Stretch Armstrong is a large, gel-filled action figure first introduced in 1976 by Kenner. In 2016, at the New York Toy Fair, Hasbro announced the return of the Stretch Armstrong toy in its original 1976 design.
History
Stretch Armstrong is an action figure in the shape of a short, well-muscled blonde man wearing a black speedo. The doll's most notable feature was that it could be stretched from its original size (about 15Â inches) to four or five feet. (If a tear did develop, it could be fixed with an adhesive bandage. Information on how to repair Stretch can be found inside the instruction booklet that was originally inside his box.) The original Armstrong figure was held in place inside its box by two polystyrene inserts; it could be placed back inside the box for storage.
The original Stretch Armstrong figure was conceived and developed by Bill Armasmith, and was in production from 1976 until 1980 when production was stopped. The original 1970s Stretch is very collectible now and commands high prices on the secondary collectors' market, selling for hundreds, even thousands of dollars. However, finding one in mint condition is hard. Through storage and play, the figure can become damaged and rendered useless. There are still Original Stretch Armstrongs that have survived the passing of time and are remarkably preserved through sheer luck or being stored at the correct temperature. The figure keeps best at room temperature so thirty years later, collectors are still using Stretch.
Stretch Armstrong is made of latex rubber filled with gelled corn syrup, which allows it to retain shape for a short time before shrinking to its original shape.
Similar releases
An estimated 67 different versions from Japan, Germany, Italy, France, Australia, and other countries released Stretch Armstrong variations between 1976 and the 1990s.
- Stretch X-Ray (1977), had an over-sized exposed brain and an alien-looking face with a transparent form that showed its internal organs
- Harbert Sport Mister Muscolo, 1977 Italian version of Stretch Armstrong
- Lili Ledy El Hombre Elastico, Mexican version of Stretch Armstrong
- Tsukuda Mr. X, Japanese version of Stretch Armstrong
- Stretch Monster, a reptilian green nemesis released by Kenner in 1978
- Harbert Sport Mister Mostro, Italian version of Stretch Monster
- Tsukuda Stretch Monster, Japanese version
- Stretch Ollie and Stretch Olivia, male and female octopuses (colored blue and pink, respectively) which had the same face shape but the only difference was their color. Kenner issued both weeks apart but Ollie was more popular. The Denys Fisher UK toy company issued Ollie and Olivia in smaller boxes than their American counterparts, saving on shelf space. The figures are rare to come by now.
- Deny's Fisher Stretch Incredible Hulk
- Mego Elastic Donald Duck (1980)
- Mego Elastic Mickey Mouse (1980)
- Mego Elastic Batman
- Mego Elastic Incredible Hulk
- Mego Elastic Plastic Man (1979)
- Kenner Stretch Serpent
- Cap Toys Fetch Armstrong, Stretch Armstrong's pliable canine counterpart, released in the early 1990s
- Kenner/Hasbro Super Stretch Mask
- Cap Toys Stretch Vac-Man
- ToyQuest Super Morphman
The last two were filled with a granular solid in place of the viscous liquid found in the other figures. A vacuum pump, which attached to the heads of these figures, removed the air from within, which "froze" the toy in its stretched position.
Stretch Armstrong was reissued in the 1990s by Cap Toys, with a canine sidekick, "Fetch Armstrong". The reissue stretch Armstrong had a more comical exaggerated face and mouth and had on a t-shirt and shorts. This new reissue figure was introduced in 1993 and 1994 version exist with slightly different art work. He also has an evil brother named Evil X-ray Wretch Armstrong who has a skull face, sports a mohawk, and also stretches. Wretch Armstrong seems to be a redesigned, smaller remake of Stretch X-Ray but in reality looks nothing like the 1970s version. Evil X-ray Wretch Armstrong is only 7 inches tall whereas Stretch X-ray was over 12 inches tall.
Adaptations
In 1994, Walt Disney Studios obtained the film rights to the character. Several scripts were written, including an early version family comedy written by Greg Erb, a co-writer at Disney. The script which cast Tim Allen in the role of Stretch Armstrong as a "kind of single dad who is a research scientist" and is "stretched too thin" trying to balance his work and family life before he inadvertently accidentally takes one of his experimental serums giving himself "stretchy powers". A later version from Screenwriter Michael Kalesniko was created and it was set in San Francisco. It was about a somewhat socially awkward nobody beset with troubles trying to venture out his failing personal life and is genetically modified with stretching abilities after a failed nuclear fusion experiment and must use his newfound abilities to solve the tragedy that has befallen his family. Among the actors who were considered for the role was Danny DeVito, who refused to do the film if the script made any jokes about his height, after which due to lack of time on the rights both ideas from Disney were scrapped and the rights were bought up by Hasbro.
In 2008, Universal Studios signed a deal with Hasbro to create another film based on Stretch Armstrong from a screenplay written by Nicholas Stoller.
It was announced from the studios co-chairman Donna Langley that Taylor Lautner would star as Armstrong and that the film would be in 3-D. She stated that "with Lautner's success energy and athleticism he is a perfect fit to a unlikely hero." Producer Brian Grazer stated "Stretch Armstrong is a character I have wanted to see on screen for a long time ... It’s a story about a guy stretching ... the limits of what is possible to become all that he can be." Another script was being made by writer Steve Oedekerk introducing the character in the form of an uptight spy who stumbles across a stretching formula, which he takes and now must adjust to his New found abilities when fighting crime and in his everyday life.
Two years later, after the excitement drummed up by the Studios ideas for the character, Relativity Media announced that they had picked up the film after it was dropped by Universal and set a new release date of April 11, 2014. Planning to make the film more serious than originally intended by Universal, Relativity hired The Manchurian Candidate writer Dean Georgaris to write a new script, dropped Lautner, and hired Breck Eisner to direct. The film origin story was going to introduce an overwhelmed high schooler and the life-or-death consequences he was going to face after undergoing a transformation granting him superhuman abilities. Production was scheduled to start filming on May 15, 2013, in Montreal but by October 2013, both the studio and Hasbro had abandoned the film to work on other projects.
After four attempted films for Stretch Armstrong, Hasbro Studios made a deal with the streaming site Netflix where the property was picked up for a full 26-episode animated series, making it the first deal between the company and the streaming service. This superhero action/comedy animated series will follow an over-scheduled teenager named Jake Armstrong and his two best friends as they go into action when the trio are inadvertently accidentally exposed to an experimental chemical making them flexible and become Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fightersâ€" a team of stretchable superheroes who must work together and embark on a series of adventures to expand beyond the confines of their lives. The series is expected to debut in 2017. A similar concept with Stretch as a superhero was also shown in a one-off comic produced by Hasbro in 2011 dubbed Unit:E; there, the descendant of Acroyear and a Biotron (both from Micronauts) and Synergy (from Jem; here an alien artificial intelligence) conducted reconnaissance on heroes from Earth and beyond (including characters from G.I. Joe, Transformers, MASK, Battleship Galaxies, Action Man, and even Candy Land) to help fight against Baron Karza (the enemy of the Micronauts).)
References
External links
- Kenner Stretch Armstrong Catalog from 1978
- Collector website
- Fansite and photos of Super Morphman at X-entertainment.com
- Evil X-Ray Wretch Armstrong video
- Stretch Armstrong at the Internet Movie Database