Review Fix Exclusive: Bryan Cantrall Talks WWE TeenyMates and More

January 15, 2016 Patrick Hickey Jr. Professional Wrestling 0

Review Fix chats with Bryan Cantrall, Executive VP of Party Animal Inc., who discusses the new WWE line of the popular Teenymates toy line. Featuring 32 WWE superstars and Legends, the WWE and Party Animal have teamed up for a mighty new entry in the popular TeenyMates franchise. Discussing how the brands got together and their goals moving forward, Cantrall lets us know exactly why these new toys have a place in your man cave, kids room, or office.

Review Fix: How did you and WWE decide to work together?

Bryan Cantrall: We were looking for a brand to expand our TeenyMates line with and WWE seemed like a perfect next step to help us bridge the gap between sports and entertainment.

Review Fix: What was it like to work with the WWE?

Cantrall: WWE has been great to work with. They allowed us to move very quickly to bring WWE TeenyMates to market.  They have also been very involved in helping us decide on the initial lineup of figures, and have been very helpful in working with us to design packaging and graphic elements that match the TeenyMates brand, but also fall within the WWE brand.

Review Fix: How are these different from your previous models?

Cantrall: TeenyMates are known for having a high amount of detail on such a tiny 1″ figure, but the detail has gone to a whole new level with the introduction of WWE TeenyMates.  The figures for our other brands represent specific teams but not specific players, but our WWE line represent the actual Superstars, so the detail has to be even more exact. We put a lot of effort into making the figures as accurate as possible, from details on their clothing to the stubble on their beards to the detail of their tattoos and even their face paint in some cases.  Some details are so tiny they are difficult to make out with the naked eye, but they are there.

Review Fix: Are there any plans to add more characters to the line?

Cantrall: Series 1 includes 28 Superstars and Legends plus four more exclusive rare figures.  There are many more characters to add to the line in future series. We have already begun to get lists of requests from fans.

Review Fix: What are your goals for this brand in 2016?

Cantrall: Our goal is to expand the brand in 2016. Our niche has long been in traditional sports, and WWE has already begun to open doors and expand the brand in ways we never expected.  We had no idea how many WWE fans were really out there until we got involved with this brand.

Review Fix: Bottom line, why should people check these out?

Cantrall: WWE TeenyMates, along with all the other TeenyMate brands, are simply fun for kids and collectors of all ages to play with, trade and collect. A lot of the fun is in the variety and mystery that waits inside each pack.  You never know which figures you will find inside, and everyone has a different favorite. They are a modern twist on trading cards, fun to collect and trade but with the added 3D shape of an action figure that makes them fun to play with too.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Cantrall: We are excited about expanding the TeenyMates brand to include more accessories, playsets, and gift sets this year. We are also working on developing some other sports and entertainment licensed blind pack concepts. This is in addition to the fan decor side of our business which focuses on premium quality sports flags, banners, signs and more. There is plenty to keep us busy.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13879 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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