Star Wars Episode 1 Midnight Madness Toy Grab

[@greyinvader]

LOL, thats me holding up Darth Maul at 2:36! I was such a dork back then. Not much has changed, I still dress like a vampire and I still have that Maul figure!

[@chesterpesko]

Turn yourself in!

[@LeftytheGansterGremlin]

That's awesome, man! That whole event looked like fun. I was born in 97, so I wouldn't know lol

[@Alienkiwi730]

@@LeftytheGansterGremlin I was 7 when the toys came out. It was insane going into the toy stores and seeing so many people. Was the first and only time i'd ever fought with an adult over a Darth Maul toy

[@LeftytheGansterGremlin]

@@Alienkiwi730 Didja win?

[@dominicmoroney]

@Ahegao Amigo oh yo I was born in 97 too man

[@jummyran]

This movie was massive that year. Unbelievable and couldn’t get away from it

[@criminalmindsgirl2936]

Just imagine what Halloween 1999 looked like with Star Wars costumes

[@Mr.Feather130]

It'll be just everyone dressing up as Darth Maul,Pod Racer Anakin,Jar Jar Binks,Padme in her queen outfit,Padawan Obi-Wan,and Qui-Gon Gin for Halloween

[@zachzilla26]

Hey, I was one of them. Two years old and dressed like Darth Maul

[@Mr.Feather130]

@@zachzilla26 nice But did you meet people who dress up as jar jar binks,pod racer anakin,Queen amidala,Young obi-wan Kenobi,And qui gon gin?

[@ladisneyprincesse]

It was the greatest!

[@finchborat]

I went as Darth Maul for Halloween that yr. I was 7 at the time. I got to meet the actor who played him back in late 2022! Great laid back guy!

[@kirk1968]

R.I.P. Toys R Us, good memories there. Uh, except when some kid would begin screaming hysterically because the parents wouldn't cave to their toy demands, haha.

[@zacharyjochumsen9677]

Kirk1968 yeah and did you know about estmitmted 23 million people took sick days off of work just fo cam outside to wait for the movie to come out

[@Justin-Hill-1987]

At least they still exist in Canada as of 2022! The recently opened Toys "R" Us location at American Dream Meadowlands in New Jersey is limping along...but for how long? That mall is drowning in debt!

[@kirk1968]

​@@Justin-Hill-1987 Hope the New Jersey location can pull through! Funny how there is nostalgia for certain stores, Blockbuster is another one :D

[@darealpapajon]

​@nemopouncey2797kinda back

[@StrangeScaryNewEngland]

Amazingly they are still in business. I just saw their float in the Macy's Thanksgiving parade.

[@specterkev]

for those who do not get it,.. the smiling darth Maul was a paint error where mauls's tattoo's where done wrong and it shaped around the mouth looked like he was smiling.

[@finchborat]

+specterkev Which Darth Maul figure? The one with him in the hook and cloak or the one without it? And yes, I got both of them back then.

[@Nixo66]

That feel when you realize what was wrong with the figure you had 20 ofd years ago. Sheiiiiit

[@rovhalt6650]

star wars joker

[@TimmehJay]

Oh the madness! The politeness! The commitment to sticking to your budget!

[@jst2269]

14 years later from when this video was upload and Star Wars is now on life support...only Disney could pull something like that off!

[@clon76]

Cry harder ffs. Endless man-baby whining...

[@EpisodeCJSII]

Good times. I worked at one of the locations in Sac CA at the time. We had about 200+ people waiting. I still have one of the giant 2 sided banners (Obi-Wan/Padmé Amidala).

[@Ganbakodon]

I was about 8 when this came out! Went to the midnight release in Australia and it was THE GREATEST THING EVER!

[@darthqui-gon5986]

Ah the good old days!!! Before the dark times before Disney!

[@isaiahevans001]

Yes!

[@matthillard9363]

Before woke. Life was goid

[@deadshot5007]

Lmao nothing Disney did was as bad as the Prequels. Those WERE the dark times nostalgia boy.

[@Mr.Feather130]

And Before the Lego Star Wars toys are more popular than other Star Wars stuff....

[@rankrodent2772]

@@deadshot5007are you joking, starwars was peaking popularity during these days

[@ReinEngel]

"I want to check out Darth Maul. He's gonna be the new king." If only.

[@christophergrant3596]

They were off with the timing but it happened.

[@BigEOT3]

Christopher Grant At least he came back in the cartoons. Phasma got wasted and did jackshit due to that bitch Kathleen

[@generaldela2128]

That scene of the CW S7 with the clones it got the crown

[@OpGamer56728]

Didn’t he became the king of mandalore?

[@generaldela2128]

@@OpGamer56728 and nailded with the hallway scene

[@rvprsd8299]

Episode 1 was great. I loved the story the fight scene and the effects.

[@oblonghilfiger3583]

What story?

[@CT-7171]

@@oblonghilfiger3583 Lmao.

[@Nixo66]

@@oblonghilfiger3583 " random jar jar sounds"

[@darealpapajon]

1-3 made more sense to me. 7-9 is a cluster fuck

[@SDfan2002]

@@darealpapajon 7-9 is simple to follow. I had to look up the Wookiepedia synopsis of the Prequels to even get an IDEA of what the plot was, having not understood them for YEARS.

[@emoxvx]

1:29 - This guy gets it better than 90% of SW fans.

[@monkfishy6348]

But it's not based on any mythology... It's based on westerns and adventure films from the 60s.

[@emoxvx]

@@monkfishy6348 SW also has tropes from early to mid 20th century western and adventure films, yes. An artistic work can encompass multiple influences and genres. SW is not one thing or the other, it encompasses multiple influences from multiple types of art such as painting, design, architecture, sculpting, cinema, litterature, theatre, cinema, television, comic books, etc. And obviously, with that, SW also has a ton of cultural, religious and historical influences.

[@clon76]

It's not science fiction at all lmao

[@Quigon-93]

To also point out it was also based on old serials like flash gordon, forbidden planet and many others that George Lucas grew up on.

[@TraceKillTv]

Back when Star Wars was worth that hype

[@andrewattenboroughtwothumb4697]

I collected so many Star Wars toys back in the late 90s great memories wish I had them now as treasured memories

[@crapObear2323]

2:32 Guy in stripped shirt, keep rocking that Half-Life hat, bro!

[@c0l1n_m45]

That's awesome! It's a rarity to see Half Life fans rocking merchandise in the wild.

[@nickm4779]

What's hilarious about this is I actually worked at a Toys r Us when I was in college when these movies came out. Little secret, when everything came off the truck the employees went through it first., picked the best stuff and paid for it. It doesn't mean they took the entire supply, but they had first choice before it was even offered to consumers. Lesson is if you want the best stuff work at the place and when it comes off the truck pay for it before it hits the shelf. I have four of the original Darth maul action figures and the accessory sets for him just sitting in a box upstairs in storage.

[@redgr81]

yall paid for it? we just hid them in the boxes for trash and took them to the dumpster where we would pick them up after the shift

[@georgepmr]

I'll let you in on a secret...there worth less that what you paid for them. lol

[@nickm4779]

@georgepmr not in the original packaging buddy, lol

[@enderland18]

It’s cool to notice how all those figures are either with their original owners, passed down, sold, or probably even still in mint condition. Haha.

[@johndonovan2641]

Good Time to be a Starwars Fan & Collector in 1999'' ...

[@MarMaxGaming]

That’s awesome… as a throwback, I recently covered Super Star Wars on Super Nintendo on an episode. That music really brought it back!

[@playcubex13]

poor guy in the Matrix hat is about to get burned by TWO of his favorite film franchises.

[@DontrelleRoosevelt]

The Matrix is only one franchise. I think you mean the two sequels.

[@finalsecretofchrono1339]

@@DontrelleRoosevelt Pretty sure the commenter meant Star Wars and the Matrix. The last 5 years seem to agree

[@franko6677]

Those were the days. The golden age of Star Wars collecting. I really wanted my mom to take me at midnight but in the end I had to settle for the next morning lol. I think we went to K mart instead of TRU.

[@louispacetime1576]

Oh man, the good old days

[@SammySarzoza]

0:53 Shout out to Jim and Pam

[@rebeljedaii2571]

Bought loads. Mostly action figures, the commtech thing, one Amidala portrait figure, Can't recall if I was at the local one at midnight or early in the AM. Don't regret it a bit. Still have the stuff too. 😁

[@DR.MF.DOOMSDAY]

I remember the day I seen Phantom Menace with my da, he brought me into Smyth’s toys in Dublin as soon as the movie was over because I was absolutely electric and kept saying Star Wars was my favourite thing ever (still is) and bought me the 3 figures with the chips: Darth Maul, Anakin and Jar Jar 😂 I eventually got the reader and more figures Remains the best time of my entire life to this day Now I’m nearly 30 and get very nostalgic when I pass by there solely based on episode 1 and that day

[@MichaelJohn-dw6dl]

Wow I was 13 when this came out, as a 38 year old man hell of a lot of good memories

[@mrcydonia]

Those Episode I figures are worth ones of dollars now!

[@USxEGames]

To think I'll be doing this at 12:01am on September 4th. Im so excited

[@Pancakespls]

EP 1, 2 and 3 are great movies, we have an iconic Darth Maul, the Clone Wars, Edgelord Anakin, taking out the Padawans. Honestly, that trilogy showed you cannot expect a young kid to be an emotionless flesh bag, the Jedi way is all about suppression of yourself, I can see why he went to the Darkside, especially him being so Force sensitive. There are zero memorable characters in the new trilogy, I don't care what happens to any of them.

[@lamarravery4094]

I agree, but I never should've bought all those Star Wars figures, you can't give them away, lol.

[@ahmadaidel6866]

Bullshitt.that not so bad.fans must be always loyalty and full support to franchise.

[@Chris_Thorndyke]

@@ahmadaidel6866Unless it’s from Disney

[@houston-coley]

Literally EXACTLY like Force Friday!

[@fatcat1]

Force Friday is shit compared to this

[@sealionstudios8597]

fatcat It's poor distribution more than anything else. And internet shopping taking over

[@specterkev]

that baby shown is now like 15 years old...eeesh time flies.. I was 19 at this time..

[@finchborat]

+specterkev I was 6 and I didn't have a single clue about the midnight madness toy grab for Episode 1.

[@fryPS]

You guys are a bunch of old fucks holy shit I wasn't even born

[@retrozaid1600]

Now he probably graduated

[@shan4883]

I was 16. Time flies! I was excited for the prequels and looking back its still good, but thought Jake Loyd could have had better writing and directing for him. 2nd and 3rd was so much better! Fun movies anyway. Aimed at kids and teens until Revenge of the Sith came along. More adult themed and darker. I remember Burger King selling Star Wars themed everything and we bought a few things from there. Its not like it use to be. Jurassic Park had BK themed toys as well. Went there in 1993 before the movie and it became a tradition of ours since. Collected The Lost World watches. Wish I still had them.

[@fatcat1]

Born same year when this happened!

[@benjaminstreets1912]

2:38 Ah a classic 1999 LEGO Star Wars set. That is set 7101 Lightsaber Duel. I just got a used copy in great condition with the box.

[@stonedtoad9456]

R.I.P Toys ‘R US. Sad times.

[@danielferstendig]

Toysrus is returning.

[@brandonking5111]

1999: people only joke about getting into fights over toys. everyone is actually peaceful. present day: people have died trying to get toys. pushing and shoving everywhere.

[@rumpelpumpel7687]

yes, this was before the internet. When buying HUGE amounts of stuff to resell it once the shelves are empty was not really a thing. Nowadays you have to limit the items per person to prevent the first 3 guys from buying it all to make a coin from reselling ...

[@CanucksGameVlogger]

I wonder how many of them bought a jar jar figure

[@LandMillProductions1_]

I bet a few people tried to return their Jar Jar figures after watching the movie.

[@CanucksGameVlogger]

+Zome68 if they didn't open it

[@trans8010]

+iPermanently Being this was pre-movie, I bet if not everybody there, most probably did. Stores were pretty much picked clean that first weekend. It took me through three counties and a very patient father to find most of the 1st three waves that were available at launch, except Darth Maul, Anakin Skywalker. Believe it or not... the last store we went to that day, a TRU in Annapolis MD was where I found Jar-Jar. Even after the film was released, Jar Jar toys were still pretty popular sellers, for kids anyway. I was 11 when I first saw Episode I and everybody my age found Jar-Jar pretty darn funny. It wasn't until after a few more years of rewatches, growing more sophisticated in tastes as we reached teenage years, a lot of us would join the Jar-Jar sucks crowd.

[@kinglito93]

....

[@MrRe-pg7fj]

iPermanently I hate this moive and the line. But I onley like the battle droids

[@sznosrs5045]

RIP TOYS R US

[@danielferstendig]

It's back.

[@lamarravery4094]

Oh yeah, I remember going to Toys r us at midnight for this event in my town. There were a lot of people there. I bought a ton of those that morning.

[@enofactor5402]

What exactly is wrong with The Phantom Menace? Everyone hates it excessively and I will never understand why.

[@darthmaul54sith7]

+Eno Factor its just so different than the original trilogy and most people hopped on the bandwagon of hating it despite liking it at first

[@hamblinfilms]

Darth Maul54sith fr

[@fridaynightnicktoons6885]

The haters are all trolls. Ignore em.

[@techno639]

I don't hate the prequels but they were disappointing. Phantom menace had a bad script, stiff acting, boring political scenes and a badass darth maul fight scene but that's just my opinion

[@purefoldnz3070]

it a movie about space tax and a Rastafarian space rabbit.

[@rocknrollmilitant]

Oh, this takes me back.

[@fleetadmiral5938]

American Socialist wish I was alive back then

[@BAILkrewCOMPANY]

Here we are 16 years later for The Force Awakens !!

[@fryPS]

BAILkrewCOMPANY 18 years later bitch

[@kascnef]

BAILkrewCOMPANY and 19 for last jedi

[@Danbo22987]

Now 20 for Rise of Skywalker!

[@isaiahevans001]

And all sucked!!!!!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@isaiahevans001]

@@kascnef ^

[@crb4059]

These were the good days, before the dark times, before...Disney.

[@Justin-Hill-1987]

Disney, their one-time partner for the Star Tours rides at the Disney Parks, now claims full ownership of Lucasfilm, the creator of Star Wars...

[@SDfan2002]

How original. Honestly fuck outta here people HATED the prequels when they came out.

[@musicman76enator]

20 years later in 2019: Toys R Us is gone, the Star Wars franchise tanked, and people don't give fucks anymore. *sigh*. I miss the good ole days.

[@Chris_Thorndyke]

Keep dreaming.

[@coachanderson2704]

This is when prices were low. @ 3.37 Today that would been 146.00 bucks!!!

[@Mr.Feather130]

It’s crazy on how importantly ambitious the phantom menace’s toy launch is that no other toy launch will top it

[@domingo84]

This was the time when real collectors collected and no resellers

[@gtagamer1248]

I bet the Darth Maul merchandise were all out of stock, outselling all the other character’s merchandise

[@elwoodjacobs4353]

This is both cool & sad to see at the same time.

[@krtlkid]

bitter sweet just knowing that star wars wont ever be as cool as it once was before.

[@standoutsteel023]

i will be forever grateful that i was a child at this point in time.

[@austygo3563]

0:53 ITS PAM AND JIM!

[@shan4883]

That's me with the cart... lol I don't care! Get out of my way! 😄

[@roberttreacy8271]

Merchandising! Merchandising! Where the real money from the movie is made!

[@johnstavropoulos7049]

Everything except the flamethrower

[@PK-122]

An exciting time for sure. I enjoyed this for the time capsule aspect and I thank you for posting it, but man is it sad how all that hype for this movie and every single one of the pieces shown for sale would be absolutely worthless in a few months time after the movie was released.

[@mightypumpkin8395]

My dad exactly remember this experience exactly.

[@marcoquinones9557]

3:49 Jim and Pam

[@Starwarsfearsome]

All these years later, I’m now trying to buy some of the cheaper episode 1 action figures. They were surprisingly more detailed than a lot of new figures

[@ScottsEditReel]

I saw a guy this week buying a bunch of episode 1 figures at an indoor flea market. I think there is about to be a surge in interest and prices for these figures.

[@lamarravery4094]

It's sad there won't be another event like this since Toys r us is no more.

[@LeftytheGansterGremlin]

We still have Toys R Us in Canada! If you stop by, feel free to visit!

[@danielferstendig]

Toysrus is at macys for now

[@lamarravery4094]

@@danielferstendig I think it's only around at Christmas time. And it's a sad smaller version of what it was.

[@GiratinasRisingRenegades]

Ah those were the best days for toys r us. Shame that those days are gone because of Amazon.

[@A.I.Friends]

3:07 Golden Boy is killing it!

[@drewlovelyhell4892]

90s Star Wars fans were calm and polite, unlike those maniacs during the Cabbage Patch Kids craze!

[@danielflanard8274]

And now they're going out. The first time I've gone in and gotten something was some star wars toys.

[@bluedragon4]

21 years ago already! I still see these toys at used stores for cheap. I'm sure some must be worth something. Anyone know the stand out of the toy figure line?

[@lamarravery4094]

They're all worthless.

[@Starwarsfearsome]

3:04 she has a Bionicle!

[@garlandstrife]

Disney could only wish

[@xaviersawyer5029]

This event right here was probably how Toys R Us steyed in business for another twenty years. People just dont get excited like this anymore.

[@mrchopsticks3]

Rumor has it that the Jar Jar Binks toys are still on the shelf.

[@AgentSmartnumber86]

Does anyone remember going to see this in the theater? I remember watching this in my.local theater it was as best as I can describe it as somewhat similar to the original premier of star wars a new hope even though instant born all the way back then I did still hear and see video footage of star wars a new hope and it was just madness lime ups and all the craze so when I saw episode one it was literally like that to me at least I remember 30 min in the theater before the movie started the cast of the theater came out dressed up like star wars characters bringing out toys and merchandise to the audience to buy man those were some great days for star wars but since the force awakens and the Disney star wars everyone seems to hate star wars now

[@D00R]

The generation of boys who were raised by single Mothers who grew up to be toy collectors.

[@Ultriac301]

What an arrogant and ignorant statement to make.😅

[@Ultriac301]

0:56 Nathan Filion? Castle and soon to be Green Lantern?😮

[@A.I.Friends]

Most of these toys can still be purchased at the same price or less in the box.

[@JohnCastillo-t1c]

A couple of years ago, i went to an estate sale and in one room someone had all the Episode 1 action figures in the box all on the walls. The next day i went back to see if they were there still, they were all gone.😂😂

[@theD3CR3P1Tone]

Its a cold world lol

[@JounLord1]

I think people just forgot just how bad Star Wars mania was in the late 90s and early 2000s. There is a reason some many kids of that time are hardcore SW fans now.

[@scottakanumba1heathen379]

And no Depa Billaba figure!

[@adamcostello5606]

I will definitely agree that we all died in 2012 !!!! Life has not felt this real in forever

[@nigelcarren]

Englishman's first thought: I can't believe you folks can wear just T-Shirts at midnight! 🇬🇧🤖🇺🇲

[@sgtjohnson]

Sadly my naboo star fighter toy went missing :(

[@herbmaaster]

star wars pumped toys r us up in 1999, star wars destroyed toys r us in 2018

[@lamarravery4094]

Kathleen Kennedy and Rian Johnson destroyed Toys r us because no one bought the Last Jedi toys since the film was a downer.

[@StormX6]

1:11 I thought that guy was Vince Vaughn 😂

[@Ashstrodamus1]

The first realeased Naboo fighter ships had an error variation also. There's black electrical tape covering up words on the back of the box that I believe say "Authentic sounds" or something like that. I took the tape off of one to see what it said, but I forget exactly. I'm not taking the tape off mine.

[@Alfenium]

these are some very wise investments yessir

[@josephamato2031]

The good old day's. Not like that anymore 🤐

[@adamlemus7585]

Only if these people knew just a month later all the stuff would be spilling over the bargain bin

[@zeracaitiff5956]

Ten years later: Disney StarWars killed ToysRus , StarWars toys rotting on the shelves and Disney and Lucasfilm are rediculing the SW-mythology while calling the fanbase names and spitting on the legacy of this once beloved franchise. Who would have thought it would end like this...

[@ahmadaidel6866]

I like it.this Satan must end

[@isaiahevans001]

We can always look back on the good days!!!!

[@deadshot5007]

Toy sales have been successful, stop lying.

[@zeracaitiff5956]

@@deadshot5007 hahahaha...sure they have XD

[@deadshot5007]

@@zeracaitiff5956 I mean just look at the sales from Baby Yoda toys over the past years.

[@alangentrinapestegui]

Those toys haven’t aged well

[@Zanjutsu]

Those lego sets are worth alot now probably

[@vegasgone07-dh4lb]

Won't matter when the fans come in and tear it all apart. Just dump the figures in the kiddie pools and fans will go diving for Darth Maul. I did when I was there. 😂🤣

[@knuclear200x]

May the second be with you... wait...

[@AbbeyRoad69]

Why do I get the feeling that about ninety percent of the people buying those toys didn't have kids?

[@kyledmorgan]

Because they are virgins.

[@Ultriac301]

​​@@kyledmorganI wish i still had my virginity. No joke! A lot of people ( myself included ) are disgusted by the lustful and perverse world we live in today.

[@Ultriac301]

I didn't see any " Made Only For Kids " labels on the figure boxes.

[@mattsheezy5469]

I knew when I saw this movie advertised on the side of my McDonald’s milkshake cup (aka actual garbage), that a money grab was at play.

[@aleckermit]

I did the midnight toy release of Force Awakens for the experience, I grabbed one of like 3 Kylo Ren figures on the shelf and a guy wanted to trade a Rey for him. He was disappointed that I had to turn him down :_(

[@clinthammer965]

Boy, I bet they'll be waiting in line for those Rose Tico (in)action figures for Disney's 'Episode 9'. Not to mention, the figures of the Slave boy's action figure. On his face is the reaction to not being saved by those idiots in favor of some stupid animals.

[@gc3k]

1:17 Unintentional Hackers lookalikes

[@thestrugglingfilmmaker9686]

Mudwrestling night at Jabba's palace...I wonder if that's canon

[@Cnw8701]

Damn, man! Look at all the figures on those pegs! Nowadays they only have about 5 to 10 rows instead of 30+! Sad how years later, Disney is repeating the same merchandising mistakes that Lucasfilm made back then! We STILL have Rogue One and Force Awakens figures and merchandise that are clogging the pegs and shelves, and are preventing the new Last Jedi merchandise to be stocked and displayed!

[@TheAuthor1996]

Back then all you collectors would have been labeled as NERDS….my, look how far we’ve come.

[@e.tezani3877]

Now you can't get rid of phantom menace toys

[@Mike-t5r9q]

I bet 95% of those Star Wars Episode 1 toys are at Good Will now lol 😂

[@CaretakerWanted]

That's why you wait until the movie comes out.

[@BanthaPooDoo64]

Disney made the older films look even more better thanks Disney

[@krtlkid]

rise and last were crap compared to the trilogy before.

[@isaiahevans001]

The prequals are all amazing films…. The Disney films are garbage and cannot be compared.

[@Stomski]

Cool that Kermit took the time to narrate.

[@moseskuria1234]

Its sad that star wars toys become self warmers these days