Marlene Sharp is the proud proprietor of Pink Poodle Productions. Previously, Marlene served as Director, Production at LEVEL-5 abby, home of YO-KAI WATCH and other hit video game-based franchises. Formerly, as Producer, TV Series, at Sega of America, Marlene worked on much more than the Teen Choice Award-nominated cartoon SONIC BOOM. For example, her Hedgehog duties took her to the heights of nerd-dom as an official San Diego Comic-Con 2017 panelist. As a freelance journalist, Marlene concentrates on popular entertainment for buzz-worthy online fan destinations, such as DOGTV, ToonBarn.com, and Geekified.net. As a short film auteur, she has snagged prizes at the Canine Film Festival, the San Luis Obispo Film Festival, and many more. As a screenwriter, her professional stamp is embedded in lots of merchandise-driven cartoons – such as SNACK WORLD – and in her original, award-winning creations, such as BORN IN LA, MASCOT MAYHEM, and THE GIRL WHO LOVED NOSES. She is the winner of 2019 LA Shorts International Film Fest Script Competition (an Oscar and BAFTA-qualifying fest), at which her backdoor sitcom pilot received a staged reading by The Groundlings. And as a human being, basically, she loves dogs. For proof of the aforementioned, please see her website www.pinkpoodleproductions.com.
In addition to Hollywood awards season, it’s Super Bowl time, rife with its own tropes and sidetracks. For now, though, forget player scandals, owner disputes, athlete retirement and/or divorce announcements, celebrity grandstand appearances, half-time acts, big budget TV commercials, and other miscellaneous distractions, because . . . Mattel rocks the house 💯!
Never a benchwarmer, Mattel – the metaphorical lineman of toymakers – has upstaged Super Bowl LVII before kickoff. Extraordinarily, the plaything giant has accomplished this feat with a team of Little People, specifically those lovably iconic characters spawned from the vaults of Mattel brand partner Fisher-Price®. Welcome to the big time, Little People!
This new NFL/NFLPA officially licensed Little People Collector™ Super Bowl LVII Champions launch spectacle serves a wide audience. With these Little People, toy-loving, football flouters (such as yours truly) and pigskin stans have common ground. Fisher-Price® presents a relatively low stakes, at-home game of chance with collectible figure bounty that commemorates (eventual) Super Bowl victors. The exclusive boxed set of same features three triumphant NFL players and one devoted face-from-the-crowd; all are reimagined, manufactured, and packaged in miniature. Who is to become memorialized as Little People? What a head scratcher! Suddenly, it becomes tougher for all to await Super Bowl Sunday outcome . . .
Apparently, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles are in competition this year; therefore . . . expect resulting toys to reflect appropriate bragging rights. In other words, Fisher-Price®/Mattel immortalization is reserved for the top team alone. For a limited time (i.e., before the Super Bowl plays out and through February 21), customers are able order these special Little People on MattelCreations.com/lpcnfl. Apres game, Mattel affirms fulfillment of vanquishing team orders from the USA to USA mailing addresses; Mattel will refund all non-winning team orders. Product delivery is in/around August 2023. The price is $30.99 per unit, and the target audience is adult collectors.
In terms of big name support, LA Rams alum/past Super Bowl champ/broadcaster Andrew Whitworth has the newly birthed Little People’s collective back.
“I will never forget the feeling as the final whistle blew, and the confetti fell after our victory last season,” said Whitworth. “The parades and appearances were great, but being immortalized in a Little People Collector set would be next level. As a father and a player, I can attest that my kids would have gone nuts to see a Little People figure of me. This year, a handful of winning players will have that unique honor, and I – for one – am jealous.”
After gridiron heroes emerge on Super Bowl Sunday, then their Little People counterparts enter brick-and-mortar, factory fine-tuning mode to ensure product accuracy. For instance, plan for finalized Peeps to don reasonable facsimiles of IRL player jerseys . . . as seen on TV during the main event.
In summary, there is much more to jubilate than the long-awaited end of 2022-23 playoffs! Let’s hear it for the toys! On a personal note, the fingers of this doll hoarder/curator are crossed for a snazzy fashion doll salute to Super Bowl LVIII . . . Go, Barbie®, go!
