Stretch Armstrong first came out as a toy in 1976. Made by Kenner (now owned by Hasbro). A ripped blonde guy in a pair of black swimming trunks, his arms and legs were rubber and filled with gel so that they could literally be stretched to extraordinary lengths. If this sounds to you like Mr. Fantastic, Reed Richards, from the Fantastic Four, you'd be right. There isn't much difference between them, so obviously geekdom wants to know who would win in a stretch off?
Over the years, a sidekick dog called Fetch Armstrong joined him. And an evil brother with a Skull face named Evil X-Ray Wretch Armstrong. Though there was another enemy called Stretch X-Ray in 1979 that was an alien with an exposed brain and exposed organs. There was also Stretch Monster, a reptile creature. And that was about it. There certainly wasn't a story to speak of. But then there wasn't a story to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney and look how those movies turned out.
Universal Studios inked the deal with Hasbro in 2008. A screenplay was written by Steve Oedekerk (Patch Adams, Bruce Almighty) and rewritten by Nicholas Stoller (Fun with Dick and Jane, Yes Man). Rob Letterman (Monsters vs. Aliens) has been attached to direct with the movie aiming to be in 3D.
So why is this movie getting so much attention? Because Taylor Lautner has been cast as Stretch. Yes the very same six feet seven inch werewolf heart-throb Jacob Black from the Twilight saga will be able to stretch, in 3D, right out to the fluttering hearts of his fans.
Stretch Armstrong is part of a wider deal that Hasbro made with universal to adapt a whole range of their toys into movies. And so far it's been highly successful. Just look at the Transformers movies and G.I. Joe. And with Battleship and Monopoly on the horizon, there's no sign of them stopping any time soon.
Will this be a good movie? A hit movie? Who knows. It's no secret that the blogosphere is absolutely baffled about how this can possibly be a good movie. For me, that's entertaining in itself right now.
