Yes: Don’t discount the promise of sugary goodness

The recent announcement that Peeps, the infamous brand of colored marshmallows, got optioned for a movie and a possible TV adaptation was met with somewhat undeserved pessimism and sarcasm.

I don’t wish to suggest the Peeps movie will definitely be successful or even that it will probably be successful. A million, nay, a billion little things figure into a movie’s results at the box office, and anything could happen at this stage. The Peeps movie could become the next big thing; the It’s a Small World flick based on the Disney ride could be our next Citizen Kane.

Cynicism has turned into a knee-jerk reaction for many, but it’s pointless to be this cynical this early in a film’s development. In fact, there’s reason yet to be cautiously optimistic. As openly opportunistic as the Peeps announcement is, there are countless examples in Hollywood of seemingly thin ideas turning into good movies.

Consider David Fincher’s The Social Network, a movie about Facebook; The Lego Movie, a movie about Legos; and Toy Story, a movie with a ludicrous amount of product placement. All three are excellent movies that started with premises that received a good deal of cynicism at their onsets.

The thing to remember is you can make a good movie from any premise, not unlike how you can make a bad movie out of anything. Peeps’ whole shtick is that they are marshmallows shaped into cute birds. The pre-existing designs coupled with the candy’s Easter theme offer a great number of possible stories and setups.

The premise the producers are going with — centered around a Peeps diorama contest, just like the annual Washington Post contest — could be the foundation for an entertaining animated film.

We have no legitimate reason to presume the movie will be bad. However you feel about licensing out Peeps, making a movie based on a candy product still represents a fairly sizable risk.

It’s hard for a movie, especially one based on an uncinematic product, to succeed. While making a Peeps movie isn’t what we’d traditionally call a risky move, it’s still a fairly ballsy endeavor and something we should encourage — if not for the potential quality movie, then for the entertaining meltdown come release.

– Warren Zhang

wzhangdbk@gmail.com | @auberginecow

No: A Peeps movie signals the corruption of Hollywood

In the good ol’ days of Hollywood, huge franchises would inevitably create equally huge revenue from toy sales. Look at Star Wars, Harry Potter, animated films and countless others. Films exist; toys are made from them; rich film producers get richer; and the machine chugs on.

Yes, there’s going to be a Peeps movie. Who knows, it could be good. I heard The Lego Movie was cool, and that’s great. But this goes deeper than that. Hollywood has been getting more terrible every year, churning out awful films at an alarming rate. We have corporate money-grubbers who want nothing more than to turn everything into a multimedia cash magnet. If you pitch an interesting idea for a movie but it can’t be perverted into a franchise and milked for all it’s worth and then some, sorry — Hollywood isn’t going to go for it.

Films need to tell original stories, or at the very least adapt lesser-known tales and books into a medium that might handle them better. I’m so tired of sequels, remakes and franchises, and yes, the very idea of a Peeps movie makes me enraged. What’s next? Goldfish are already animated and personified in the cracker’s ads; let’s just make them a movie. After that, we can have a movie about animated Cinnamon Toast Crunch squares and follow it up with a movie about Hostess Cupcakes. Before you call hyperbole on me, just let this sink in: They’re making a movie about a marshmallow candy bird. Those things you eat around Easter? They’re going to be in a movie, and you probably aren’t.

I spend so much more of my time watching TV now because the good stuff on TV is leagues better than what Hollywood is vomiting out. Compare popular films to popular television. Game of Thrones is ridiculously popular, and it’s really great. The popular films can’t claim the same thing. There are many reasons behind this unfortunate drop in quality, but lazy filmmaking (such as stealing from toys and food) is definitely a significant factor.

Sorry, Peeps. Stay food. It’s what you were meant to be: sugary and, honestly, not that great.

– Jonathan Raeder

jraederdbk@gmail.com | @jmraeder