Jerry Oppenheimer's book Toy Monster: The Big, Bad World of Mattel, explores the power struggles and drama behind one of the world's biggest toy companies—documenting the fallout between Mattel founders Ruth and Elliot Handler and toy designer Jack Ryan. Mattel itself has ventured into filmmaking, and achieved major success with Greta Gerwig's Barbie. The film grossed a whopping $1.6 billion in 2023, prompting Mattel to finance several upcoming live-action adaptations of iconic toy lines such as Barney, Masters of the Universe, and Matchbox.