes it’s easy to forget that kids like to be scared. Not so much that they have nightmares. Just enough to keep them engaged and wanting to find out what happens next. That’s where Mighty Max succeeded and where it can continue to succeed. The miniature toy market is doing very well for itself, and a legacy property like Mighty Max is a good fit for it. Have Max go on those wild adventures. Let him take on creatures and monsters in those little playsets. Then have them translated into stories for a revitalized series. It could all work and pay homage to a piece of nostalgia that does not get enough love.
Oh, and a Gravity Falls, Mighty Max crossover definitely needs to happen. That story just basically writes itself.
