Why Elizabeth Banks thinks her Beanie Bubble character got the 'ultimate revenge'

Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Beanie Bubble.

Sorry, Ty Warner, but Elizabeth Banks believes that her character was the real winner at the end of The Beanie Bubble.

The actress stars as Robbie, a talented businesswoman who co-founded the Beanie Baby-toting toy company alongside Warner (Zach Galifianakis), in the Kristin Gore- and Damian Kulash-directed comedy, which is now streaming on Apple TV+. Based on real events and Zac Bissonnette's 2015 book The Great Beanie Baby Bubble: Mass Delusion and the Dark Side of Cute, the film follows Robbie and Ty's tumultuous relationship as his greed and lust for power leads him to slowly and systematically oust her from the company amid the great Beanie Baby boom.

By the time Robbie realizes Ty's true intentions, the writing is already on the wall. "Knowing you've been beat is a horrible feeling and it can happen to anyone," Banks tells EW. "I think it happens all the time to people and that realization for her, it was heartbreaking when I read it, but I think she had to get back on her feet."

COURTESY OF APPLE Zach Galifianakis and Elizabeth Banks in 'The Beanie Bubble'

After an attempt to get back at Ty (who, amongst other betrayals, literally plants an audio transmitter under her desk to spy on her conversations), Robbie quits by storming out of the building and into the awaiting car of her new boyfriend. An epilogue reveals that she went on to start her own thriving company and became one of the highest-paid female executives in the U.K.

"I loved how the movie ended," Banks says. "I didn't know in real life, this original partner of his became rich doing toy distribution on her own — like, she did learn the business and take everything into her own business. So I did love that it was going to be her ultimate revenge."

While Robbie isn't technically a real person — Banks calls her an "amalgamation" of Ty's former partner Patricia Roche, who went on to helm the company's U.K. branch — the character's decision to leave Ty Corporation is another nod to her keen business sense, given that Beanie Babies eventually fell out of favor in the early aughts.

"It's almost like, in the writing of it at least, that Ty is somebody who actually doesn't really want anyone to succeed or get credit unless it's him, but in reality, so many people made money off Beanie Babies and off the toy business," Banks explains. "And Robbie recognizes she should be one of those people."

COURTESY OF APPLE Elizabeth Banks as Robbie in 'The Beanie Bubble'

She's not alone. Ty's love interest Sheila, played by Succession star Sarah Snook, ends up selling her limited edition Beanie Babies to purchase a new home and pay for her daughter's future college tuitions, while tech-savvy employee Maya (Geraldine Viswanathan) gets tapped by another company that sees the benefit of her digital skills and starts her own consulting firm.

For Gore (who wrote the film's screenplay) and Kulash, it was important that The Beanie Bubble focus on the "subtler, more structural" way that women are discriminated against within the workforce to this day.

"People can buy into things, in what seems like they're own best interest, and still find they're screwed systematically," Kulash says. "As opposed to just [having] big predators out there, there's also a system that seems cute and wonderful and playful and fun that leaves people without what they deserve."

"It was kind of the arc of the '90s overall," Gore adds. "It started out with hope and things are great and we're on this new frontier, new beginnings, everything's gonna get better, and then, oh, maybe not."

The Beanie Bubble is in select theaters and available to stream on Apple TV+.

These interviews were conducted prior to the start of the SAG-AFTRA strike.

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