Billion Dollar Babies: The True Story of the Cabbage Patch Kids – Watch the trailer for the new documentary

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Abramorama premiered the official trailer for the feature-length documentary Billion Dollar Babies: The True Story of the Cabbage Patch Kids and announced the film will be released in theaters beginning Black Friday, November 24th, 2023. Abramorama will also release an exclusive theatrical-only version of the film that includes a montage of fan photos of real people pictured with their Cabbage Patch Kids.

Before the Cabbage Patch Kids, no one could have imagined a world where police would need to break up fights between rampaging adults in toy stores. But after the Cabbage Patch Kids, every manufacturer in the world was desperate for their own “riot-worthy” toy. Everything had changed, and we were never going back. Billion Dollar Babies: The True Story of the Cabbage Patch Kids is the evolution of that change, told through the lens of what is arguably the most beloved toy of the 1980s. It’s one filled with doll hospitals with delightfully attentive staff tending to every need of the “babies” birthed from a cabbage patch before their adoptions, dangerous counterfeit dolls and intense U.S. Customs raids, inevitable black-market sales, a glut of spin-off products, severe doll shortages and a rabid media frenzy that gave rise to a BILLION-dollar toy brand unlike anything the world had ever seen. Oh, and did we mention the “custody battle” over the origin of the idea? An unassuming and relatively unknown artist from rural Kentucky filed suit claiming she was the true creator of the dolls, setting off a contentious four-year legal battle over the Kids. This is the story you never knew about the dolls that stole America’s heart and turned us all into total maniacs.

The fascinating documentary from NBCUniversal Syndication Studios and Believe Entertainment Group is directed by Andrew Jenks (“World of Jenks”, What Really Happened?) and chronicles the meteoric rise of the dolls that set in motion the modern day Black Friday craze. Narrated and executive produced by Emmy- and Tony Award-winning actor Neil Patrick Harris the film features the first interview with Cabbage Patch Kids creator Xavier Roberts in over 20 years as well as interviews with journalist Connie Chung, and former Coleco marketing head Al Kahan. The film made its world premiere at the 2022 Tribeca Festival.