Hours after the Van Gogh Museum unleashed merchandise from their newly announced and top-secret Pokemon collaboration, shoppers greedily emptied the museum store, snapping up all the crossover they could get their hands on, most of which according to Forbes and USA Todayhaving received a scalp.
The prize everyone was looking for, it seems, was a limited-edition Pikachu in the Gray Felt Hat card, inspired by Van Gogh’s self-portrait of the same name, which was free with any purchase (while supplies last). This card now sells for anywhere from $121 to over $1,500 on eBay.
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Videos of the scuffle in the gift shop, posted on YouTube, show the frenzy that engulfed the day of the release. Shoppers piled into each other, their arms filled with posters and stuffed animals. Cries of “stay in line” can be heard, with someone clearly frustrated calling the event a “joke”.
The announcement that the Pokémon x Van Gogh collaboration was set to release in mid-September was revealed in a cryptic video on the official Pokémon YouTube channel. The commercial features two of Pokémon’s most popular stars, Pikachu and Eevee, running through a field of sunflowers on a sunny day in the Netherlands, with windmills visible on the hills. Suddenly, the digital clarity of the backgrounds and the characters themselves were replaced by Van Gogh’s trademark heavy brushstrokes.
The smell of crossover goods filled the air. It’s a scent that’s becoming more common as institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art strive to become global brands rather than just institutions.
In accordance with Forbes, Pokémon earned $11.6 billion in licensing revenue last year. Add that to one of the most recognizable names and styles in art history, and the event was destined for success. However, no one expected such a chaotic release day. “The rude behavior of a small number of visitors was not expected,” the Van Gogh Museum said Forbes.
The collaboration put Pokemon characters into some of Van Gogh’s most famous works, Self-portrait with a gray felt hat (1887), Sunflowers (1889) and Bedroom (1888). The museum also got into the spirit and offered special activities for visiting children over the age of six, including a scavenger hunt and a Pikachu drawing tutorial. Bags, prints and puzzles decorated the offered goods.
The Pokémon Company apologized for the disastrous release on X (the social media site formerly known as Twitter) and noted that the company is “actively working to provide more Pikachu in the Gray Felt Hat promo cards for fans who shop at the Pokémon Center in the future.”
For now, Pokémon gear purchases at the museum are limited to one per person, and the highly sought-after promo cards will only be available to kids who complete the scavenger hunt. How Forbes noted that for this you will need a ticket to the museum, and tickets are sold out until October 21.
