Big Trouble vs. Little China

Mattel sorry for smearing China's reputation

BEIJING - Mattel Inc.'s weekslong effort to extract itself from a tainted-toy crisis took a humiliating turn Friday when the company publicly apologized to the Chinese people and acknowledged damaging the reputation of China's manufacturers.

When some wild-eyed, eight-foot tall maniac grabs your neck, taps the back of your favorite head up against the barroom wall, looks you crooked in the eye and asks you if you paid your dues, you just stare that big sucker right back in the eye, and you remember what ol' Jack Burton always says at a time like that: "Have you paid your dues, Jack?" "Yes sir, the check is in the mail." - Jack Burton, Big Trouble in Little China, 1986

"It's quite remarkable," said Oded Shenkar, a China expert at the Ohio State University Fisher College of Business. "These U.S. companies think that they are on top of it [when they outsource to China]. But they are dependent on the government to a very large extent."

Okay, I get the picture. White Tigers, Lords of Death, guys in funny suits throwing plastic explosives while poison arrows fall from the sky and the pillars of heaven shake, huh? Sure, okay, I see Charlie Chan, Fu Manchu and a hundred howlin' monkey temples, and that's just for starters, right? Fine! I'm back! I'm ready, goddammit let me at 'em! - Jack Burton, Big Trouble in Little China, 1986

"Our reputation has been damaged lately by these recalls," Debrowski said, according to reports. "And Mattel takes full responsibility for these recalls and apologizes personally to you, the Chinese people, and all of our customers who received the toys."

Shut up Mr. Burton! You were not brought upon this world to get it! - Lo Pan, Big Trouble in Little China, 1986

In an extraordinary session in the Beijing office of Chinese product-safety chief Li Changjiang, Thomas Debrowski, Mattel's executive vice president for worldwide operations, endured Li's scolding in front of reporters invited to the event.

And now, my beloved disciples. The moment of truth. The needle of love. - Lo Pan, Big Trouble in Little China, 1986

Li reminded Debrowski that "a large part of your annual profit ... comes from your factories in China. This shows that our cooperation is in the interests of Mattel, and both parties should value our cooperation. I really hope that Mattel can learn lessons and gain experience from these incidents."

Who are these people? Friends of yours? Now this really pisses me off to no end! - Lo Pan, Big Trouble in Little China, 1986

But, she added, "Mattel has known for a long time that the Chinese government, especially the local government, doesn't regulate effectively. They've been getting low prices, but what they're discovering is that those low prices come at a cost."

Hey, I'm a reasonable guy. But I've just experienced some very unreasonable things. - Jack Burton, Big Trouble in Little China, 1986