If you’re looking for a dose of 1980s nostalgia, you’re in luck.
A documentary about the Cabbage Patch Kids is set to drop this weekend from NBCUniversal Syndication Studios and Believe Entertainment Group.
Narrated by Neil Patrick Harris, “Billion Dollar Babies: The True Story of the Cabbage Patch Kids” tells the success story of the dolls, from the marketing of BabyLand General Hospital in Georgia, where children “adopted” the dolls and solemnly pledged to love and care for them, to the subsequent business deal that gave rise to utter retail pandemonium. The documentary will even dive into the fundamental dispute over who originated the idea.
Cabbage Patch Kids creator Xavier Roberts said down for an interview, which is included in the documentary. Others featured include Della Tolhurst, who served as president of Roberts’ company for more than three decades; veteran journalist Connie Chung, who provides a first-hand account of the Cabbage Patch Kids media frenzy; Roger Schlaifer, who sold the licensing rights to Coleco; and Al Khan, the former marketing head at Coleco who, with Schlaifer, took the business worldwide.
“We’re thrilled to have partnered with Believe on this incredibly fun film that pulls the curtain back on one of the most beloved toys of all time,” said Tracie Wilson, Executive Vice President of NBCUniversal Syndication Studios and E! News. “Looking to the future and expanding the breadth of content we produce is vitally important to us and this project is an entertaining and modern take on a completely unexpected retro occurrence that jolted pop culture. That made it an easy choice for our first film co-production.”
In a statement of his own, Dan Goodman, executive producer, Believe Entertainment Group said: “We’re extremely excited to be able to document such an iconic moment in American pop culture. Cabbage Patch Kids were not only an indelible part of growing up in the ’80s, but it was also an inauspicious turning point for us that went far beyond the toy itself and would redefine holiday shopping forever.”
Harris is also an executive producer. Andrew Jenks directs.
“Billion Dollar Babies: The True Story of the Cabbage Patch Kids” will be streaming on the Tribeca at Home platform beginning June 11 at 8 p.m. ET.