Kidrobot is a producer and retailer of designer toys, vinyl art toys and collectibles founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Paul Budnitz. The company was one of the earliest creators of designer

art toys Art toys, also called designer toys, are toys and collectibles created by artists and designers that are either self-produced or made by small, independent toy companies, typically in very limited editions. Artists use a variety of materials, suc ...

in America. The company was acquired in November 2014 by National Entertainment Collectibles Association Inc. after almost going bankrupt.

Frank Kozik Frank Kozik (born January 9, 1962 in Madrid) is an American graphic artist best known for his posters for alternative rock bands. History Kozik has worked with Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Me ...

joined the company as creative director that year.

Company History

Entrepreneur Paul Budnitz saw vinyl

during a business trip to Asia in 2002 and decided to create a market for art toys in the United States. He started a website and began importing toys from Japan, and opened a brick and mortar store in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

a few months later. A few months later, the company began producing its own toy line with

Tristan Eaton Tristan Eaton (1978) is an American artist. Primarily known for his toy designs and street art murals, Eaton is also a graphic designer and illustrator. Early life Eaton was born in Hollywood, California, in 1978. He moved to New York City at 20 ...

as the product designer. The company moved to New York City and opened a physical retail store in 2003. Stores were later opened in Los Angeles, Miami, London, Los Vegas, and Boulder. The Dunny and Munny toys launched in April of 2004 at Hong Kong ToyCon. Kidrobot commissioned new artists including Huck Gee,

Dalek The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrials in fiction, extraterrestrial race of mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction on television, science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by write ...

, David Horvath,

Tara McPherson Tara McPherson (born April 7, 1976, in San Francisco, California) is an American artist based in New York. McPherson creates paintings, murals, poster art, and designer toys, within the New Contemporary Art movement. Biography Tara McPherson s ...

, Amanda Visell and

Nathan Jurevicius Nathan Jurevicius (born 1973) is a Canadian/Australian illustrator, director, toy designer, author, and fine artist whose diverse range of work has appeared in numerous publications, advertising campaigns, festivals, and galleries around the w ...

to make designs for the Dunny toy, while the Munny was sold as a blank item that the buyer could decorate. The toys were originally released in limited edition sets, and now come in editions of up to 50,000. In 2006,

WildBrain Entertainment WildBrain Entertainment, Inc. (stylized as W!LDBRAIN, formerly Wild Brain Productions and sometimes simply WildBrain) was an American animation studio that developed and produced television programming, motion pictures, commercial content, and l ...

, creators of

Yo Gabba Gabba! ''Yo Gabba Gabba!'' is a children's musical television series created by Christian Jacobs and Scott Schultz. The series is about five costumed toys come-to-life and their friend DJ Lance Rock (Lance Robertson). It is co-produced by Magic Stor ...

, purchased a stake in Kidrobot. Budnitz moved the company headquarters to Boulder, Colorado in 2009, during the company's first down year. In 2012, Budnitz left Kidrobot and WildBrain announced that they had purchased the brand in full. In 2014, all Kidrobot stores except Las Vegas and San Francisco, which were independently operated, shut down. In November 2014, the company announced that it had been acquired by

National Entertainment Collectibles Association The National Entertainment Collectibles Association (mostly known by its acronym NECA) is an American manufacturer of collectibles typically licensed from films, video-games, sports, music, and television based in New Jersey. The company was foun ...

and

had been appointed creative director.

Products

Kidrobot produces various different designer toy figures, including Munny and Dunny, both of which were featured in the New York Times and other national newspapers and magazines. Kidrobot is also known for its toy series known as ''Yummy World''. In addition, it produces limited-edition Japanese anime figurines and collaborates with well-known television series, such as '' South Park'' and ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...

''. In 2020, KidRobot partnered with the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

during the Met150 celebration for a series of Dunny collectibles inspired by iconic works by the museum’s permanent collection.

Munny

A Munny is a figure made out of

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

with movable joints, designed to be a cross between a devil and a monkey. The figures are blank and the owner can decorate them using pens,

pencil A pencil () is a writing or drawing implement with a solid pigment core in a protective casing that reduces the risk of core breakage, and keeps it from marking the user's hand. Pencils create marks by physical abrasion, leaving a trail ...

s, markers, paint, and other supplies; alternatively, some people commission artists to design Munnys for them, or artists design them to sell. The initial idea was undertaken by

street artist A street artist is a person who makes art in public places. Street artists include portrait artists, caricaturists, graffiti artists, muralists and people making crafts. Street artists can also refer to street performers such as musicians, acrob ...

s who had come to bring back their work legally to the public to display their works. The original Munny is white in color, stands 7 inches tall, and weighs about 1 pound. All series include the 7 inch Munny with the white Munny as the featured doll in the series. Other variations of the doll are: *''Foomi'' - same shape as the original Munny, only smaller, and has spiky hair *''Rooz'' - A bear-like creature with no legs *''Raffy'' - A giraffe-like creature, the term "Raffy" comes from "giraffe" *''Bub'' - A

hippopotamus The hippopotamus ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extan ...

Munny *''Trikky'' - A shorter Munny with

cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

ears *''Micro Munny'' - same shape as the original Munny, but stands 2 inches tall. These were released in October 2012 and come blind-packed along with Foomis, Raffys, and Trikkys. Colors include red, yellow, white, cyan, and blue. *''Mini Munny'' - same shape as the original Munny, but stands 4 inches tall, originally released in February 2008. It was released in blue, white and pink. The mini Munny comes packaged with one accessory, a "My Name Is" sticker, and a marker. *''Mega Munny'' - same shape as the original Munny, but stands 18 inches tall and weighs several pounds. Mega Munny is available in white, teal, pink, and yellow. Although Mega Munny does not include any accessories, Mega Munny includes a practice sheet and a coloring book. *''Mini Munny Mobile'' - A white model of a car which includes 1 white Mini Munny. Both the car and the Mini Munny are made from white vinyl. The car can seat one Mini Munny, has rolling wheels, and a dome-like windshield, along with 4 "mystery" accessories.

Dunny

Dunnys are similar to Munnys in that both are produced by Kidrobot and are vinyl figures, however Dunnys are a different shape, are only sold with designs already printed on them, and are produced in limited numbers. Dunnys have rabbit-like ears at the top of their heads, unlike Munny which has two humanoid ears. Though they are sold already printed, artists can remove the factory-applied paint and apply their own designs, producing custom Dunnys. Dunnys are available in fewer locations than Munnys. Dunnys are designed and released in 8" versions several times a year and typically two blind boxed series of 3" Dunny figures are released each year.

Other Media

In September 2008, there was a report that a film based on the toy merchandise was in development, though it was never produced.

References

External links

Kidrobot – Official website
{{Authority control Art toys Toy companies established in 2002 2014 mergers and acquisitions Toy companies of the United States Toy retailers of the United States Companies based in Boulder, Colorado 2002 establishments in Colorado 2000s toys Toy brands Toy figurines