Over the past decade, Funko has become synonymous with the toy collection scene. In addition to its ever-growing line of Pop vinyl figurines, Funko has clothing, plus, pins, and even other collectible companies under its umbrella–like Mondo–all tied to dozens of the company’s licenses. Now, former Funko CEO Brian Mariotti is trying to repeat history–and then surpass it–with his brand-new company, Thrilljoy.
Mariotti officially launched the company at New York Comic Con with a premiere panel and plenty of collectibles for fans with licenses ranging from The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter to even the Rankin/Bass animated movies, and animation icons like Masters of the Universe and Thundercats. GameSpot spoke to Mariotti at the Thrilljoy booth at New York Comic Con about the trials and tribulations of not just launching the company but the plans he has in store, and the differences between this new collectible company and his former employer.
“The only thing that was a bit concerning was very little marketing ahead of time and the nature of trying to build a company in four and a half months, then launch in person at the largest comic con in the world,” the Thrilljoy CEO said. “That part was a little nerve-racking but once we got here and got set up and the fans saw the product, the rest took care of itself. The lines have been phenomenal, and the response to the product in person has been exactly what we wanted. That’s why we wanted to launch at New York Comic Con, to have fans come up and touch and look in person, so that’s been amazing.”
To collectors and Funko die-hards, the Pix line, Thrilljoy’s primary toy series at launch, might have a bit of redundancy to what Funko is already offering with its Pops. From small vinyl toys to larger toys–called MegaPix over at Thrilljoy–Mariotti found that he didn’t need to break the mold when it came to the toy itself, but how it was presented to the collectors.
“I think it needed a lot of storytelling. I didn’t think the world needed another figure company. There are a lot of great figure companies out there. I love Sideshow, Hot Toys, and Mezco… some great companies are making great products. I wanted something that had more storytelling elements in it,” he explained.
“With a Pix, everything tells a story. The frame, the style of frame, like our anime has black bamboo framing, sometimes blood splatter. Van Gough has a gold museum frame up, the horror has gothic, black matte frames. The cartoon [Pix] have frames that are more whimsical. Along with that, you have the art, you have the lenticular authenticity card, you’ve got the figure itself, the magnets, and this amazing packaging.”
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The Pix packaging isn’t a small box like it’s Funko contemporary. Instead, the larger box features a magnetic flap, allowing for easy access to the collectible. From there you can remove the plastic molding on top and take the framed figure out. There’s a screw on the back that you can undo to remove the figure from the frame. Mariott explained that this way, if you have to sell it, you can still enjoy it without damaging the box.
“How we designed this was you can open the product, remove it, and you’re able to put it right back in if you ever have to sell it. All of that tells an immortalized-in-pop-culture moment that we tried to capture here. I think it’s a completely different product that can really tug at your heartstrings with something that you love. Whether it’s Lebron James breaking a scoring record or your favorite episode of Masters of the Universe…whatever gets you excited, I think this product represents a lot of those elements.”
Mariotti doesn’t want to just put out toys with licenses this time around, he wants to go deeper with how he can connect someone’s love of pop culture into a commodity itself. Starting out though, he knew that certain licensors would be easy to wrangle, but thought about how to expand on that.
“I knew that all of our partners I’ve been with for 20 years that helped us build the Funko business and their revenue streams would gravitate to this new concept pretty easily. I still think there are a few licenses that we didn’t get at Funko that we’re going to look at through a different lens and maybe bring in those collaborations with the sneaker culture, athletes, musicians, actors and their love for pop culture.”
He gave the example of Luka Doncic, an NBA player for the Dallas Mavericks who famously loves Dragon Ball Z. Mariotti elaborated on how he wants to intersect all of that together. Enter Eric Peng.
“[Eric’s] got that skill set of what the sneaker culture loves and has relationships with Nike and Adidas and Under Armor, and brings us a diverse ownership group that can really reach out and do a lot of different things that maybe we didn’t do at Funko.”
That level of collaboration might be reminiscent to some fans of what Kid Robot does with their artist collaboration drops. Mariotti feels “there’s no limit” to what Thrilljoy can do and wants to elevate that type of collectibility and the scene at large.
“You see products here that start at $50 and they go up to $150. But we also have product that are designed that start at $500, $1000 that are going to blow people away,” he added. “We don’t want to be put inside any kind of box and we want to be able to express pop culture in a way that is very artistic, very unique, and very different, and yet very limited. You’re going to have that chase piece and that super chase piece that really gets the fans going.”
A major potential difference with Thrilljoy, compared to other collectible companies, is that it is working to reach beyond the standard consumer/producer relationship. Mariotti said that he doesn’t want just fans to be just consumers, but actually have a stake in the company’s longevity. The best way to do that, he thought, was to offer stock in the company itself.
While no details of the plan or a timetable on when to expect it were revealed, Mariotti thinks it will be a great way to build trust with the community. “We want to bring in our fans in an ownership capacity with our fan advisory board and we’re literally giving away stock to certain fans and influencers that have a narrative or a unique look on pop culture that is going to benefit the company,” he said. “I want them to hold us accountable for fan interaction and fan ideas and fan licenses that they are really passionate about.”
One thing in common with companies like Funko, though, is that Thrilljoy has a mascot. While Funko may have Freddy Funko, Thrilljoy’s Bloo–a blue and white yeti–will become an easily identifiable symbol synonymous with the company. And, so far, Bloo is a hit.
“I’m obsessed with yetis. From the Matterhorn Yeti from Disneyland to Bumbles from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, I knew there had to be some Yeti in here somehow. It’s funny though, out of all the lines, Bloo was the first to sell out, with Mars Attacks being second. That was surprising to see people gravitate towards the look and feel of Bloo.”
You can find out more about Thrilljoy, their upcoming loyalty program, and the toys and apparel its offering now at their site here.
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