The date is November 27, 1991, the day before Thanksgiving and two days before Black Friday. And you have to remember that this is long before Cyber Monday, which didn’t begin until 2005, so this is a huge deal.
This was more than likely shot by a location news station as b-roll for a segment about holiday shopping and Black Friday. And it has it all. The toys, customers wearing very 90s outfits, somber holiday music, and cashiers interrupting the music to ask for assistance. It is truly a time capsule.
While you really have to be in the mood to sit through 20 minutes of raw, unnarrated footage of a Toys ‘R’ Us, there are some really rewarding moments.
Starting at :59, there’s a solid 3 minutes of shoppers agonizing over a massive selection of Barbie Dolls. Cabbage Patch Dolls make an appearance at 5:29. The often abused bicycle aisle shows up at 6:26 (you can almost smell the rubber tires). The sports aisle at 7:54. You really get a tour of the entire store. The massive Legos section starts at 8:08. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at 10:38. And my personal favorite, the video game aisle, shows up at 13:23. There’s even a woman at 13:58 holding and opening a Gameboy Box.
The video game aisle was a huge draw that year, especially since it was the first Holiday season that Super Nintendos were on the market.
For anyone who grew up dying to buy everything at the place “Where a kid can be a kid”, this video unlocks some beautiful memories.
