This week’s video is doubling as our PopCult Gift Guide selection.  Below you see the trailer for TOYLAND, a documentary about the creation of some of our favorite childhood playthings.

Directed by Ken Sons, with consultation and co-editing by toy expert, Tim Walsh, TOYLAND is filled with priceless interviews with the creators and designers of toys like Slinky, The Game of Twister and others, and it follows a toy designer around as he tries to pitch his idea as the next hot new toy.

This DVD-R can be ordered directly from the filmmakers at their website. It’ll run you $18.99, plus shipping.  TOYLAND is a great holiday gift because it blends nostalgia with a hard-hitting look inside the toy industry.

From their website, this is how the film is described: “Toyland is a never-before-seen look at a place where fun is born and competition is fierce: The $22 billion dollar toy business. Perform a song that sells a million copies and you’re awarded a platinum record and the cover of Rolling Stone. Design a toy that sells 300 million copies and you’re unknown… until now. Meet the people behind the biggest playthings in history, including Betty James (Slinky), Eddy Goldfarb (False Chattering Teeth), Burt Meyer (Lite Brite and Mouse Trap), Reyn Guyer (Twister and Nerf), and more. Beside legends like Betty, Eddy, Burt and Reyn, you’ll meet toy design students at Otis College of Art & Design, and seasoned toy veterans at Big Monster Toys, the largest and most prolific toy design firm in the world. Come see Operation games being made at Hasbro and talk toys with the playmakers at Radio Flyer, home of “America’s Little Red Wagon.”

“Toyland follows the ups and downs of game designer, Tim Walsh as he trys to take his own invention to market. From paper to prototype, we follow Walsh along his winding road to New York City’s Toy Fair, one of the largest trade show for toys in the world. Will his idea light up the imagination of kids everywhere or never see the light of day?”