For some reason, the folks at Hasbro continue to try and make a multimedia franchise out of Stretch Armstrong, the toy that’s real good at stretching. To that end, Netflix has announced a 26-episode animated television show for kids based on the toy.
Initially introduced back in the 1970s by Kenner, which last existed as a division of Hasbro before being essentially absorbed into its parent company in 2000, Stretch Armstrong is basically a rubber action figure of sorts that’s filled with gelled corn syrup. It can be stretched out, and it eventually returns to the vaguely dude-like shape in which it started.
Starting in the late 2000s, Hasbro worked with several different films companies on a movie that seemingly went through several different iterations — all of which sounded, to be quite honest, terrible — before the entire project was ultimately dropped. For the most part, this seemed to all follow the basic model of “dude that stretches really well” with little deviance.
However, the latest and greatest incarnation of Stretch Armstrong, which will be getting an animated series for kids from Hasbro for Netflix is a bit … well, different. Here’s how Netflix describes the upcoming series — set for late 2017 — in its press release:
From Hasbro Studios comes an animated action/comedy series about overscheduled teenager Jake Armstrong and his two best friends. When the trio are accidentally exposed to an experimental chemical, they become Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters, a team of unlikely superheroes who expand beyond the confines of their lives and embark on a series of adventures.
Given that this seems to be the very first mention of “Flex Fighters” in relation to the name “Stretch Armstrong,” it’s easy to imagine that there will definitely be a corresponding toy line. For Netflix’s part, it’s not exactly shocking that it would pick up the show given its spaghetti-like approach to original kids' content. Throw enough at the wall, and something’s sure to stick.
Photo: Alex Beattie | Flickr
