Danny McBride’s Rough House Pictures is developing an animated series adaptation of 1980s trading card charactersGarbage Pail Kids. AsThe Hollywood Reporterreveals, the series will be produced together withMichael Eisner’s Tornante Company, which owns the baseball card giant Topps, the original creators ofGarbage Pail Kids.
The trading cards were first launched in 1985, as a parody of theCabbage Patch Kids, a line of dolls from Mattel. Each sticker card depicts a funny character with a tragic fate or a disgusting nature. The similarity between the characters ofGarbage Pail Kidsand Mattel’s line of dolls resulted in a lawsuit that ended with an out-of-court settlement in which Topps promised to change the trading card logo and character depiction, to deviate from the parody.
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WhenGarbage Pail Kidswas first launched, the trading cards became so popular that they were banned from several schools, under the justification they were constantly interrupting classes. In the first three years after they were launched, theGarbage Pail Kidsreceived 15 different series of collectible sticker cards, making them one of the cult icons of the ‘80s.
In 1987, the trading cards got a live-action movie adaptation,The Garbage Pail Kids Movie, which holds an impressive 0% critical approval in Rotten Tomatoes, with only 37% approval from viewers. Also in 1987 premiered the firstGarbage Pail Kidsanimated show, although due to controversial themes the series was not broadcasted in the US. Due to sales drops, Topps discontinued the cards in 1988, until they were reintroduced in 2003. Even though new series ofGarbage Pail Kidstrading cards were released after their initial boom, they never achieved the same level of success.
McBride, his Rough House partnerDavid Gordon Green, andJosh Bycel(Solar Opposites) will write and co-created the new animated series, expected to be family-friendly and aimed at audiences of all ages. As news from the upcomingGarbage Pail Kidsanimated series emerge, you’re able to expect to read all about it here at Collider.
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