When I was a kid, I fell in love with a film called Star Wars. I stood in line for an hour at the old Cine 1-2-3-4-5-6 in Northway Mall to see it upon its release, and was blown away by what I saw.
Of course, I wanted some toys to go with my Star Wars experience, but the popularity of the film was so great at that time that Kenner – the company with the Star Wars toy license – couldn’t make the toys fast enough for a Christmas release. They actually offered a certificate that could be mailed in and redeemed for the Star Wars toys, which in itself became a collectible item.
Okay. Now let’s move from 1977 to 2019. And we’re talking now about the new Star Wars TV series, The Mandalorian. What you have in this show is a space western, in which the title character – a nameless bounty hunter from the Mandalorian faith – must protect a child against various dangers and the like. Oh, and I did happen to mention that “The Child” looks amazingly like a tiny Yoda?
Yeah. Yeah it does.
So what do kids of all ages want for Christmas this year? They want their own toy Baby Yoda.
But here’s the thing. There are no licensed Baby Yoda toys out there. Sure, you could go to etsy and someone could knit you a Baby Yoda plushie, or if you had enough of your own personal skills, you could craft something of your own.
The reason there isn’t any “Baby Yoda” toys right now is because Baby Yoda was a spoiler. He was a big surprise in the debut of The Mandalorian, so you weren’t tipped off by the character’s reveal in the premiere episode. That being said … now people want Baby Yoda, and there’s none to be had.
Well … at least not now. But …
Two companies, Mattel and Funko! Pop, are rush-producing Baby Yoda figurines for release as early as April 2020. Here’s Funko! Pop’s blog post about their Baby Yoda figurine, which will arrive in two sizes – the standard size (which looks like all their other bug-eyed Funko! Pop figurines) and a 10-inch super-size.
Meanwhile, Mattel has a listing on the ShopDisney site for a vinyl figurine of Baby Yoda, only $24.99 and available in April. If you’re really desperate for anything Baby Yoda-related for the holidays, ShopDisney does have the character available on T-shirts, coffee mugs and some other products – but the figurines will take some time.
Hey, at least they didn’t sell you a certificate to get the figurines, like they did way back in 1977…
Chuck The Writer 
And hats off to Mattel for not replicating that local radio contest from years gone by – a brilliant on-air personality offered listeners a chance to win “a brand new Toy Yoda.”
There was some controversy attached, as I recall. The radio station was only offering a stuffed toy, while the “winner” was thrilled to be receiving a brand new “Toyota.”
Not quite sure how that turned out…
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It was a resturant, not a radio station, but she sued and got her Toyota. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/hummer-bummer/
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