toys & family entertainment, february 2009 toy fair issue

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SRP$9999

FITS IN THE PALM

OF YOUR HANDFITS IN THE PALM

OF YOUR HAND

New Spa Factory ProductComing Soon for Fall 2009

Volume 4, No. 3

February 2009

Features30 Hong Kong Toy Show:

Consistent Value inChanging Timesby Christopher Byrne

32 Barbie: Five Decadesof Fabulousby Nancy Lombardi

34 Dora Grows with Fansby Nancy Lombardi

36 MEGA Battles to Get Kids to Retailby Nancy Lombardi

38 Learning Curve LineLeaps Off of the Pageby Chris Adams

40 Big News for a ‘Little’ Brandby Chris Adams

42 Specialty Gets Ready for 2009:New Challenges Face aDynamic Sectorby Christopher Byrne

46 Toy Fair 2009by Laurie Hahn, Nancy Lombardi, and Paul Narula

132 Film Previewcompiled by Chris Adams COVER BY DESIGN EDGE

ON THIS PAGE (CLOCKWISE FROM THE TOP): Learning Curve’s SuperWHY! Action Figure, Jakks’ Pokémon Buneary figure, TechnoSource’s Rubik’s TouchCube, MEGA Brands’ Battle Striker, andMattel’s Barbie My House Playset

Observations & Opinions page 6

Sizzlers page 8

Specialty Sizzlers page 10

The Ticker page 15

Entertainment Marketplace: Wizards of Waverly Place page 18

Merchandise Makers: Patch Products page 20

Industry Forum: TIF page 22

Industry Forum: ASTRA page 24

Industry Forum: Gameplan Europe page 26

Industry Forum: Design Edge page 28

Specialty Emporium: PlaSmart page 134

Calendar of Events page 136

Departments

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Cartoon Network Trade Ad - Ben 10Toys and Family 1 of 2 Single page ad - February ‘09

Job No: tp9297a08.inddClient Name: TPRDescription: CN Ben 10 AdPublication: Toys and Family

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Line Screen: 133Scale: Output:

tp9297a08.indd 1 1/27/09 1:33:05 PM

THE GLASS IS HALF FULL

6 TOYS & FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT FEBRUARY 2009

OBSE

RVAT

IONS

&OP

INIO

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PUBLISHED BY ANB MEDIA • Volume 4, Number 3

PUBLISHER BOB [email protected]

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER ANDY [email protected]

CONTROLLER MARY [email protected]

EDITOR IN CHIEF JIM [email protected]

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR NANCY [email protected]

MANAGING EDITOR CHRIS [email protected]

EDITOR AT LARGE CHRISTOPHER [email protected]

ASSISTANT EDITORS

LAURIE HAHN; [email protected] NARULA; [email protected]

WEB MASTER ERIK [email protected]

WEB CONTENT MANAGER BRENDAN [email protected]

CONTRIBUTORS

ANDREW DOBBIE; AMANDA MCDORMAN;KATHLEEN MCHUGH;

MATT NUCCIO, [email protected]

HONG KONG REPRESENTATIVE TONY LEESMART REGENT PRODUCTIONS LTD., 66–72 STANLEY STREET, ROOM 603,

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TOYS & FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT and SPECIALTY EMPORIUM are published monthly by aNb Media, Inc. Copyright 2009aNb Media, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or byany means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval sys-tem, without written permission from the publisher. Printed in the U.S.A. TOYS & FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT andSPECIALTY EMPORIUM are registered trademarks of aNb Media, Inc. Opinions and comments expressed in this publi-cation by editors, contributing writers, or solicited or unsolicited documents are not necessarily those of management.

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Last month, like so many others in the toy industry, I traveled toHong Kong. Just about everyone I spoke to is glad that 2008 isover and certainly there is no need to explain why. We all knowthe challenges that everyone is facing worldwide across everyindustry. Asking manufacturers what they expect from 2009 is

not very encouraging. Most people want to bury their head in the sand andget through 2009 as quickly as possible. The prevailing wisdom is that theyear ahead will be just as challenging, if not more so, as the one just finished.I am here to tell you why that is the complete wrong attitude to have.

If you expect the worst, chances are that is what you will get. Don’tallow the doom-and-gloom attitude so prevalent right now to become aself-fulfilling prophecy. Children still need—and want—toys.

While in Hong Kong I had the opportunity to visit many toy manufac-turers and see a vast number of great new products soon to hit retail

shelves. The coming year is full of opportunities forretailers and manufacturers. These opportunities will notbe realized by expecting the worst. Give consumers a rea-son to buy and they will. Maybe the reason is a new fea-ture added to an existing item that increases play value,or maybe it’s a new product introduction that hits at theright time to get consumers excited. Some manufacturersare making price an important consideration for this year.Various manufacturers were touting the fact that they areable to bring retail costs down on existing products andintroduce new products with lower price points.

As Wayne Nathan, from Techno Source, said to me, thetoy industry is still a great industry to work in. We could beworking in the automobile industry. We could be workingin the financial sector or in the consumer electronics indus-

try. But we are all involved in an industry where children and parents arealways looking for new and exciting products to teach and entertain.Consumers want what this industry has to offer. Give them a reason to buy.

We wish everyone a successful (and, hopefully, snow-free) Toy Fair.

BY BOB GLASER

Bob Glaser (on the left) and BobPagano, from Kids Only, enjoy atraditional meal in Hong Kong.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Cartoon Network Trade Ad - Secret SaturdayToys and Family 2 of 2 Single page ad - February ‘09

Job No: tp9297a09.inddClient Name: TPRDescription: CN Secret SaturdayPublication: Toys and Family

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Line Screen: 133Scale: Output:

tp9297a09.indd 1 1/27/09 2:15:55 PM


SS IIZZZZLL

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Here is an alphabetical listing of the hottest-selling items in the toy industry, based ona combined survey of both offline and online retailers, reflecting the previous month’s sales.

SIZZLERS: WHAT’S MOVING OFF STORE SHELVES? WHAT ARE THE HOTTEST WEB ORDERS?

NERF N-STRIKE

VULCAN

Hasbro

PIXOS

Spin Master

ROCK BAND

Harmonix

SPIKE THE

ULTRA DINOSAUR

Fisher-Price

STAR WARS:THE CLONE WARS

FIGURES

Hasbro

TAG

LeapFrog

TECH DECK BOARDS

Spin Master

WII FIT

Nintendo

BAKUGAN

BATTLE BRAWLERS

Spin Master

BARBIE & THE

DIAMOND CASTLE

PRINCESS

ASSORTMENT

Mattel

BEN 10 ALIEN

CREATION CHAMBER

Bandai

ELMO LIVE

Fisher-Price

EYECLOPS NIGHT

VISION GOGGLES

Jakks Pacific

GIRL GOURMET

CUPCAKE MAKER

Jakks Pacific

HYPER DASH

Wild Planet

LEGO STAR WARS

ASSORTMENT

LEGO

Hyper Dash

Bakugan Battle Brawlers

Girl Gourmet Cupcake Maker


SPECIALTYSIZZ

LERS

This is an alphabetical listing of the hottest-selling items in the specialty segmentof the toy industry, based on a survey of independent toy and gift retailers,

reflecting the previous month’s sales.

SPECIALTY SIZZLERS: WHAT’S MOVING OFFSTORE SHELVES IN THE SPECIALTY MARKET?

BANANAGRAMS

Bananagrams

BATH TOYS

ASSORTMENT

Alex Toys

CALICO CRITTERS

ASSORTMENT

InternationalPlaythings

CALIN DOLL

ASSORTMENT

Corolle

FLOOR PUZZLE

ASSORTMENT

Melissa & Doug

PLASMACAR

PlaSmart

RC DYNO

Kid Galaxy

SNAP CIRCUITS

Elenco

STICKY MOSAICS

The OrbFactory

STUNT COPTER

Play Visions

Calin

Bananagrams

PlasmaCar

I WANT MY DREAM HOUSE®

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A RECAP OF INDUSTRY HEADLINES

MATTEL ACQUIRES GAME MAKERMattel announced early last month that it had acquired French game company Sekkoia SAS, maker of the Blokus game. Financial

terms of the sale were not disclosed. Blokus, which has been an international sensation, has been on the market since 2000 and is current-ly one of the bestselling board games in the world.With the acquisition, in addition to all versions of the Blokus game, Mattel also acquired the rights to Whac-A-Mole from Bob’s Space

Racers, Inc., and plans to develop that franchise into a variety of games.

MARVEL SUES MGAMarvel Entertainment has sued MGA, claiming that the company breached the terms

of its licensing agreement. In the suit filed on January 2, Marvel claims that MGA owesthe company $1.88 million for failing to pay licensing fees and for violating the terms ofseveral licensing agreements by making Spider-Man and Ghost Rider toys, which werenot part of the original deal.Marvel claims that a November audit report indicates that MGA owes approximately

$1.1 million in unpaid licensing fees, including a $375,000 minimum guarantee that wasdue by January 1. Marvel is seeking nearly $800,000 more to cover sales of toys thatwere not in the licensing agreement.MGA denies the allegations, and CEO Isaac Larian released a statement saying that

Marvel’s claims are “without merit.”

TOY EXPORTERS SHUTTERED IN CHINAIncreased costs and regulation and the global financial situation forced 922 toy

exporters to cease operations in China’s Guangdong province last year. That leaves 2,167 exporters still in business in the region, downfrom 3,089 that were operating in 2007.According to the Guangdong Toy Association, the numbers began declining two years ago. However, most of the operations that were

shuttered were smaller companies exporting relatively small amounts of product.Despite overall slower growth in 2008, Guangdong exported approximately $6.1 billion worth of toys, up 3.6 percent from 2007.

HIT ENTERTAINMENT AND FISHER-PRICE ENTER INTO GLOBAL AGREEMENTHIT Entertainment appointed Fisher-Price, Inc., as the global master toy licensee for Thomas & Friends in a multi-territory, multi-year deal.

Under the terms of the agreement Fisher-Price, a division of Mattel, Inc., will bring together some of Thomas & Friends’ core category rightsand will begin using its worldwide distribution capability to enhance and grow the long-term business for this iconic brand. The first line of prod-ucts will be available in 2010 and will expand as existing licensees’ rights expire across key toy categories. Fisher-Price has been granted theglobal rights for Thomas & Friends, excluding Japan, on vehicles, figures, and playsets,including die-cast vehicles and playsets, and the TrackMaster train system; preschool toys,including electronic learning and developmental toys; plush, games, puzzles, roleplay, andwater toys; battery-powered ride-ons; and plastic pedal trikes (North and SouthAmerica andAsia only). The wooden track system rights remain with RC2.

FEBRUARY 2009 TOYS & FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT 15

THE

TICKER


THE

TICK

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WOOLWORTHS SHUTS DOWN IN UKOn January 5, the last of the Woolworths stores were closed in the UK, ending nearly a century of tradition and leaving a gaping hole

in many shopping districts. The chain had been struggling and had been put into receivership with Deloitte in recent months. Deloitte hadsought a buyer and run clearance sales, but the store could not be sold, and the store closed, putting about 27,000 people out of work. Therise of internet shopping in the UK seriously impacted Woolworths’ sales. The death of the chain is a blow for the toy industry asWoolworths had been one of the largest toy retailers throughout the UK. Sales are likely to go to other giants such as Tesco. Woolworthscame under British ownership in 1982, and it outlasted its original U.S. parent, which shut down in 1997.

HOLIDAY SALES DOWNIt comes as no surprise that 2008 holiday sales were down from the previous year. The National Retail Federation (NRF) reported that

sales declined 2.8 percent for the November and December periods to $447.5 billion from $460.2 billion in 2007. Bad weather, a short-ened holiday season, and the economic climate all contributed to the decline. However, there were bright spots. According to NRF, sport-ing goods and music stores were up slightly, as were health and personal care sectors.

Toys “R” Us reported that same-store sales for December were up 1.9 percent over 2007, though for the entire nine-week holiday shop-ping period store sales were down 3.4 percent.

RC2 GRANTED MASTER TOY LICENSING RIGHTS FOR CHUGGINGTONRC2Corporation announced that one of its wholly owned subsidiaries, Learning Curve, holds multi-year mas-

ter toy licensing rights for Chuggington, the new character-based children’s television program created anddeveloped by Ludorum plc. The RC2 subsidiary has contributed 50 percent ofChuggington’s developmentcosts and holds 50 percent of Chuggington’s intellectual property rights. As the global master toy licensee,RC2’s Learning Curve brand plans to debut its exclusive international Chuggington toy line in 2010.

Chuggington debuted in the UK on the BBC2’s Cbeebies children’s channel in the fall of 2008 and can now be seen daily on the mainCbeebies’ afternoon preschool block. While expanding broadcast in the UK, Chuggington is also scheduled to air in 100 additional inter-national TV markets this year. Chuggington features a diverse cast of train friends including engines Wilson, Brewster, and Koko, whocome to life on TV and across multiple digital formats through the use of CGI technology. With a target audience of pre- and early-schoolboys and girls, Chuggington is a property that has been designed from the start to have expansive interactive online, play, and learningcomponents that engage children, are approved by parents, and provide the same quality experience derived from the TV show.

WII SALES UP 59 PERCENT IN DECEMBERNintendo’s Wii system continued its domination of the U.S. market with sales in December up 59 percent over the previous year as con-

sumers snapped up 2.15 million units during the month. Greater availability inevitably affected sales, but Wii remains the most popularsystem on the market. To date 10.1 million Wii systems have been sold. Nintendo also controlled the handheld sector, with more than 3million of its DS systems purchased in December.

NPD said that the total U.S. video game market grew a whopping 9.3 percent in December to $5.29 billion, the first month that indus-try revenue has ever exceeded $5 billion. NPD also said that software sales grew 15 percent to $2.75 billion, led by Call of Duty: Worldat War fromActivision Blizzard, Inc., which sold 1.86 million copies. The company’s Guitar Hero and Rock Band, made by Viacom, Inc.’sMTV Networks, accounted for 16 percent of the sales, according to NPD. For the year, U.S. retail sales of hardware, software and acces-sories rose 19 percent to $21.3 billion, NPD said.

A RECAP OF INDUSTRY HEADLINES

Something unusual has been happening that has Disney viewers tuning infor all the magic and fun of Wizards of Waverly Place. The show followsAlex Russo (Selena Gomez) and her two brothers Justin and Max. Theseteenagers are wizards in training, preparing for a test of their magical skillsthat will determine which one sibling gets to keep his or her powers when

they turn 18. In each wizard family, only one child is allowed to keep their powerswhen they grow up. Alex and her brothers try to use their magic to solve their prob-lems, such as household chores and getting even with each other, but outrageous con-sequences usually follow.

Wizards of Waverly Place, which debuted in October 2007, has become a hit amongkids ages 6–14 and in Q2 of 2008 ranked as the Disney Channel’s No. 1 series amongtweens 9–14 and girls 9–14, according to Nielsen Media Research. Disney will keepthe momentum going for the show with the release of two episodic DVDs, one thisspring and one in the fall. Disney will also debut the Wizards of Waverly Place DisneyChannel original movie this fall.

Off the TV screen, viewers can extend their experience with the Russo familythrough a variety of Wizards products. Disney Interactive Studios will release aWizards video game for the Nintendo DS this fall. Disney Press released five Wizardsof Waverly Place chapter books last year, with additional releases planned for 2009.

Disney Consumer Products (DCP) signed a variety of licensees in categories suchas apparel, accessories, health & beauty, and footwear. DCP is positioning Wizards asmore of a lifestyle brand, so the main focus is on fashion and home. In terms of toys,the program will be more games focused, but that aspect of the program is not yet com-plete, according to DCP. However, Cardinal Games will release Wizards board games

this year. Mattel recentlysigned on for games androleplay products. TheWizards brand will get a bigpush in the mass market dur-ing this year’s back-to-school season, especiallywith bags and backpacksfrom licensees FAB andGlobal Design Concepts.With a full lineup oflicensees, 2009 is sure to be amagical year for the Wizardsof Waverly Place property.

DDIISSNNEEYY CCOONNSSUUMMEERR PPRROODDUUCCTTSSBY LAURIE HAHN

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NEED TO KNOW

• Wizards of Waverly Placeairs 17 times per week:Mondays through Fridays at11:30 A.M. and 10 P.M.,Wednesdays and Thursdaysfrom 6 –7 P.M., Fridays from3–5 P.M., and Sundays at8:30 P.M.

• The show was created byformer Hannah Montanawriter Todd J. Greenwald.

• The show is primarily seton Waverly Place, a street indowntown Manhattan.

• Selena Gomez, who playsAlex Russo on Wizards,sings the show’s theme song“Everything Is Not What ItSeems.”

• Hollywood Records, a labelowned by the Walt DisneyCompany, will release SelenaGomez’s debut album thissummer.


AME/LI & FUNGAME/Li & Fung signed on to produce

Wizards of Waverly Place sleepwear. Thedorm nightshirt is made of poly jersey andcomes with a key chain. It is available atSears and Kohl’s.

CARDINAL GAMESIn Cardinal Games’Wizards of Waverly Place Pick Your Potion Board Game, play-

ers have been invited by Alex to join the Russos in their wizard training. Lesson No.372 is how to make “magic potions.” Race around theboard collecting Potion Ingredient cards, then travel tothe center and use the magic wand to find out if youhave collected the right ones. Success is collectingthree correct magic ingredients to win, but only thewand knows which ones they are. The game comeswith a special Wizard Wand, playing board, MagicPotion cards, Potion Ingredient cards, pawns, and a die.

GLOBAL DESIGN CONCEPTSThe Wizards of Waverly Place bags created by

Global Design Concepts embody the essence ofSelena Gomez’s character Alex Russo by takingtrends from the market and mixing them withAlex’s personal bo-ho chic style. The reversibleshort shoulder handbag incorporates a greatmix of fashion with the ability to make magichappen by having two bags in one.

JERRY LEIGHJerry Leigh’s Wizards of Waverly

Place apparel will be available atJCPenney, Kohl’s, Sears, and Shopko. Anew collection (shown) for summer2009 will be at Disney Stores. Theapparel focuses on the character of AlexRusso and her style, mixing prints andfabrications. Jerry Leigh is keeping theclothing layered and bohemian, as wellas young and fun.

HIGH INTENCITYCharm It, the interchangeable

charm jewelry program by HighIntenCity, introduces Disney’s Wizardsof Waverly Place charms to the collec-tion. The Wizards charms feature AlexRusso on a heart locket charm and on a star charmedged with crystals. A magical addition to Charm It,Wizards charms can be mixed and matched with an infinite selection of charms to cre-ate a unique accessory.

When brothers Franand Bryce Patch firstwent into businesstogether in the smalltown of Beloit,

Wisc., becoming toymakers was not a part oftheir plan. Rather, the Patch brothers original-ly founded a printing company in 1971. Alarge number of the Patch brothers’clients were game and toy compa-nies. They were responsible forprinting out large quantities ofTrivial Pursuit material, and alsofor many of the Cabbage Patchsticker books that entered the mar-ket. After years of producing theseproducts for other companies, thePatch brothers decided the timehad come for them to work on theirown projects. In 1985, the compa-ny known as Patch Products wasfounded, with the initial release oftwo sets of children’s puzzles. It wasn’t until1992 that the company created its first boardgame, but after that, Patch’s board game busi-ness continued to grow. Today, Patch Productsmanufactures games and puzzles for childrenand families.

When it comes to Patch’s products, thereare two qualities the company holds above allelse. “Quality is No. 1 and fun is right up therewith it,” says Lisa Wuenneman, director ofmarketing for Patch Products. Each of Patch’sgames and toys is held to a high standard ofquality. In addition, the company makes surethat all of its products are family-friendlygames or activities that won’t leave anyoneout of the fun. Each product also includes an

educational component, though Patch takescare not to make that the dominating aspect ofplay. “We don’t want it to scream educationwhen you pick it up off the shelf, but we liketo think that by the time you’re done playingwith the puzzle or the game, you come awaywith something you didn’t know before,”Wuenneman says. One of the company’s best-

selling board games, Buzzword, features awide range of vocabulary words that playersmay be unfamiliar with tucked into a triviagame with a twist. Products such as this makePatch an appealing company for parents andchildren by catering to both groups.

One thing that Patch prides itself on as acompany is its openness to new ideas. “Weaccept ideas from anyone,” saysWuenneman.In fact, Patch often happily includes first-timeinventors or amateurs in its search for newproducts and ideas. While the company doeslook at a wide variety of ideas, whether triedand true or new and risky, that doesn’t meanthat these ideas aren’t subjected to the samescrutiny that any toy concept for a Patch prod-

uct would go through. “It’s important that agame have unique gameplay, simple rules,and is educational as well,”Wuenneman says.If an idea can fulfill all those criteria, it’s on itsway to becoming a part of Patch’s lineup.

Patch’s products are available at a widevariety of retailers. The company’s mostpopular and longest running products are

available at mass-market stores.Patch also has a variety of productsthat can be found in specialtystores and other smaller outlets.“We have been positioned as amass-market company, but we dohave more than 200 items thataren’t at mass,” says Wuenneman.Patch Products also recentlyacquired the Smethport SpecialtyCompany, which added theSmethport and Lauri brands to thecompany. “Smethport will reallyhelp us broaden our presence in

specialty,” Wuenneman says.Patch Products continues to grow and

expand its product line with every new year.This year, the company entered into alicensing agreement for the Where’sWaldo? brand and will produce games andactivities for the brand. Patch will also con-tinue to release its own original products,such as Pass the Pup—a new plush canineversion of the classic “hot potato.” Thecompany remains and will remain familyowned. Both the Patch brothers still work atthe office. “We’re all working for a highquality product at a great value,” saysWuenneman. “If we treat our customers andretailers fairly, then everybody’s happy.”

FROM PRINTING TO PUZZLESBY PAUL NARULA

MER

CHAN

DISE

MAK

ERS


Buzzword, a trivia game from Patch

At the Toy Industry Foundation (TIF), the beginningof another year and another Toy Fair allows us toreflect on our recent work and acknowledge the sup-port of the toy and children’s entertainment indus-tries. TIF is dedicated to bringing joy, comfort, and

learning to children in need through play. Through programs, part-nerships, grant making, and public education, we work year-roundto provide children with the opportunity to dream, to laugh, and tolearn. The foundation’s work most recently included the following:

MY STUFF BAGS FOUNDATION

In December 2008, TIF launched a national partnership with MyStuff Bags Foundation, a charitable organization that provides com-fort and hope to children suffering from abuse, neglect, and abandon-ment. The partnership, which includes a pledge of $400,000 in finan-cial support and 50,000 toys over two years, represents the most sig-nificant commitment to date from the Toy Industry Foundation.Throughout the coming year, The Toy Bank will manage ongoing toydrives to support the efforts of My Stuff Bags Foundation and indus-try representatives will volunteer their time in “stuff-a-thons.” Withthe help of TIF, My Stuff Bags will distribute individual duffel bagsfilled with necessities to rescued children entering crisis shelters andfoster care with nothing of their own.

THE TOY BANK

The Toy Bank, a partnership between TIF and Gifts In KindInternational, is the first industry-wide program of its kind. ThroughThe Toy Bank, the foundation’s signature program, charities servingchildren receive new toys and manufacturers, retailers, and distribu-tors of toys are offered the opportunity to make a difference. In 2008alone, more than 800,000 new toys valued at more than $5.7 millionwere distributed to children in need throughout North America.

PLAY HEALS

The Toy Industry Foundation is a proud national partner withRonald McDonald House Charities. Through Play Heals, childrenstaying at Ronald McDonald Houses receive new toys from TheToy Bank year-round. The program is offered to all RonaldMcDonald House programs in the U.S. and Canada. The Toy

Industry Foundation brought smiles and laughter to children stay-ing at the Ronald McDonald House in Los Angeles with a back-to-school visit and toy distribution, and kicked off the summer atthe Ronald McDonald House of Manhattan with a distribution ofsummer-themed arts and crafts, toys, and more.

GRANT MAKING

The Toy Industry Foundation celebrated Mother’s Day week-end by sponsoring the inaugural Fighter Mom Friday symposiumin partnership with Fight SMA, an organization dedicated toaccelerating the search for a treatment and cure for spinal muscu-lar atrophy (SMA). Thanks to a $35,000 grant from TIF, the day-long workshop featured an expert panel that discussed issues ofadvocacy, activism, and the lifelong benefits of play for childrenconfined by physical and developmental barriers.

PUBLIC EDUCATION

In 2008, TIF redesigned both of its publications: Let’s Play: AGuide for Children with Special Needs and Fun Play, Safe Play(with Spanish version, Juegos Divertidos, Juegos Seguros). Since2005, TIF has distributed more than 250,000 brochures to 49 states,the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and five provinces of Canada. TheToy Industry Foundation continues to provide these materials freeof charge to individuals and organizations in the medical, educa-tion, parenting, advocacy, retail, and nonprofit fields.

Looking forward, the Toy Industry Foundation hopes to contin-ue to positively impact the lives of those in need. Clearly thedemand for our programs and services continues. It is only withyour support, however, that TIF is able to ensure that all children,regardless of circumstances, have the opportunity to play.To learn more visit www.toyindustryfoundation.org, call (646)

454–5581, or visit us during Toy Fair at booth No. 5201 on Level1. We will be there to answer questions and collect exhibit samplesduring the show and at the close of the event. Together, as an indus-try, we are working to make play possible for all.

AmandaMcDorman, foundation manager for Toy Industry Foundation,can be reached at [email protected]

TOY INDUSTRY FOUNDATION: MAKING A DIFFERENCE


BY AMANDA MCDORMAN, TIF

INDU

STRY

FORU

M

When the going getstough, the toughg e t…p r o a c t i v e .Certainly lots ofbusinesses are fac-

ing tough times in this economic climate,and specialty toy retailers grapple with espe-cially difficult challenges. Most are smallbusinesses with little financial cushion.They are dependent on a robust fourth quar-ter that is many months away. To top it off,they face a new and not entirely clear regu-latory climate that requires time-consumingattention to a long list of compliance details.“The word ‘resilience’ comes to mind,”

says Michael Ziegenhagen, president ofPlaymatters, Inc., a group of specialty toystores in the metropolitan Cleveland area.“We’ve had some good years, and naturallythere will be rough ones as well. That’swhen we have to take stock, change ourexpectations, and take positive steps to dealwith today’s economic realities.”Jonny Girson, owner of The Learning

Tree stores in suburban Kansas City, agrees.“At times like these, it does no good to sitback and worry. It’s all about being smart andtaking action to control your own destiny.”Here are a few strategies Ziegenhagen,

Girson, and other leading independent toyretailers recommend:

PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO COSTS: If you cantrim costs, now is the time to do it. “We’vecut out all the fat,” says Ziegenhagen. “Laboris our most controllable cost, and I’m puttingmore energy than ever before into keepingthose costs under control—while still provid-ing the great service we’re known for.”

KEEP THE PRODUCT ASSORTMENT EXCITING:Customers need good reasons to come toyour store again and again.

CREATE BUSINESS ALLIANCES: How can youwork together with other small retailers inyour geographic area to strengthen eachother? If you don’t already have an alliancein your region, reach out to other retailersand create one.

LEVERAGE PUBLIC RELATIONS OPPORTUNITIES:What better time than now to get publicityyou don’t have to pay for? Timely topics arepractically screaming out for attention fromindependent retailers: toy safety, shop local,and green business strategies, to name a few.

NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK: Shareideas with others who face the same chal-lenges you do. American Specialty ToyRetailing Association (ASTRA) membershave built-in tools for keeping connectedwith other specialty toy store owners,including listserv conversations andASTRA’s annual Marketplace & Academy(to be held this year in Minneapolis/St.Paul from June 14–17).

READ WHAT ASTRA PROVIDES: “Theamount of business-ready information thatcomes from ASTRA is amazing,” saysGirson. “And it’s spot-on, good stuff thatwe all need for helping to make smart deci-sions.” Members get bi-weekly e-bulletins,special alerts (especially about toy safety), amonthly newsletter, constantly updatedmaterial on ASTRA’s website, webinarslides, and much more.

Ziegenhagen and Girson cite theirASTRA membership as an invaluablebusiness resource, made all the moreindispensable thanks to the downturn.“ASTRA provides a long list of businesstools,” says Ziegenhagen. “This year,Exhibit A is all the user-friendly informa-tion ASTRA has provided to help mem-bers comply with the new safety regula-tions. It’s just what we need during thistransitional time.”Girson adds, “One of the most proac-

tive things an independent retailer can dothis year is show up at the ASTRAMarketplace & Academy. Many of thepieces come together for managing yourbusiness during the fourth quarter—hotselling products, educational programs tofine-tune business strategy, all the lateston toy safety, and the chance to meetother retailers with whom you’ll shareideas all year long. I consider it to be oneof the most important investments I’llmake this year.”“During times like this,” maintains

Ziegenhagen, “your life philosophy mat-ters. Is the glass half empty or half full?Even if you’re not growing like you oncedid, or even if your profits are shrinkingtemporarily, there is still something in theglass. It’s up to each of us to be proac-tive—to find strategies that work for us intoday’s reality. Just like we did whentimes were good.”

Kathleen McHugh is president of theAmerican Specialty Toy RetailingAssociation (ASTRA). She can be reached [email protected] or (312) 222-0984.

Specialty Retailing 911:Proactive Strategies for Tough Times


BY KATHLEEN MCHUGH, ASTRA

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Talking about the “European toymarket” as one entity makesabout as much sense as classi-fying the “American toy mar-ket” as North, South, and

Central America. Even the European Union,with all 27 countries—sorry if I am off a bit,I’ve lost track of the membership—is not asingle market. As a result, I will review someof what is happening in individual markets.

THE UNITED KINGDOMIn the UK toy market the most calami-

tous event in 2008 was the closure shortlybefore Christmas of the 800-store chainWoolworths, distant relative of the formerU.S. chain of the same name. Woolworthsrepresented approximately 20 percent of theUK toy market, and for many suppliers farmore than 20 percent of their sales.

The relentlessly depressing media cover-age of the banking crisis and the ensuingrecession has caused a crisis of confidencethroughout Europe. It’s been more acute inthe UK because our economy is moredependent on the financial sector than is thecase in other European nations. As a result,there was an unprecedented level of toy dis-counting before Christmas this year. Largeretailers slashed prices of toys by 50 percentor more in the run up to Christmas.

The prognosis for 2009 is even worsebecause in the last few weeks of 2008 thepound sterling lost value dramaticallyagainst the U.S. dollar and the euro. Thismeans that if profit margins on toys are to bemaintained, prices to consumers in the UKwould have to rise by 25 percent in 2009.One of the consequences of the rapid change

in exchange rates is that Irish consumerscrossed the border in droves to buy cheapertoys priced in pounds. The price differentialwas as much as 30 percent.

GERMANY & THE EUROZONEThe German toy market probably

declined by one or two percent in value in2008, which is part of a long-term 10-yeardownward trend. German politicians andmedia initially reacted with a degree ofschadenfreude that Anglo-Saxon nationswere getting their just reward for years ofimprudent government and business policiesthat encouraged ballooning but unsustainableasset values. Their malicious glee is now fastevaporating as they are forced to recognizethat their fiscal prudence cannot insulatethem from global recession. Germany has thelargest export value of any country includingthe U.S. That is not just per capita but inabsolute values. Thus they are selling fewereverything as a result of global recession.Their stringent labor laws mean the unem-ployed stay without work for 12 months onaverage compared to four months in the U.S.Therefore Germany’s recession is likely torecover less swiftly than that of the U.S.

Two of the largest German toy compa-nies, Playmobil and Ravensburger, have alarge manufacturing cost base in Germany.The euro-based costs are now a great burdendue to the current strength of the euroagainst most currencies. For example, thesetwo companies would have to increaseprices in the UK by 30 percent to recovermargin lost by the recent change ofexchange rate of the pound to the euro.

In the rest of the Eurozone, Spain, Italy,

etc., the expectations for the toy market arealso poor, reflecting the recession. One pos-itive note, however, is that all toys sourcedin China will be cheaper for the consumerdue to currency exchange rates.

RUSSIARussia is not in Europe, but it is normally

classified as “Eastern Europe” by the man-agement of multinational toy companies. Thepast two years have seen annual growth in theRussian toy market of up to 30 percent, butthe recession has hit Russia harder than most.At the peak of the price of crude oil, Russiawas selling $3,000 worth of oil for each citi-zen, every year. The current crude oil price ofaround $50 per barrel at press time is hardlysufficient to finance the continued investmentin new equipment to maintain the volume ofsupply. The rapid economic growth of recentyears has come to a shuddering halt. This willbe a blow for toy multinationals whose salesincreases in Russia partially compensated fordeclines in mature markets.

Making forecasts for 2009 is foolish atthe moment, because the macroeconomiccircumstances have changed so unprece-dentedly in the past few months in a way noone could have predicted. Nevertheless, it isclear that the uncertainty has made toycompany management cautious and reluc-tant to invest in risks, which are normallythe driving force of economic growth. Thiscaution will itself have a depressing effecton the global toy industry.

Andrew Dobbie is managing partner of theUK’s Gameplan Europe. For more informa-tion visit www.gameplaneurope.com.

A Review of the ‘European Toy Market’


BY ANDREW DOBBIE, GAMEPLAN EUROPE

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As I am writing this, I am sit-ting in a travelers’ loungeinside the Hong KongInternational Airport afterthe second leg of a three-

legged journey heading to Singapore. I’mpassing my time by trying to keep myselfamused. In the past few days I have flownfive-plus hours from New York to LosAngeles and just completed a 15-hour flightfrom Los Angeles to Hong Kong. I’m nowwaiting to embark on a five-hour flight tomy final destination, Singapore. All in allI’m tired, cranky, and bored to death. I fin-ished reading the book I brought alonghours ago and I’m already completely sickof rereading the same two magazines. I justfruitlessly attempted to sketch the passers-by. I figure I’m just burnt out from jet lag.Now the question has become, “What to doduring my four-hour layover?” It seems likean eternity to waste before my next flight.And if I’m going to stay awake I’m going toneed some mental stimulation.

I’m heading to Singapore on a three-day trip to meet with new technology part-ners. I’m hoping to return with somethingnew and exciting for the toy industry, sothe concept of technology is on my mind.And so, with time to kill and an expansiveairport to explore, I set off on my searchfor interesting products.

For those of you who have never been,the Hong Kong International Airport isessentially a massive mall with a compar-atively small tarmac and some planes.One can easily get lost for days on end.

This ridiculously large mall of an airportis honeycombed with trendy clothingshops, make-up counters, coffee bars,restaurants, gift shops, toy shops, bak-eries, high-end electronic stores, andmuch more. Being just too large to fit intoany of the clothes on this side of theworld, I find myself wandering toward theelectronics and toy shops. I’m lookingmostly for neat gadgets and gizmos. Ipass the time flipping through odd andquirky products that light up, flip around,spin, and make countless noises. In gener-al I’m surprised by the overall simplicityof the products here. I find very little inregard to the high-end technologies Iexpect to see in Asia. The consumer elec-tronic stores are just filled with iPodaccessories, cell phones, and cameras.There is nothing new, nothing odd, noth-ing I can’t find in the U.S.

Directing my focus to the toy and giftshops I start to take notice that most of theinnovation I’m spotting is actually very lowtech, non-electronic type items. Simpletwists on classic stuff. I start to wonder, isthere any innovation here? And then I askmyself a more important question: whatconstitutes innovation? The trend these daysseems to be scouting for the latest handhelddigital devices. I see it on every toy compa-ny’s inventor wish list: “innovative elec-tronics.” But innovation is not only on amotherboard. It can be a simply engineereddevice, a change of color, or even a new tex-ture. It doesn’t necessarily have to alwaysmean digital or electronic goods. Basically,

anything can be considered innovative aslong as it’s clever.

Having time to kill and being too cheapto buy anything, I find myself a spot tosoak up some free Wi-Fi. I sign ontoGoogle and start searching through keywords like “technology,” “innovation,” and“invention.” I am looking for a connectionand some clarity by definition. The defini-tions I find seem to overlap each other. Theword “change” seems to keep appearing. Icontinue to search and after about 30 min-utes I stumble across an ancient Chineseproverb (probably because I’m Googling inChina) that states, to paraphrase, “Changeis like an open field of grass. A new trail isonly created after many people havewalked along the exact same path.” Andthen I think to myself, that’s it. . . innova-tion is the ability to lead the forces ofchange. Technology, thoughts, inventionscan all be innovative. It’s whether or notit’s embraced that leads to change.

And so, for the moment, I feel comfort-able with my conclusion. I feel a sense ofdefinition to my task ahead. I realize thatI’m not necessarily looking for technologyfor technology’s sake. I’m looking for aninnovative way to provoke change. I’m nowable to pack up and set off to Singaporewith a clearer purpose. My search forchange has begun.

Matt Nuccio is co-owner of Design Edge,inc., a graphic design and research devel-opment studio. He can be reached [email protected] or (516) 377–0500.

Breaking Technology


BY MATT NUCCIO, DESIGN EDGE

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HONG KONG TOY SHOW:CONSISTENT VALUE IN CHANGING TIMES

D espite the variety of serious issues confrontingthe global toy industry in 2009, the 35th annualHong Kong Toys & Games Fair opened on anoptimistic note as representatives of the HongKong Trade Development Council (HKTDC),

organizers of the world’s second largest toy fair, announced thatHong Kong toy exports increased 10 percent for the first 11months of 2008 to $12.6 billion. The U.S. remained the largestdestination for these products, comprising 27 percent of the mar-ket. Exports to Europe grew 50 percent over the same period in2007 and exports to new markets like Russia grew 27 percentover the previous year.

More than 2,000 exhibitors from 37 countries and regions wereat the fair, and they filled the Hong Kong Convention andExhibition Center to nearly bursting. Work on the extension to thecenter is well underway; HKTDC is predicting that the new addi-tion will open in April and will offer an additional 10,000 squarefeet of exhibit space. It’s space that’s going to be needed: HKTDCalso announced that the July Licensing Show in Hong Kong will bemoved to January next year to coincide with the Toys & GamesFair, a move HKTDC says makes sense given the interrelationshipsof the toy and licensing businesses.

Opening day attendance was reported as slightly behind last yearthough no specific figures were released; however, the Toys & GamesFair, and the concurrent Stationery Fair, benefited from a new $15.5million assistance package, which included $10.3 million in a subsi-dized package that brought trade buyers from such emerging marketsas Russia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Central and SouthAmerica, Southeast Asia, and the Chinese Mainland. According toRaymond Yip, assistant executive director of the HKTDC, more than1,000 buyers participated in the program for the Toys & Games Fair.The program is expected to bring in more than 10,000 buyers to allHKTDC shows over the year. In addition to the subsidized buyer pro-gram, 88 buying missions brought 4,000 major buyers from aroundthe world to participate in the fair.

During the fair’s opening press conference, Wong Tit Shing, chair-man of the HKTDC ToysAdvisory Committee emphasized the impor-

tance of emerging markets, noting that exports to the ChineseMainland grew 8 percent in 2008 versus 2007. While various sourcesat the fair, who declined to be identified because they were not speak-ing officially for the fair, said that the growth of the Mainland Chinesemarket had been slower than initially thought, they believe that this isgoing to be one of the strongest growth areas for toys over the nextyears. They cited changes in the overall economy, steadily developingconsumers, growing brand awareness, and expanded merchandisechoices as factors that will continue to keep this market strengthening.

Even if overall traffic was down, exhibitors were pleased with theresponses they were getting. Representatives of the Taiwan-basedLancer company noted that they were finding new business from dif-ferent regions as they capitalized on the popularity of fashion-orient-ed school supplies worldwide. Crossing the line between stationeryand toy, they said they had found a solid niche combining value pric-ing and fashion. They said that the increased presence of buyers fromdifferent countries as well as different retail channels made the fair avery positive and profitable experience.

Industrial designer Rafael Eckmann had high praise for the fairand the various services offered by HKTDC. After initial successwith his Baby Zoo Sleep Trainer, a clock that has successfully

BY CHRISTOPHER BYRNE

the Hong Kong skyline


helped parents train kids to sleep throughthe night, he said that services such as theBusiness Matching Service offered byHKTDC has helped him source manufac-turing and put his Dutch company togetherwith sources in Hong Kong and China thathave helped him streamline production andposition his company for anticipatedgrowth in 2009. While this may be a“behind the scenes” aspect of the fair, it isinvaluable to companies that look to the fairto help them grow.

Tackling The Tough IssuesIn addition to the activity on the floor,

one of the defining aspects of the Toys &Games Fair has been its seminar program.A variety of sessions during the course ofthe fair addressed some of the more chal-lenging issues including updates on regula-tions, toy directives, and a highly informa-tive session on the Importer SelfAssessment Product Safety Pilot Program.Leading experts from around the worldshared the latest information with attendeesto help them plan for the changes ahead.

One of the best-attended sessions was theone on U.S. Product Safety Regulations forHong Kong Small- and Medium-SizedEnterprises (SMEs). Approximately 500manufacturers participated in the seminar.Central to the presentations was the

explanation of new regulations and standardsincluding mandatory consumer product safe-ty and limits on lead and other heavy metals.In one of the most lucid explanations of thechanges to the Consumer Product SafetyAct, which began being implemented on the10th of this month, Richard O’Brien, direc-tor of the office of international programsand intergovernmental affairs, U.S.Consumer Products Safety Commission,detailed, in chronological order of theirbecoming active, the new standards that willbe required. O’Brien also encouraged manu-facturers and trade associations to becomeactive in airing their opinions on theseissues, with as much factual support as pos-sible, so that the new act can strike a balancebetween protecting child safety and allowingflexibility in implementation.Other presentations in the seminar includ-

ed Zhang Xiaoplue, chief director ofGuangdong Entry-Exit Inspection andQuarantine Bureau. He reported that since hispresentation last year, an additional 218 man-ufacturers had been granted export licensesindicating their conforming to current stan-dards, bringing the total for the province to1,175. He also reported that due to greatercompliance efforts over the past year thequality of export toys has improved and thenumber of complaints of non-compliant toyshas been reduced.

Full text and video of the presentationsis available for review online atwww.hktdc.com.

Supporting Industry GrowthThe consensus among fair participants

and organizers is that 2009 is going to beone of the more challenging years for theindustry. (Though one U.S. manufacturerquipped, “When isn’t it a challengingyear? The challenges just keep changing.I’ve been coming here for 30 years, andwe always hear that it’s going to be a‘challenging year.’”) Specifically, buyersand manufacturers are concerned aboutcredit and credit insurance, what impactthe economy is going to have on consumerbehavior, the increased costs of testing,and, of course, whatever else may be com-ing down the pike.HKTDC executive director Fred Lam

acknowledged the difficulties facing manu-facturers, but noted that “it is during thesedifficult times that the HKTDC has a duty,more so than ever, to help Hong Kong com-panies, SMEs in particular, prepare for thechallenges ahead.”As a product showcase, sourcing fair,

and forum for the latest developments inthe toy industry, it’s obvious that the HongKong Toys & Games Fair remains one ofthe pre-eminent events in the toy year.Challenges to the industry will come andgo, but the HKTDC and the Toys & GamesFair remain poised to help attendees andexhibitors understand and manage thisdynamic industry.

Richard O’Brien during the U.S. Product SafetyRegulations for Hong Kong Small- and Medium-

Sized Enterprises seminar

During Toy Fair 1959, Mattel introduced Barbie the Teen-AgeFashion Model to reluctant retail buyers—all of whom weremale—and none of whom believed the doll would be a viabletoy. It was unlike anything they had seen before. Until thattime, the only dolls that were available to girls were baby dolls.

It was Mattel’s co-founder, Ruth Handler, who devised Barbie by watchingher own daughter, Barbara, play with paper dolls acting out careers and attend-ing school. Handler then realized that roleplay is an important part of growing up.

Mattel advertised Barbie on TV—a daring move at the time—and the 11.5-inch fashion doll, which sold for $3, moved 300,000 pieces in its first year,according to Mattel. Additional fashions for Barbie were available from $1–$5.

Those in the industry have all heard this story numerous times. Certainly wehave also heard consumers, the media, and countless others dismiss Barbie overthe years. Many have claimed she is a negative role model for girls whileothers predicted her sales would cease at some point. Many have tried toreplicate her, but there is only one Barbie—even though she is sold in 150countries, representing countless nationalities with 11 different skin tones.

“Barbie has always represented choices,” said creator Ruth Handler,in a statement years before her death in 2002. “I believe the choicesBarbie represents helped the doll catch on initially, not just with daugh-ters—who would one day make up the first major wave of women inmanagement and as professionals—but also with [their] mothers.”

Barbie not only represents choice (she’s had 108 careers and counting),but also fantasy play for Barbie’s youngest fans. A simple $3 doll introduced50 years ago has turned into a multi-billion dollar global brand. Barbie is asnapshot of American culture that has been on the cutting edge of social andpolitical trends for the past half century. As Mattel embarks on the next 50years, Barbie is once again on the cusp of change as this generation of girlsgrows up in the infancy of the digital revolution partaking in—and shaping—the rapid rise and ever-changing nature of internet use. In 2007, Mattellaunched barbiegirls.com, which Mattel says is the first-ever virtual worlddesigned just for girls. The website further expands how a girl interacts with thebrand and how she chooses to express herself through an online world.

Throughout 2009 Mattel will celebrate 50 years of Barbie through a variety of eventsand products for fans of all ages. The celebration will encompass this month’s Mercedes-BenzFashion Week in New York City. Fifty yet-to-be-announced designers will celebrate 50 years ofBarbie. It was previously announced that famed shoe designer Christian Louboutin would create apair of heels in Barbie’s signature pink color, Pantone 219. There is, perhaps, no better way to stepinto the next 50 years—and Barbie’s feet are certainly designed for it.

BARBIE: 50 YEARS OF FABULOUS


BY NANCY LOMBARDI

Pictured on the top left is the 50thAnniversary Barbie. Shown above is the

(original) Teen-Age Fashion Model Barbie. In1980 an African-American Barbie (on the

far left) and a LatinaBarbie (below) were

introduced. However,African-American

fashion dolls underthe “Friends of Barbie”line extension featured

Christie and Juliain the late 1960s.

Pictured on the left isfriend of Barbie,

Christie, in 1971.

Dora the Explorer was first broadcast onNickelodeon in a pilot episode in 1999. The serieswent into network rotation in 2000. Over the pastdecade Dora the Explorer has evolved into a multi-million-dollar-powerhouse brand even

spawning a spin-off brand featuring Dora’s cousin,Diego, in Go, Diego, Go! It can be said that Dora iseven the inspiration for Nickelodeon’s newest seriesNi Hao, Kai-lan. As Dora is a positive Latina charac-ter, Kai-lan is a positive Chinese character.

Dora the Explorer reaches a specific audience of pre-school girls—ages 2–5. This is the age where they con-nect with a character and must own everything relat-ed to the character from its myriad licensees.

But what happens as soon as these girls grow outof the brand? Where do they turn for enter-tainment? There are countless options, ofcourse, ranging from the many series tar-geting tweens on both Nickelodeon and Disneyto social networking websites and even the music indus-try given the popularity of MP3 players. But, of course,Nickelodeon prefers to retain these girls—and theirspending power—and transition them into the next step. As aresult Nickelodeon and Mattel introduce “Tweenage Dora” (theofficial name will be announced at Toy Fair.)

Tweenage Dora, designed for girls 5 and up, is a newbrand positioning the character as a bit more grown up justlike the little girl who befriended her as a preschooler. Thepremise of the storyline is that Dora has moved to thebig city, attends middle school, and has a whole newfashionable look. There is a rich online world thatgirls will be able to experience through a line of fash-ion dolls from Mattel.

Girls will be able to “plug” the doll into the computer and accessDora’s new interactive world. As girls play online and customize theironline doll, the doll in their possession will also change hair length,jewelry, and eye color, for example, as it is happening on screen, cre-ating a magical experience for the girl. This mixes real-time onlineand offline play at a level not yet seen in the toy industry.

The online game play is centered around solving mysteries inkeeping with Dora’s style from the original preschool series. Asgirls explore and solve the mysteries, the doll’s speech will corre-

spond with what occurs on screen in real-time.In addition, when the doll is away from the comput-

er it will alert the child when new things are uploadedto the site, prompting a return to online play.

The doll is expected to be available inOctober for $59.99. A wide range of accessoriesand playsets will be sold separately expanding theonline play as well as the traditional offline play.

Nickelodeon intends to create a new prop-erty around Tweenage Dora and Mattel’s doll

line is just the initial step. Nickelodeon andSimon & Schuster are currently develop-ing a series of books to support the brand.

The release date has yet to be announced. Alive-action television movie is also in develop-

ment with a release date that has yet to be announced.Nickelodeon also says that a licensing program is

in development. Currently it is discussing lineextensions with apparel and accessories licensees.

Launches in these categories will take place in spring 2010,at the earliest, according to Nickelodeon.

Certainly the concept of extending a popular brand inthis way is not new. However, generally the extensions agethe brand younger through a “baby” interpretationwhether it’s Muppet Babies, Baby Looney Tunes, Baby

Winnie the Pooh, and even baby versions of super-heroes such as Spider-Man & Friends. Most charac-ters don’t age up—the recent exception has beenBen 10 who got a bit older. The reasoning for Benand Dora is the same—as the child grows why

shouldn’t their favorite character?Dora has been such a success that she is a recognizable character

even to those who don’t have children. Nickelodeon and its licenseeswill certainly find success by building on this proven, wholesomebrand. Mattel’s doll line is a first step introducing girls to the charac-ter by mixing doll play, hair play, and cutting-edge technology.

Dora Grows with Fans


BY NANCY LOMBARDI

Tweenage Dora willreceive a new look, whichhas yet to be revealed.

At Spin Master, we have worked very hard to keep our toys innovative and creative. When you create something as successful as Bakugan™, there will invariably be knockoffs. We actively protect our intellectual property and will go after anyone who buys or sells a Bakugan knockoff. Many manufacturers, distributors, and retailers have already felt the bite.

Bakugan® & © 2009 Spin Master Ltd and Sega Toys

™

www.spinmaster.com

Beware: Dragonoid getsirritable with Bakugan knockoffs. Our team of well-paid lawyers gets even more ticked off.

Beware: Dragonoid getsirritable with Bakugan knockoffs. Our team of well-paid lawyers gets even more ticked off.


MEGA Brands introducesMagNext Battle Strikers.This next-generationmagnetic spinning topgives kids the power to

recharge the top as it spins in the palm of theirhand and engages in battle. Using the TurboLauncher, kids launch the magneticallyenhanced spinners, which can be calibrated todifferent degrees of endurance along withoffensive and defensive precision, to knockopponents out of the game using the force ofthe controller held at the player’s fingertips.

“We have given kids the ability to controltheir top once it’s been launched,” saysHarold Chizick, vice-president of media andcorporate communications for MEGA Brands.“That’s where the magic of magnets comesinto it and takes it to the next level.”

The starter pack, launching in the fall,includes the turbo launcher, controller, andone exclusive striker. An arena, alsolaunching this fall, holds threestrikers. Sixteen strikers will beavailable in four themes: attack,defense, control, and hybrid.

This new line resurrects theproven play pattern of battlingtops and could reignite an entirecategory. This item is a departurefor MEGA Brands—a company thathas always been about construc-tion—as it now enters the “promo-tional-toy” realm. Entering thissegment brings with it aradical shift in how to pub-licize items.

“We will take a differentapproach to marketing than we have

ever done before,” says Chizick. “During theseeconomic times, when everyone is spendingless on marketing, this brand will be thebiggest marketing spendin company history notjust on TV but on alterna-tive ways of marketing.”

The alternative waysof marketing that Chizickis referring to is a tour ofthe U.S. and Canada toget the products intokids’ hands. A 15-cityU.S. tour and three-cityCanadian tour areplanned that will demonstratethe product to kids at fairs,camps, stores, and numerousadditional locations wherefamilies and kids congregate.

“These cities will act as the epicentersthat will combine giveaways and

tournament events,”says Chizick. “Weare not selling to theconsumer. This is tocreate awareness ofthe brand, allow thekids to receive exclu-sive things at theevents, and drivethem to retail.”Chizick explains

that MEGA Brands is awarethat this line willrequire a slow butstrong build, which is

why the company is get-ting out into communities

very early before the product hits retail.“We want to be first out there and it has to

be highly visible and kids need to see it every-where they turn.”

The tour will run inconjunction with anonline campaign sokids can visit the siteand see the list ofevents happening intheir area. In addition,the website will createan immersive commu-nity for Battle Strikersfans. However, a planhas not been developed

to include a code on prod-ucts to drive kids to the site.

An extensive ad cam-paign both on and off tele-

vision is underway. “We are running back-to-school print ads as well as running a lotof web ads,” he says.

This is the largest TV spend in companyhistory, according to Chizick. MEGA is alsoplanning follow-up TV for spring 2010. Hesays the intended age for this product is 6and up with the core user expected to bearound age 8–10—the same age as theBakugan fan. Events and the web are keyways to reach this age group, yet Chizicksays these boys do still spend a lot of timewatching television.

The strategy of mixing community out-reach with traditional advertising shouldreignite this category and then the real bat-tle will begin as other manufacturers willcertainly want a piece of this value-focusedproduct line.

MEGA BATTLES TO GET KIDS TO RETAILBY NANCY LOMBARDI

Community events and the webas well as traditional advertisingwill help launch Battle Strikers.

The battling tops feature magnetsfor kids to control the action.

For over ten years, real skateboard companies have chosen to license their graphics exclusively to Tech Deck® because we are the authority on fingerboarding. There is nothing cool about knockoffs, and you might getmore than a slap on the wrist when our licensors or your consumers realize that.

If You Play With A Tech Deck KnockoffSomeone Will Get Hurt.

If You Play With A Tech Deck KnockoffSomeone Will Get Hurt.

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Many times, when aninquisitive child askshis or her parent a slewof questions on a par-ticular topic, they are

told to “look it up.” Not only does thisenrich children through knowledge, but italso fosters a relationship with books. Forpreschool kids, a new property can helpencourage this bond.

Super WHY! fea-tures a team of super-hero characters withliteracy-based powerswho jump into the pagesof books to look foranswers to everydayproblems. Airing dailyon PBS Kids, the seriesis designed to empowerkids to play research-based lit-eracy games in the role of a superhero.As the television series gains steam,

its production company, Out of the BlueEntertainment, is rolling out a licensing pro-gram for the property. “Launching thelicensing program was pretty straightfor-ward,” says Samantha Freeman, president ofOut of the Blue. “We tried to lead with prod-uct categories that are closer to the core edu-cational content of the series, while buildingoff of it with character-based products thatkids really want.”First out of the gate last fall was a line of

books from Grosset & Dunlap. This spring,limited apparel and toy offerings will hit, withfull lines launching this fall. The apparel line

will be unveiled February 16–19 at MAGIC,while master toy licensee Learning CurveBrands will unveil the toy line at Toy Fair.Learning Curve’s line will include categoriessuch as plush toys, figures, vehicles, playsets,and electronic learning aids (ELAs).“This is our first overt ELA program that

we’ve put together,” says Michael Edelstein,vice-president of marketing at LearningCurve. “It was something that we werelooking to get involved with, but first andforemost we look for things that appealboth to kids and their moms and tell agreat story.”

ELA products include the SuperWHY! Hand Held Super

Duper Computer(shown), the themat-ic character-shapedWhy Writer, andthe Spelling Wand.In addition, thecompany will intro-

duce roleplay kits as well as action figuresand dress-up dolls that draw upon the charac-ters’ appeal.“The show has a strong base of charac-

ters and each of them has its own learningcurriculum,” says Julie Gwaltney, market-ing director at Learning Curve. “We tried totake elements from each character andexpand upon them.”Using the ever-popular superhero play

pattern, Learning Curve and Out of the Bluehope to create a bond between children andreading that they won’t even need a parent totell them to “look it up.”


BY CHRIS ADAMS

LEARNING CURVE LINELEAPS OFF OF THE PAGE

Quick FactsSuper WHY! airs daily onPBS Kids.The four main charactersare Whyatt Beanstalk(Jack’s younger brother),Red (of Little Red RidingHood fame), Littlest Pig(from The Three LittlePigs), and Princess Pea (ofthe classic The Princessand the Pea).Key licensees includeLearning Curve Brands(master toy), KidsHeadquarters (apparel),Grosset & Dunlap(books), and PBS HomeVideo (DVDs).

LearningCurve’s Hand Held

Super Duper Computer

Zero Gravity Micro® & © 2009 Spin Master Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

At Spin Master, we’ve worked very hard to become a world leader in radio-controlled toys and are proud to call one of the most popular R/C toys of 2008, the AIR HOGS ZERO GRAVITY MICRO, our own.When you’re the leader, others invariably attempt to imitate your product or knock you o�. Some have tried and failed. Our products are number one for a reason. So if you’re thinking of making or buying an imitation Air Hog, remember, we vigorously protect our intellectual property.

With the introduction of the Safety School Bus in 1959, Fisher-Price launchedwhat was the beginning of one of the most timeless brands for generation aftergeneration of children. “Little People is all about the realistic-looking playsets

that allow kids to interact with the figures and sets to help them learn about the world aroundthem,” says Yvonne LoPata, senior marketing director of preschool and girls business atFisher-Price. “That developmental milestone for toddlers and preschoolers doesn’t changeover time and has been the same for generations.” This timeless appeal is what attracts eachnew generation of parents and children. The brand celebrates its 50th birthday on March 21.


BY CHRIS ADAMS

BIG NEWS FOR A

‘LITTLE’ BRAND

IN 1959, the now-classic SafetySchool Bus was introduced.

IN 1968, the first Little People playset,the Play Family Farm, was introduced.

1960

1970

1980

1990

2000

IN 1975, Little People figures first tookthe form of licensed characters with theSesame Street Play Set. IN 1985, the product line became known as

Little People and the name and logo becameregistered trademarks of Fisher-Price.

IN 1991, the product was redesignedfor younger children. The figuresbecame chunkier and were designedto interact more with playsets.

IN 1997, the Little People figures wereredesigned and relaunched at Toy Fair.

IN 2000, electronics were introduced toLittle People playsets.

IN 2009, Little People celebrates its 50th birthdaywith a range of commemorative playsets as wellas various promotions.

Little People50th BirthdayPlay ’n Go Farm

the original Safety School Bus

©2009 Little Kids Inc. All Right Reserved.800-545-5437 www.littlekidsinc.com225 Chapman Street, Suite 202 Providence, RI 02905

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TOY FAIR 2009

As 2009 begins, an almost “per-fect storm” of issues is con-fronting the toy industry.While sales figures for 2008were not final at press time,

overall retail sales in the U.S. dropped by 2.7percent, according to the National RetailFederation. However, Toys “R” Us reported asales increase of 1.9 percent over 2007 sug-gesting that toys overall may have slightlybucked the declining trend. Individual spe-cialty retailers did not release numbers, butthose interviewed said that they were gener-ally pleased with their results, given the over-all state of the economy. As always, the toyindustry resists measurement like a commod-ity business, no matter how hard some ana-lysts try, because certain items did very wellmeeting, or coming very close to, projec-tions, according to manufacturers. Still, oth-ers languished on the shelves. One of the dif-ferences of the year just past is that the incre-mental sales didn’t appear to be there, whichmay have contributed to an overall decline insales for the year.

The impact of declining sales has been

exacerbated by a shift in consumer buyingpatterns. Shoppers interviewed by TOYS &FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT in both mass and spe-cialty stores during the fourth quarter lastyear said that they were likely to spend aboutthe same or less on toys for the holiday. Amajority indicated that they were unwillingto incur additional credit card debt, whichwould inevitably curtail their spending.There is also fear that drastic price reduc-tions, not just in the toy sector, will have along-term impact on consumer spending.When previously pricey items are sold atrock bottom prices, the inevitable result is aresetting of consumer perception on value,which, in turn, forces manufacturers to bemore innovative in delivering value withinthis dynamic perceptive framework.

Safety, Regulation, andCompliance Shapes the Year

Trade issues are also having a seriousimpact on the business moving into this year.New safety regulations went into effect onFebruary 10, and will be rolled out over the

year. Manufacturers interviewed in HongKong noted that in addition to increasedcosts, lack of clarity regarding compliance isfurther complicating matters. Arete Passas,president and CEO of Manhattan ToyCompany, says, “If ’08 was the year of regu-lation, ’09 is the year of compliance. What,”she asks, “is rational compliance?” Inresponse to the reality, she says thatManhattan Toy is devoting a lot of time andenergy to making sure that it is in compli-ance. “It’s not,” she stresses, “that toys areany safer; it’s just compliance that’s tougher.”

Elaine Kollias, marketing director ofFolkmanis, agrees that negotiating the newregulations is going to be one of the majorchallenges facing the industry this year. “Thechallenges Folkmanis expects to face this yearinclude keeping manufacturing costs down, asoverseas production and material costs rise.But our biggest challenge in 2009 will behelping our retailers understand the ramifica-tions of the new Consumer Product SafetyImprovementAct (CPSIA).As manufacturers,we’ve been fortunate to have the TIA help usunderstand and comply, but most specialtyretailers have not had that privilege,” she says.“TIA has done a stellar job of educating usthrough their webinars, bulletins, website, etc.,and we applaud their efforts. However, ourbuyers still aren’t very clear about the law andthere seems to be a lot of confusion. The mon-etary penalties for non-compliance will affect

Specialty Gets Ready for 2009New Challenges Face a Dynamic SectorBY CHRISTOPHER BYRNE

“My strategy, going into the first three quarters, is totry to buy more birthday-oriented, $30-and-underitems just to satisfy my local clientele.”

Jon Allen,president/owner of J.W. Allen and Sons Children’s Provisions


retailers, so their concern is understandable.We are committed to helping our retailersunderstand and comply with the CPSIAthrough our website and through personalassistance. Consumer confidence in toy safetywill return in 2009 and our industry will be allthat much stronger,” Kollias says.

Michelle Winfrey, marketing and publicrelations manager for Playmobil, says hercompany has also made education a high pri-ority. She says that the company hasaddressed online compliance and made surethat everything was in place for the 2009line. She says that Playmobil assumed thateverything was going to go through anddesigned the line around new regulations.“We’ve embraced the fact that the law is thelaw,” she says. “It’s going to take time, andyou just have to roll with the punches. Youhave to be smart and communicate.”

In addition to safety regulations, avail-ability of credit and volatility of costs(though many think these will stabilize laterthis year) are also creating uncertainty, andmany readily admit that they are guessingwhere things are going to fall out as the yearprogresses. Even for seasoned industry veter-ans, the current climate is more challengingthan previous downturns and shifts becauseof the confluence of issues in a short time.The current conditions are hitting more and

more people at different levels of the econo-my and are more widespread.

Even with all of these issues, the mood inthe toy industry is guardedly optimistic mov-ing into Toy Fair. That’s no surprise. The toyindustry will continue, of course, and con-sultants, manufacturers, and retailers aredoing their best to stay positive. Some shiftsare inevitable, but historically the toy indus-try has responded to the market effectivelyand weathered downturns. Throughout Q42007, parents and industry representatives,alike, stressed that even if parents curtailedspending on one another, they did buy forkids. That’s one cultural factor that is likelyto remain a constant.

According to many, the specialty sector ofthe toy industry may be well positioned toweather the storms. While serving a smalleroverall demographic, the specialty sector hasmany elements that may position it morestrongly in the current environment.

That’s certainly the position of KathleenMcHugh, president of the American

Specialty Toy Retailing Association(ASTRA). “I think our marketplace hasevolved to a point where it is more meaning-ful to everyone in the industry,” she says.“We hear more and more that manufacturersare going to introduce products at theASTRA Marketplace.” Particularly at spe-cialty, she says, consumers want to see newproducts, and the specialty retailers have tobe the ones to do that.”

McHugh also sees that one of the upsidesto the downturn in the market is the return to a“buy local” mentality among consumers. It’ssomething that the organization is promot-ing—as well as to their members. She saysthat for specialty retailers, it’s very importantto get in touch with other retailers in one areaand look at opportunities for cross promotion.

In addition, she adds that ASTRA is sup-porting diversification of product lines andintroduction of other classes of merchandiseinto specialty stores both to increase revenuesand provide greater service for consumers.

Product Is Still KingThat statement has been made so often,

but that doesn’t mean it’s any less true.Product is still what is most important at theend of the day. As complicated and challeng-ing as the trade issues are and will continue

“For the specialty business overall, if there was ever atime that was going to separate the weak from thestrong, this is it. If you’re weak you won’t survive.”

Arete Passas,president and CEO of The Manhattan Toy Company

“For us, we’ve really found that higher price pointsand unique product work well.It’s really ‘grandma bait.’”

Martin Killgallon,SVP of marketing and product development at The Ohio Art Company


TOY FAIR 2009to be, the most important competition will betaking place on the retailers’ shelves as prod-ucts vie for that consumer spend—whateverit ends up being this year.So far, it looks like the trend will be for

extensions to established brands and strategicmerchandising. Jon Allen, president andowner of J.W. Allen and Sons Children’sProvisions in Park City, Utah, says, “My strat-egy, going into the first three quarters, is to tryto buy more birthday-oriented, $30-and-underitems just to satisfy my local clientele. I’mgoing to try to keep my pricing down. I’ll stillbe selling Kettler tricycles over the summer,but when it comes to $300–$500 items, I’mnot going to be stocking them.”He notes that board games are doing well.

“They’re not cheap,” he says. “The averageboard game I sell is about $30 or more. Onegame, Stare from CDG Games, is doing verywell for me, and that’s a $45 game.”Even with the economy, Allen plans to

keep his inventories up, and he anticipatesthat cool items will appeal to his customers.He notes that he is the only toy store in townnow that KB has gone away. “The only otherstore that sells toys in town is Wal-Mart,” hesays. “I am somewhat fortunate in that thereis a strong allegiance to buying local and

avoiding the big boxes whenever possible.”Allen also says that pricing is an impor-

tant strategy. “I think people have learnedthat, although I’m a specialty store and sellhigher-quality items, the pricing is the sameas any specialty store or website. BecauseI’m in Park City and somewhat isolated, thatdoesn’t mean that I’m jacking my prices up.”Part of being able to keep the inventories

high, Allen says, has been advantageousterms offered by manufacturers. He saysmoney, insurance, and credit are harder rightnow, but given his deals, “I’ve been fortunatewith Melissa & Doug, Ravensberger, Samba,and others. I’m able to pack my store, andthose companies offer the kind of sponta-neous more inexpensive lines of toys thatcontribute to the everyday business.”He notes that he was surprised at Melissa &

Doug. “I hadn’t sold much of it, but I brought inthe line and it has sold well at good margins.”

Martin Killgallon, senior vice-president ofmarketing and product development for TheOhio Art Company, which distributes the K’sKids line for specialty channels, says, that inthis marketplace, “the biggest struggle is thecompetition in basic items. We’re working toget customers.” What’s working, he says, arepoint-of-purchase displays. “Where we’vedone it, we’ve done very well,” he says,adding that FAO Schwarz has been an impor-tant showcase for the brand.These are toys, Killgallon says, that seem

to defy the current pricing trends. “For us,we’ve really found that unique product athigher price points have really done well.”He cites the K’s Kids I’m the Boss at $90and Ryan 28 at $100 as items that retailershave been unable to keep in stock.Combining a great product, innovative pack-aging, and lots of appeal, Killgallon calls theline “grandma bait,” noting that grandpar-ents make up a lot of their buyers.Brand extensions and distribution deals

are also effective strategies. Passas ofManhattan Toy says that the company willbe distributing the Automoblox line of cars,and that it has added a new Mermaid collec-tion to the Groovy Girls line. The brand isentering its eleventh year, and, Passas says,“It owns a unique niche in the marketplace.

“You have to say, ‘I’m not selling plastic; I’m creatingexperiences.’ Since it’s all going to end up in landfillssooner or later you have to ask, ‘Have I done somethingworthwhile? Has it been worth the plastic?’”

Matt Brown,president of Big Boing

“We really believe that our focus is to help strengthenthe retail side of the distribution channel. What’sreally encouraging is that we’re seeing a wholeyounger group of retailers get into the business.”

Kathleen McHugh,president of American Specialty Toy Retailers’ Association (ASTRA)


It would always be an appropriate gift, andit’s a great way to start out a girl in her firstfashion line. There’s a trend away fromsexy toward wholesome.” In addition,Passas says, Manhattan Toy has its firstlicense with the Girl Scouts of America,which she calls, “an example of a realappropriate fit for our brand.”

Licensing remains an important strategyat specialty. Caren Shalek, consultant andindustry veteran, who has consulted to AllAboard Toys, Ty’s Toy Box, and a variety ofsmaller manufacturers, notes that if parentsare going to make a purchase they are goingto make one that’s relevant, and that oftenmeans licensing because these are characterswho are meaningful to kids on a daily basis.“It’s also a great time for the new kids on theblock [new properties]. It’s important tobreak through and get into the specialty mar-ket in a meaningful way.”

Given the realities of the business in2009, innovation will be key—at all levels ofthe business, but especially in product. MattBrown, president of the consulting firm BigBoing, says, “Toy companies should focus onthe experiences they are trying to create forchildren and families. The key to that is thenarrative that the group is going to create.

Once you’ve defined the experience, you cre-ate the products that will catalyze the experi-ence. It’s about starting strategic innovationwith deep insights about what’s going onwith kids and families.” He says that toys areeither “consumption,” those that are promot-ed and people buy as a result of advertisingor other media, or “co-authored,” meaningthat the play experience is a combination ofthe child’s imagination and the product. “Themost powerful brands going forward,” hesays, “will be co-authored.”

A New PromotionalFramework

The rise of social media offers fertileopportunities for promotion, reaching

moms where they live and making themyour ambassadors. As Shalek points out,today’s moms are asking for products theyunderstand and that are relevant to theirkids’ lives and who love that there are hun-dreds of other moms who want to talk aboutit and share a solution.

Brown believes that user-generated con-tent is going to migrate from the digital intothe dimensional, transforming how kidsplay—and how product is designed.

Understanding and mastering thesenew media and the effects of “narrowcasting” will be a competitive advantagein 2009 and beyond.

So, yes, the specialty industry will befine. It may be a bumpy ride this year, butit’s also adapting to meet the times.McHugh of ASTRA observes that asyounger people get into the business, theyunderstand the efficiencies that come withadvanced systems. “We’re seeing a wholeyounger group of retailers get into theindustry, and those are the ones who aregoing to change the way we do business.”

And change, as we all know, can be asgood as it is inevitable.

“During economic downturns, people nest more,and in doing so spend more time at home withtheir loved ones, adding quality time andplaytime with children.”

Elaine Kolliasmarketing director at Folkmanis, Inc.

“The grassroots effort and understanding wheremoms are and what they’re sharing and doing iscritical. If they find something that works, they’llshare it, and that piece of the marketplace is soimportant. It’s something you haven’t really seenin a meaningful way in the toy world.”

Caren Shalek,consultant and toy industry veteran


We first began previewing 2009 toys in October at the Fall Toy Preview in Dallas. And while there were many compelling items fromnumerous manufacturers at the show, we followed the development of a few toys as well as some specific properties over the pastfew months. The items will be featured at this month’s Toy Fair and are discussed in the next four pages.

—Nancy Lombardi

TOY FAIR 2009

Both Uncle Milton and Mattel have developed products uti-lizing technology that works in conjunction with users’brainwaves. It was developed by three university profes-sors who founded NeuroSky. The technology has been inuse in the medical, clinical, and research worlds and now

the company is working to bring it to a mass audience. NeuroSky exhib-ited at its first-ever trade show, CES, in 2007, says vice-president of mar-keting, Greg Hyver. “We thought this technology has a place in toys. Wewere really the proactive pursuing party because the toy companies hadno knowledge that this technology even existed. Mattel and Uncle Miltonwere the first believers and therefore the first adopters of this technologyin the toy industry. Toys are just the beginning for us,” he explains. “Wehope to crack the video game market wide open in 2009–2010.” But justwhat is this brainwave technology and how does it work?

NeuroSky’s ThinkGear is the name given to “a ‘dry’ technology,which means that the electrode doesn’t require gel, as found in medicalsystems, and our electrode works at the Fp1 location [left forehead; Fp1is medical terminology],” explains Hyver. “The Fp1 location providesfrontal lobe information related to mental states, such as a person’sfocus, relaxation, anxiety, and drowsy levels. A headset (Mattel andUncle Milton have designed their own from our ThinkGear components,but we offer our own headset, called the MindSet, to clients that areunable to build their own) will provide a means to place the electrode atthe Fp1 location. The electrode picks up the aggregate electrical poten-tial from all of the neurons firing around the vicinity of the electrode.The electrode also picks up noise caused by muscle movement near Fp1and ambient noise such as 60Hz signals. Both the brainwave (EEG) andthe noise are passed through a wire to our ThinkGear component thatresides inside a pod on the headset. The purpose of the ThinkGear com-ponent is twofold: (1) reduce/eliminate the noise from the brainwavesignal (leaving as pure of a brainwave as possible) and (2) once the‘clean’ brainwave is obtained, provide special mental-state translations,called algorithms, on the chip. We call this our fully embedded technol-

ogy where the filtering, signal amplification, and translation of the brain-wave is all done entirely on the headset. The headset then wirelesslytransmits our data stream (raw EEG, beta-alpha-theta-delta bands, atten-tion-focus, and meditation-relaxation) to whatever platform has pairedwith our transmission (for example PC, mobile phone, toy, etc.).”

In Mattel and Uncle Milton’s case, the Mindflex and Force Trainerpair with NeuroSky’s data stream. “Once the data stream is captured bythe platform, then the platform will parse out the data stream. For exam-ple, if attention-focus is parsed out, a number from 0–100, representingthe range of attention-focus for the given individual at a given moment,is output and can be used by the application to perform some action (inboth cases, to power a fan in correlation with the 0–100 output). Ofcourse, the data stream is constantly being updated with new mentalstate information as our minds are constantly changing,” explainsHyver. Shown below is Mattel’s Mindflex and on the opposite page isUncle Milton’s Force Trainer, which features the Star Wars license.

MATTEL AND UNCLE MILTON: SAME TECHNOLOGY, DIFFERENT EXECUTION

MATTEL’SMINDFLEXMattel’s Mindflex (devel-

oped with NeuroSky technol-ogy) comes with a light-weight headset containing sensors for the forehead and earlobes,which measures a player’s brainwave activity. Focus concentra-tion and a small foam ball will rise on a gentle stream of air. Relaxthe thoughts and the ball will descend. By using a combination ofphysical and mental coordination, players must then guide the ballthrough a customizable obstacle course—the various obstacles canbe repositioned into many different configurations. It is designedfor ages 8 and up. It is expected to be available this fall for $79.99.


THE REVOLUTION CONTINUESIn 2007 Techno Source reimagined the Rubik’s Cube into an electronic version called the Rubik’s Revolution. Now

for 2009 the revolution continues with the introduction of Rubik’s TouchCube. It took four engineering teams on twocontinents nearly two years to create the Rubik’s TouchCube, according to Eric Levin, president of Techno Source.“This is the cube we dreamed of doing when Rubik’s initially approached us to do an electronic cube,” he explains.

The Rubik’s TouchCube has the same goal as the original 1980s cube, which is to solve the puzzle. This cubeis touch sensitive like Apple’s iPod and features an accelerometer like Nintendo’s Wii. To play, slide your finger acrossthe cubes and the colors will change rather than twisting the cube as is done in the original. For players who have troublesolving the puzzle, press a button and the cube will show the next move or it can show users how to solve it step by step.

Once turned off and later turned back on it will resume exact game play. It is expected to retail for $149.99 and comes with a base, whichacts as a charger for the battery. While on the base, the colors in the cube will pulsate, fade, and glow so the unit doubles as room décor.

Levin explains that the most difficult part about creating this unit is the hardware and not the software. “The software has been 90 percentdone for more than a year,” he says. “The hardware has been an unbelievable challenge because there is so much to put inside this little box.”With an LED in every square executing three colors, multiplied by every side, and featuring a rechargeable battery, the challenge is includingthe technology in a lightweight, easy-to-maneuver cube. This cube is expected to be the size of the Rubik’s Revolution. —NL

Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination is themuseum tour that sparked this year’s product line byUncle Milton dubbed “Learning Meets Imagination.”

“Our mission is to get kids excited about science,”says Frank Adler, executive vice-president of UncleMilton. “There will initially be eight products in theline and there are many concepts in the works rightnow to build out the product line.”

The item in the line generating the most buzz is TheStar Wars Force Trainer (pictured), which is expectedto retail between $90–$100. Players can “use the force” to control a JediTraining Remote with their mind. Utilizing NeuroSky’s technology,(explained on the opposite page) the headset reads and interprets brain-waves and converts them into a linear measure of brain concentration.The deeper the concentration and mental focus, the greater effect onehas on the Training Sphere. Progress from Padawan to Jedi Master using“the force” to move the Training Sphere up the cylinder. Familiar StarWars character voices and sound effects guide and encourage players.

“The idea of being able to demonstrate the force has always beensomething we feel consumers would respond to,” says Adler. “The idea

that you are causing something to happen with yourmind is very compelling.”

The Force Trainer is the only item in Uncle Milton’sline utilizing NeuroSky technology. However, the StarWars Science line is rounded out with the following:

• The Optical Command Unit: This is a multi-functional reconnaissance device that can be assem-bled into three unique configurations—binoculars,microscope, and mini-projector.

• The Darth Vader RoboticArm: This kit shows howto build a robotic arm and lets kids grip and move real objects with inter-active controls.

• The Naboo Sea Creatures and Dagobah Frog Habitat: Each is adetailed environment to raise creatures.

• The Jedi Telescope: This can be used to scan the skies, or to dial upimages of iconic Star Wars planets.

• The Jedi Projector: It can display crisp projections of starships andother vehicles from The Clone Wars and comes with a CD audio tour.

• The Mustafar Volcano Kit: It allows users to create realistic volcaniceruptions and lava flows in a detailed reproduction of the planet Mustafar.

Star Wars Force Trainer

UNCLE MILTON’S STAR WARS FORCE TRAINER


TOY FAIR 2009ICARLY EXPANDS ONLINE AND OFFLINE

Nickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products is taking the next steps in creating a licensing program for its hittween series iCarly. Last fall, the line of Npower electronics—including web cams, digital video cameras, microphoto viewers, MP3 players, and digital diaries—by Imation were introduced at Toys “R” Us. Not only will thisline be expanded, but Playmates and Hasbro have also been signed on as licensees for the property.

“We are looking at products that can truly capture the essence of empowerment, creativity, and customiza-tion in keeping with the show,” says Lourdes Arocho, director of toys, games, consumer products, andhard goods at Nickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products. “The first step was electronics.”

This fall it will be vinyl figures and playsets that will be followed up by activities that make sensefor the brand, according to Arocho. The line from Playmates Toys will feature an assortment of vinyldolls that are part of a figure-recognition playset. In addition, the line will include authentic show gadg-ets. Hasbro has signed on to produce a board game for the property.

In creating the licensing program, Nickelodeon had to “make sure that the experience is 360 degrees so the products tie back to what’sgoing on online,” Arocho says. “We make sure that it ties back to the site and the technology is cool and innovative in keeping with the brand.”

BY CHRIS ADAMS


ADVENTURES WITH ASTRO BOYAstro Boy, created in 1951, made its first appearance in manga in Japan. Created

by Osamu Tezuka, known as the father of manga, it told a story set in the year 2000when robot technology had advanced to an astounding level. In the story, Doctor

Tenma, head of the ministry of science, hasbeen trying to create a new type of robot.His obsession with his goal drives a wedgebetween him and his son. Dr. Tenma is thendriven mad by grief over the loss of his sonin a tragic accident. He then completesAstro Boy in the likeness of his son, Toby.In 1960, 193 Astro Boy episodes were

shown on Fuji television in black andwhite. In 1982 more than 50 episodes were created in color and broadcast in 40countries. The TV series made its Japanese premiere in 2003. For more than 50years, Astro Boy has had an extensive worldwide licensing and promotional pro-gram spanning numerous categories.

Now Imagi Studios announced that a new iteration of Astro Boy is expectedto be in theaters on October 23. The story is set in futuristic Metro City and featuresAstro Boy as a young robot with incredible powers created by a brilliant scientist.He embarks on a journey in search of adventure in a world of robot gladiators beforereturning to Metro City where he finds his place in the world.This animated, action/adventure comedy is expected to receive a PG rating. The

film will feature the voice talent of Freddie Highmore (as Astro Boy), NicholasCage (as Dr. Tenma), Donald Sutherland (as President Stone), Kristen Bell (asCora), Eugene Levy (as the robot Orrin), Nathan Lane (as Hammegg), and DavidAllen Grier (as Windex).Major marketing support is expected for the film with nearly $40 million in mar-

keting spending coming from Imagi Studios and another estimated $100 millioncoming from its partners.Licensees already on board for the film, which is a separate licensing program

from the classic story, include American Greetings (gift wrap, cards, party goods,stationery, ornaments, calendars, tableware, and juvenile boxed Valentine’s Daycards); Penguin Publishing (storybook, novelization with full-color insert, activitybook, and movie photobook with pull-out poster), and D3 Interactive (games forNintendo DS, Wii, PSP, and PS2). Jazwares is the master toy licensee for mass-mar-ket action figures, playsets, and roleplay items. Hot Toys will create high-end col-lector figures for the specialty market. —NL

CREATING AHALO EFFECTMEGA Brands recently announced

that it has entered into an agreementwith Microsoft Game Studios todevelop construction toys based onHalo Wars, a real-time strategy gamebased on the Halo universe for Xbox360. The game will launch this spring.MEGA Brands will develop the first

construction sets based on the keycharacters of Halo Wars under theMEGA Bloks umbrella. The sets areexpected to be in stores this fall.“Halo is a consistent license

because it is in the home at all times,”says Harold Chizick, vice-president ofmedia and corporate communicationsfor MEGA Brands. “It is a true ever-green and it is a great association forour brand. There will be a lot of crosspromotion with Microsoft.”

Halo Wars is a prequel to the orig-inal Halo. The construction sets willtarget ages 8 and up, much likeMEGA’s Pro Builders line. —NL


Mattel will be expanding the Barbie line with nostalgic and modern products to celebrate Barbie’s50th anniversary, which kicks off next month. The Bathing Suit Barbie Doll is a throwback to the orig-inal black-and-white bathing suit Barbie of 1959, updated with a new look for 2009. Mattel will alsointroduce a new assortment of dolls called Barbie Pink, which features pink fashions and accessoriesto match. The My House Playset can be rearranged and configured to girls’ desires and is designed for360 degrees of play. The Barbie Totally Nails Stylin’ Hands Playset is a pair of fashion styling handsthat allow girls to create and design their own manicures before giving one to themselves. Girls canalso give the Barbie Totally Nails dolls their own manicure with the easy color-change function. TheBarbie Thumbelina DVD, a new animated Barbie movie, will be released in March. Accompanyingthe release will be a new line of dolls and accessories based on the Thumbelina character.Mattel will introduce Color Shifters, new die-cast cars in the Hot Wheels line that change color

in warm and icy water. They will hold their colors in room temperature. Color Shifters are compat-ible with the new Color Blaster playset. The Hot Wheels Power Revvers can be revved by turningthe toy’s handle, with more revs turning into more speed for the car. The vehicles are available inthe Speed assortment and the Speed and Power assortment. Hot Wheels Monster Jam Crash Cage

is a spinning motorized arena that features a large flame target guarded by two cages. Launching a truck at the target will send it flying, but amiss will trap the vehicle. Mattel is also expanding the Trick Tracks line, with new ready-made stunts.Mattel will be expanding the Radica Games line with new U.B. Funkeys products. The Hidden Realm figures unlock new

games and exclusive content online. New Sugar Cubes Digital Charms, from Girl Tech, give girls a new charm that show-cases 75 different animations and can be personalized by girls with accessories. Radica will also be producing Tetris 360,which adds a new dimension to the classic game and forces players to take multiple angles into account.Polly Pocket Designables are Mattel’s way of letting girls mix-and-match their Polly Pocket sets. Girls can

use the Courtyard and Mall Stores kits to build the perfect mall, or play with the Perfect Party Bagwhile on the go.Mattel will introduce the Matchbox Croc Escape Pop-up Adventure Set, where kids can take their

Matchbox cars through a mysterious swamp and avoid a crocodile with glowing red eyes. Also new tothe Matchbox line is the Lights and Sounds Helmet, which gives kids a working light and microphoneand plays hard-hitting construction sound effects. The Matchbox Mega Rig line also receives newproducts: Car Crusher and Trash King.Mattel is adding a new milestone to the Little Mommy brand, with the Scoot So Cute dolls. These dolls

mimic the first crawling motions of a baby and can be coaxed to crawl toward girls with the use of a motion sen-sor. The baby dolls coo and giggle as they crawl and scoot and when they are cuddled.

MATTEL

TOY FAIR 2009

Scoot So Cute

Welcome to Toy Fair 2009. The following pages represent just some of what will be ondisplay at this year’s show in New York City’s Jacob Javits Convention Center.

COMPILED BY LAURIE HAHN & PAUL NARULA


Fisher-Price expands its active play and learning prod-ucts with the Smart Fit Park. This plug and play learn-ing mat encourages children to stay physicallyactive while they learn. Plug the mat into the TVusing the included A/V cord and kids can walk,run, jump, and stomp while they play up to 18 dif-ferent learning encounters, games, and races.Smart Fit Park teaches letters, numbers, shapes,colors, and more. Children can customize their on-screen characters and interact with their learning friends. Kids controlthe on-screen action—the faster they run, the faster their characterwill move on the screen. When kids jump on the mat, the characterjumps. Smart Fit Park requires four AA batteries, which are notincluded. It is for ages 3–6.The 3-in-1 Smart Sports is a plug and play learning system that

includes a preschool-styled game controller and three attachments—a baseball bat, a tennis racket, and a golf club. All attachments fit intoa storage unit. There is a base unit that plugs into the TV, creating aplay-safe area so kids know where to stand when they are playing.Use the controller to customize the character. When a sports attach-ment is connected, Smart Sports launches into learning games for thatsport. There are three games for each sport that teach numbers, letters,colors, shapes, matching, math, and more. It requires two AA batter-ies for the controller and four AAbatteries for the base unit, which arenot included. It is for ages 3 and up.In its building line, the Trio Basic Tub set with bricks, sticks, and pan-

els provides more ways for kids to build theircreativity. The set features easy-to-attach partsthat click and hold together. The set comes inbright colors and includes custom parts, such asfigures, wheels, and chassis, and a durable tubfor storage. It is for ages 3–6.The Trio Fire Station comes with bricks,

sticks, and panels. The set features easy-to-attach parts that click and hold together. Theset also features an action panel and moving

parts such as an opening door, fire bell, fire pole, and a figure.It is for ages 4–7.

The Trio King’s Castle features action panels thatenable kids to create their favorite scene by changingthe card panel graphics. Other features include aworking drawbridge, a break-away panel, a cata-pult/battering ram, a cross-bow, a fire-ball dump, acannon, six figures, and a horse. It is for ages 5–10.

It’s Sesame Street’s 40th birthday and Fisher-Price is taking two of Elmo’s signature toy features—tickling anddancing—and putting the tickling power right into kids’ hands withElmo Tickle Hands. These two furry red Elmo hands fit on a child’shands. One tickle hand is activated with a press of Elmo’s nose. Whenthe child touches a surface, the hand will vibrate and play soundeffects and phrases from Elmo. When kids press Elmo’s nose again,the dance mode is activated. Elmo Tickle Hands will be packagedwith a special DVD. It requires two AA batteries, which are included.It is for ages 18 months and up.WithManny’s Repair Shop, kids can work on projects just like Handy

Manny. Grab the blueprints, choose a project, and slide the blueprint intothe diagnostic center. Manny will recognize the project that was chosenand walk the child through the steps to complete the project. There are sixmain projects, each with a set of blueprints and one jumbo blueprintshowing how to do additional projects, totaling more than 20 projects.The set includes more than 40 parts, as well as two of Manny’s tools, Patthe Hammer and Felipe the Screwdriver. The set requires three AA bat-

teries, which are included. It is for ages 3 and up.Mickey’s Magic Choo Choo moves forward

and lays pieces of track all by itself. The trainthen rides over the track and picks up the piecesas the “Choo Choo” song plays. Turn the crazycrank to shift gears for classic train play.Mickey’s Magic Choo Choo includes 10 piecesof track, a train engine, one car, two signs, anda Mickey figure. It requires four AA batteries,which are not included. It is for ages 3 and up.

FISHER-PRICE

Smart Fit Park

3-in-1 Smart Sports


Hasbro is updating its Easy-BakeOven & Snack Center. In honor of theoven’s 45th birthday, the oven will begetting a new look with a return to theoriginal aqua color. The oven includesthree different mixes, two baking pans,two utensils, a pan pusher, two warmingcups, and recipes. New in the line is theDecorating Sensation Frosting Pen. Oncefilled with frosting, the pen can be usedto easily create complex decorative ele-ments on desserts.

New from Hasbro are the Kota & Pals Hatchlings. These tinydinosaurs respond to touch with movement and sound and comewith a dino fact card. Three AAA batteries are included.

In the Martian Matter Alien Lab, children can capture and ana-lyze creatures from outer space. After creating their own alienswith Martian Matter, kids can place them onthe light-up dissection table and watch theguts ooze from the alien as they inspect it.

Hasbro is adding a wide variety of newproducts to the My Little Pony line. The MyLittle Pony Newborn Cuties are a new collec-tion of baby ponies for girls to play with. TheNewborn Rainbow Dash Room playset features adino ride and a cloud-shaped cradle for theincluded Newborn Rainbow Dash figure. ThePonyville La-Ti-Da Hair & Spa playset givesgirls the chance to style and service their ponies in a full-servicepretend hair salon with five different hair options before movingon to the bubble bath and changing room. Also coming up are twonew additions to the So Soft Newborn Collection, Belle andCheerilee. Both say fun phrases.

New from Hasbro’s Nerf N-Force line is the N-Force ShortSword assortment. The Nerf N-Force Shadow Fury and N-ForceThunder Fury Short Swords are both 32 inches in length and made

of flexible and durable plastic.Hasbro has introduced the largest tub

of Play-Doh yet with the new six-poundbucket. Each tub contains six pounds ofred, blue, yellow, or green Play-Doh. Alsonew is the three-pound bucket, which fea-tures one pound of red, blue, and yellowcompound each. The Play-Doh 24 Packfeatures 24 three-ounce cans of differentcolors of Play-Doh compound. Also com-ing up is the Play-Doh Spaghetti Factory.

Kids can make Play-Doh pasta and top itwith Play-Doh meatballs, tomatoes, shrimp, and more using theincluded molds. The Play-Doh Coco-Nutty Monkey claps twococonut halves together to mold Play-Doh fruit, such as bannanasand pineapples, and miniature monkeys.

Hasbro will expand its Playskool Clipo line with the new ClipoHippo. Toddlers can attach their Clipo creations to the head,

back, or wheels of this movable hippo, which also fea-tures a drop-slot in the mouth. The hippo comes with20 Clipo pieces that are stored inside the hippo.

Hasbro has added a variety of new products toits Star Wars line. The Clone Trooper

Helmet can be worn by childrenand plays signature phrases. It alsoincludes a voice amplifier. TheClone Trooper Blaster features a

targeting laser and three foam darts. It requires two AA batteries(included). Finally, the spring-activated Electronic Lightsabersprings to life at the touch of a button to extend more than threefeet. It makes a humming authentic lightsaber sound.

Hasbro is relaunching the original Super Soaker 50 in celebra-tion of the 20th anniversary of the Super Soaker brand. The clas-sic water gun holds 25 ounces of water and can shoot up to 35 feet.It features the same retro look as the original toy, but incorporatesmodern Super Soaker technology.

HASBRO

TOY FAIR 2009

Easy-Bake Oven

Super Soaker 50


For spring, Jakks Pacific will expand its line of Hannah Montana dolls. TheHannah Montana Quick Switch Doll switches from Miley to Hannah in seconds byspinning Miley’s hair. It comes with two outfits—one inspired by Miley, the other byHannah. The Hannah Montana Remix In Concert Dolls sing Hannah’s new remixsongs. They are available in two different styles, with different outfits inspired byHannah Montana’s new style and a guitar pic necklace or bracelet. In time for the newHannah Montana movie this year, Jakks will introduce the Hannah Montana MovieCollection. The Hannah and Her Horse features authentic fashion from the movie,with a replica of Hannah’s grey horse from the film. New for the fall in the HannahMontana line is the Hannah Montana Classic Holiday Doll. This doll sings “Best ofBoth Worlds” with a holiday twist. The doll is dressed in an ’80s-inspired fashion andincludes a clutch purse, microphone, and pink glove.

Jakks will be expanding its NASCAR lineup in the fall with a variety of new prod-ucts. The NASCAR Real Racing Helmet can trigger rumbling racing sounds and

phrases by pressing buttons on the side of the helmet or via leaning in different directions while wearing the helmet. The racing helmetis styled after Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s helmet. The Daytona Speedway Track Set includes two quick-charging motorized cars that chargeon the included Pit Box Charger and race around the replica Daytona track. The NASCAR Voice Command Rumblin’ Racer R/C comeswith a life-size headset that allows kids to give commands to Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and controlthe vehicle’s navigation.

Spring will introduce new figures and playsets for the Puppy In My Pocket & Friends col-lection. Pony In My Pocket Stylin’ Pets are bigger than other Pony In My Pocket items andfeature rooted hair to brush and style, as well as vanity and salon accessories. The NewbornCare Center is a two-story playset that comes with a Mom and three newborn figures, as well asan elevator, slide, swing, and height and weight scales. For fall, Baby In My Pocket is a new line ofPuppy In My Pocket & Friends collectibles. These collectible babies come with their own accesso-ry packs and playsets.

Jakks will be producing a new line of figures and playsets for Smurfs. The new Smurf figureTheme Packs feature five 2.25-inch figures following a different theme, such as sports or music.Accessory packs feature three Smurf figures and come in beach, picnic, and bakery themes. Thevehicle packs feature one Smurf figure and a vehicle with a backwind motor. The Smurfs MushroomHouse playset is available in three different styles and opens up into a detailed playset with one pos-able Smurf figure. The Deluxe Windmill playset opens up to reveal two levels of play and multipleplay features, as well as two Smurf figures exclusive to the playset.

Jakks will also be updating its Pokémon line. The new National Pokédex includes all 493 Pokémon from across the series. It fea-tures touch-screen technology to allow access to Pokémon information and games. The Pop n’ Battle Pokéball simulates action fromthe Pokémon series. When the ball is closed and the button pressed, kids can throw the Pokéball and watch a Pokémon figure pop out.

JAKKS PACIFIC

TOY FAIR 2009

Pony In My Pocket Stylin’ Pets

Pokémon figure

PLUSH & COLLECTIBLES READY TO FLY OFF SHELVES IN 2009!

TM & ©2009 JAKKS Paci�c Inc., Malibu, CA 90265 U.S.A. All rights reserved.All other symbols, marks, logos and designs (collectively "Trademarks") are Trademarks of and proprietary to their respective owners and used under license by JAKKS Paci�c,Inc.www.jakks.com ©2000-2009 Neopets Inc.

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Throughout 2009, SpinMaster will expand its Bakugan Battle Brawlers lineof toys. The Bakugan Display case is a lightweight case for transportingBakugan that comes with an additional large-size Bakugan as a bonus. TheBakugan Hand Launcher gives players the ability to launch Bakugan Brawlerswith backspins, sidespins, and other techniques that allow them to direct theball more accurately. The new Bakugan Character Super Pack includes oneBakugan monster, one metal Gate card, and one two-inch figure.Spin Master will expand itsAir Hogs line with the newWind Chaser Stunt

Kite. The Wind Chaser can be controlled via the remote control that doublesas a cord-winder and handle to make kite stunts easy for kids to perform.Also new in theAir Hogs line is the Havoc Razor, a radio-controlled helicop-ter that can drive on the floor. The F-18 Fighter Jet is a licensed replica of areal F-18 jet and can take off and land on the ground. Spin Master will alsoadd the Air Hogs Nano Zero Gravity and the Air Hogs Laser Zero Gravity tothe Air Hogs Zero Gravity line of R/C vehicles.Spin Master will be expanding the PixOs activity line with the new 3-D

Character Kit. This new kit lets kids make three different three-dimensionalshapes using the PixOs design trays and

PixOs pen. The PixOs Superstation is a complete activity center that includes moving parts, as well as a fanand suction tool. Also new are ChixOs, dolls that are compatible with the PixOs playsets. The ChixOsHome TV gives the ChixOs a place to live and comes with three dolls and 300 PixOs to build accessories.Spin Master will also be expanding the Paperoni line with three new studio kits. The Deluxe Studio

comes with 2,000 Paperonis to create both 2-D and 3-D designs. Also available are individual 2-D and3-D design studios that include the appropriate templates.The New Moon Sand Amusement Park features amusement park tents and moving rides.

Children can create Moon Sand Characters and play with them at this custom amusement park.Spin Master will add a cooking theme to its Magic Reveal line. The Oven Playset will reveal

food in pots, pans, and other utensils when touched by water. The Small Theme Set will revealeggs and bacon, while the large theme set will create bread, waffles, pancakes, and more.The newest take on Aquadoodle, the Glodoodle board lets kids draw a picture just by touching the

screen. Lifting up the screen erases the picture. The Glodoodle lights up in three different col-ors—red, green, and yellow.Spin Master will be producing a new line of Yo Gabba Gabba! products. The DJ Lance Dance Hat plays music and teaches new dance

moves. It also plays the freeze dance game. The Yo Gabba Gabba! Silly Jumpers say phrases and make sounds when they are jumpedup and down. The Brobee Jumpy Jump Feet with Sound plays music and sounds from the television show when the wearer jumps. PlayAlong Pals feature unique sounds and actions and will react to a child’s actions as well.

SPIN MASTER

TOY FAIR 2009

Yo Gabba Gabba! Silly Jumper

Bakugan Display Case

TM & © 2009 JAKKS Pacific, Inc., Malibu, CA 90265 U.S.A. All Rights Reserved.MADE IN CHINA.Contents may vary in style, color, shape and decoration from images shown on package or in advertising.Questions or comments? www.jakks.com, [email protected], or 1-877-875-2557 in North America.

© Disney/Pixar

For more info,contact us at508-836-8697

Additional Properties Available!www.kidsonlytoys.com


Bandai’s line of Ben 10 productsincludes an expanded lineup of four-inch Collectible Alien Figures. Eachalien figure comes with a uniquetranslucent mini figure. Kids can use themini figure with the Ultimate Omnitrix (soldseparately) to project the alien’s silhouette and unlock newlight and sound effects. The aliens also include a collectible bio cardthat reveals fun facts and trivia about their home planet.New Ben 10 roleplay items include the Omnitrix Illuminator.

Place the included image discs in the Omnitrix and, with the press ofa button, the Omnitrix will project images of aliens on any flat sur-face. It includes three image discs.The Ultimate Omnitrix lets kids tackle all new alien adven-

tures. Kids can unleash new alien lights and sounds by attachingthe included Swampfire translucent figure. Collect additionaltranslucent figures from the four-inch figure sets to unlock morelights and sounds (sold separately).Create custom Ben 10 aliens on the go with the Alien Creation

Chamber Transporter. Mix and match parts to create a unique alien.The transporter includes two figures, an alien key, and two combocards. The black translucent Alien X edition transporter features anexclusive Alien X 2.5-inch figure. The portable playset is also avail-able in blue and green.For Power Rangers, Bandai’s five-inch articulated Racing

Performance Machines (RPM) Action Figures bring speed andaction. Prepare the Rangers for battle byflipping down the helmet’s visor. Onceprotected for battle, the Rangers take onthe Evil Space Aliens using the includedweapon accessories. Combine figures andaccessories to form a larger weapon.Coming late fall, Bandai will continue theSuper Legends figures. These limited-edi-tion chase figures feature popular charac-ters from past Power Rangers seasons.

With a simple transformation, each6.5-inch Moto-Morph Figure morphsinto one of two modes. Use the includedEngine Cell key to unlock from TireMode into Ranger Mode. Each Ranger

comes with weapon accessories and a rampto launch the morphed Tire into action.

New Tamagotchi products include the Tamagotchi Music Star:World Tour Edition. Music Star lets kids raise, nurture, and carefor their character as they develop a musical career. With morethan 20 instruments to choose from, Tamagotchi characters cangrow up to play rock, jazz, classical, and more. Once the teenageTamagotchi forms a band, the character will audition in front of apanel of judges. With the judge’s nod, the Tamagotchi will launcha world tour to become the Ultimate International Music Star. Kidswill be able to connect to other Music Star owners using infraredtechnology. The expanded TamaTown.com allows kids to connectas their Tamagotchi travels through Music City.The Tamagotchi Clip-It Gear is the cool way to display and wear

a Tamagotchi. This accessory clips on to clothing, and kids can pickfrom two music-themed designs. Gotchi Gear allows kids to weartheir Tamagotchi around their neck, hooked to a belt, or even on abackpack. This item also includes a special Music Star charm. AllTamagotchi products are for ages 8 and up.Bandai will produce items for the live-action series Kamen Rider

Dragon Knight. Styled after the warriors on the TV show, the four-inchcollectible figures have more than nine pointsof articulation. Each figure includes its ownunique weapon accessory and comes with abonus Advent Card. Kids can collect AdventCards to activate special sound features on theDeluxe Dragvisor weapon (sold separately).The Advent Beast and Figure Sets include

a four-inch Rider figure in civilian mode andthe corresponding Advent Beast. The AdventBeasts can attach to the figures.

BANDAI

TOY FAIR 2009

Ben 10 Alien CreationChamber Transporter

Moto-Morph Figure


MEGA’s Streetz is a micro-scale vehicleconstruction line where buildable cityenvironments, super fast vehicles, andcrazy action stunts come together in oneplayset series. With the Chopper Pursuitplayset, use touch-command-poweredvehicles that activate light, sound, andmotion to enter a world with speedy carchases and stunts. The Chopper Pursuit175-piece set comes with four vehicles, ablock booster, and stunt ramps.The Streetz Advance Series trans-

forms everyday locales into tricked-outtrack pieces. Kids can choose between the Blaze Craze set with afire fighter rescue setting or Sky Crane Tower, a construction siteset, to build and grow their Streetz world. The buildable playsetscan be positioned in multiple ways to allow for different configu-rations and play scenarios. The playsets come with touch com-mand-motorized vehicles that activate light, sound, and motion, ablock booster, and stunt ramps.Kids can expand their Streetz car collection with seven exclusive-

ly decorated vehicles in one convenient pack. Spin the mag on theCollector’s Wheel’s tire-inspired play packaging tosee all the different car models.With Streetz Stunt Series, kids can build and

grow their Streetz world with iconic buildings andstructures. Choose from four City Blocks withhyper-action stunts or activate light and sound onthe vehicles using the touch-command feature. AllStreetz products are for ages 6 and up.Magnext MetalOns are magnetic warrior fig-

ures that kids can build, destroy, and quicklyinterchange parts for instant battle action andcustomization. There are four MetalOns war-riors, each representing a different element withdistinct character traits, power, and weaponry.

Warriors include Cu29, which comeswith a carbon saw and mask; Ti22, whichcomes with an electropulse sword andmask; Hg80, which comes with anatmospheric shock spear and mask; andCo27, which comes with a radioactiveexplosive blunderbuss and mask. Thepackaging transforms into a storage con-tainer. It is for ages 6 and up.MEGA’s iPark is a magnetic building set

that allows kids to build and create theirown amusement parks. The iCoaster istwice as tall as the original and features

more extreme tracks, eight stunts, and more build and rebuild config-urations. Plug in and play an MP3 player for more music mixes andwatch as the LED lights synch with the beat. The iPark iCoaster iscompatible with other versions of the iCoaster.The Furious Wheel is a high-capacity ferris wheel ride. Watch as

the metallic spheres take a ride around the tracks, perform gravity-defying stunts, or jump into the tricked path configuration. Lighteffects add to the fun and kids can connect it to the iCoaster.With the Vortex Rev, launch the metallic sphere up, hit the bell,

and watch as it rides the vortex and spirals through thetracks. The Vortex Rev can be the booster pack for theiCoaster but also a stand-alone kid-powered toy.Separate the Vortex and the tracks to create an extremeride by linking it to the iCoaster and the FuriousWheel. All iPark products are for ages 6 and up.

The MEGA Bloks Build’n Go Table comes with20 Maxi MEGA Bloks pieces. It features easy-to-fold legs and an integrated handle. The buildingplates allow for multiple building configurations sopreschoolers can build bigger and higher. The inte-grated tracks work with all MEGA Bloks vehicles.The table also promotes discovery and imaginationwith four fun scenes, stickers, a figure, and a vehicle.

MEGA BRANDS

TOY FAIR 2009

Magnext MetalOns

Streetz Stuntz

Ournever upnever up

brandsgrow

They just grow betterTo � nd out more about how SCHOLASTIC connects with

kids, parents and teachers, please call 212.389.3934.

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ights Reserved

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TM


TOY FAIR 2009

LEGO will be expanding its Duplo line, for ages 18 months and up,with additional classic items and products that feature Thomas & Friendscharacters. In the new Thomas In the Mine set, young builders can takeThomas through a mining tunnel that doubles as storage for the playset.The set includes Thomas and the tunnel.LEGO will also be expanding its new Bricks & More line, which

is a more advanced system than Duplo and includes more detailedstep-by-step instructions with each kit. The Builders of Tomorrow setgives children a large collec-tion of basic bricks and islinked to a website thatoffers new instructionsevery month.LEGO Creator sets fea-

ture three-in-one model kitsthat can make three sepa-rate models with the samepieces. The Family Homeset can produce a full fami-ly house with stone chim-ney, sliding doors, pond, terrace, and more and can be rearrangedinto a Mediterranean-style home or a bungalow.Technic is LEGO’s advanced building set that includes mechanical

elements such as gears, beams, pulleys, and more, and supports theLEGO Power Function System in some models. The new Technic GoKart kit lets builders create a kart that uses a working front steering col-umn and a piston engine that moves up and down.LEGO City features themes based around everyday, downtown

heroes and iconic models. The set allows for both roleplay and cre-ative building design. Builders can fill space on Main Street with theCity Life set, which provides a pizzeria and bike shop, as well as abus stop and city bus.New from LEGO are the Power Miners playsets. A team of LEGO

scientists and engineers have been sent out to find the source of strangerumblings across the globe and run afoul of the RockMonsters. The RockWrecker kit provides kids with all the material to build a powerful min-

ing vessel to capture Rock Monsters.LEGOAgents 2.0 brings back Dr. Inferno and new henchmen for the

Agents to face off against. The Aerial Defense Unit Kit puts AgentsTrace, Chase, and Charge against Magma Commander and his magmadrones. The kit includes a new aerial defense center with computers, zipline, jet ski, twin-propellor agent chopper, and more.The LEGO Castle set is expanding to include more battles between

the trolls and the knights. Builders can make the King’s Battle Chariotand uses its crossbow to defeat thetrolls. The Drawbridge Defense setputs builders in charge of defend-ing the princess in a castle tower.Builders can also use the Troll’sDark Fortress kit to build the lair ofthe giant trolls.LEGO Racers combines race

car play and building, with racetracks, remote control racers, andPower Racers with pullbackmotors. The Street Extreme fold-

out race track combines two tracks that feature a parking garage, policeblockade, helicopter, and refueling station. Kids can also recreate a realrace car with the Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4 kit, which has all thepieces necessary to create a scale model of the real race car.LEGO will further expand its Star Wars product line with new sets

featuring characters and vehicles from the classic movies, the newmovies, and the new Clone Wars animated series. The Endor BattlePlayset gives builders control of Han Solo, the Ewoks, and the rest of theRebel force from Episode VI as they attack the Imperial bunker on Endor.Builders will also be able to build new scenes featuring Indiana Jones.

The Temple of Doom building set gives builders the chance to recreate aclassic scene from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, as Indy, ShortRound, and Willie escape the temple in a runaway mine cart.The Bionicle line will also see new additions. The Glatorian Legends

line features six new Glatorian Warriors to collect and build.The SkopioXV-1 can transform from a scorpion into a high-speed tracked vehicle.

LEGO

Temple of Doom playset

WINNING MOVES GAMES


TOY FAIR 2009

4Kidz introduces PinkyDinks, a new line of fash-ion forward finger watch-es, which will premierethis fall. The company’sartists created graphicsthat were cute, comfort-able, and cutting edge forstyle-conscience younggirls. The range will beavailable in analog anddigital watch formats.

The 4Kidz MattressBank requires no mini-mum balance and is being touted by the company as “The SafestBank in the World.” There is no penalty for early withdrawal. Thedepositor’s peace of mind is compounded daily. It is made from100 percent recession-proof fabric. The bank is nine inches tall.

4KIDZ

Winning Moves Gamesoffers the new Rubik’s YouCan Do It puzzle. It comeswith an easy-to-follow DVDthat carefully shows the play-er how to twist and turn thecube to solve it. SpeedcuberTyson Mao has taught thou-sands of people how to solvethe cube and now he shareshis technique on this DVD. Itis for ages 8 and up.

Scattergories The CardGame (shown) is a fast-paced, portable category game where play-ers shout out the first word that comes to mind for each letter/cat-egory combination. Once a player shouts out a correct word, hechooses whether to keep the beginning letter or category the samefor the next round. Whoever has the most cards at the end of thegame wins. The game is for two or more players ages 8 and up.

Aeromax will introduce morethan 20 new children’s outfits in2009. One is the Jr. Cheerleader.With bright colors, attention todetail, a set of pom-poms, match-ing briefs, and a hair scrunchie,girls will feel just like a real cheerleader.Choose from three color combinations:red, white, and blue; purple and gold; orclassic blue and white. The one-piece out-fit with pleated skirt comes in three sizes:2/3, 4/6, and 6/8.

AEROMAX

The DeLuxe Snap Rover kit from Elenco Electronics comeswith a remote control and features more than 20 projects and 30parts. The DeLuxe Snap Rover goes forward and backward, turnsright and left, and has sidelights, a headlight, and a horn.Additional features include adisk shooter, digital voicerecorder, and music. All partssnap together with ease and nosoldering is required. A full-color manual is included.

ELENCO ELECTRONICS

Quelf has taken the traditional board game and turned it into an experience! To find out more contact us at [email protected]. Quelf, from the makers of Fact or Crap and Battle of the Sexes.

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HELMET, WITH A SPOON IN YOUR MOUTH WHILE KEEPING ONE HAND ON THE GROUND AND SNORTING LIKE A PIG

EVERY TIME SOMEONE ROLLS A THREE...THEN YOU MUST BE

PLAYING QUELF! VISIT USAT BOOTH#3003TO EXPERIENCETHE QUELFEFFECT

VISIT US AT BOOTH#3003TO EXPERIENCETHE QUELFEFFECT


International Playthings (IP) intro-duces several new Calico Critters ofCloverleaf Corners products for2009, including new charactersand playsets, as well as a newline of Calico Critters plush.The new line of Calico plushfeatures Lauren Fisher Cat,Penny Petite Bear, WillowCottontail Rabbit, and NibblesNorwood Mouse. Each Crittercomes with removable clothingand can easily be placed in a sit-ting position. They are approxi-mately eight inches tall and for ages 3 and up.

A new line of Early Star products will debut from Earlyears.Animal Snackers are electronic feeding bowls that make animalsounds as babies eat. Each bowl is activated by the special spoonand makes one of four sounds each time the spoon leaves the bowl.The insert bowl is removable, can be placed in the microwave, andis even dishwasher top-rack safe. There are two varieties—Dogand Cow (shown)—that are for ages 10 months and up.

Zippy Zoomers are pull-back vehicles that make clickingsounds as they zip along. The farther they are pulled back, the far-ther they roll forward. Each vehicle rattles when shaken, and thesoft, rubbery wheels work on multiple surfaces. There are twostyles—a car and a firetruck. They are for ages 6 months and up.

Imaginetics favorites get a makeover in 2009. The Beauty and theBeast Imaginetics Playset lets kids recreate the fairy tale withmagnets.The playset comes with Beauty and the Beast magnet figures, playscenes, and other accessory magnets. The playset is for ages 3 and up.

New iPlay Action and Board Games include Speedy Delivery.Players take turns driving along the game trail, landing on spaces thatallow them to load up the dump truck with freight tokens. SpeedyDelivery comes with an extra-large game board, a Chubbies pick-uptruck, a spinner, and game tokens. It is for ages 3 and up.

INTERNATIONAL PLAYTHINGS

TOY FAIR 2009

The Weather Channel will introduce new products based onRadar, the dog mascot of theweatherchannelkids.com. Radarappears on theWeather Games section of the site, which offers col-oring pages featuring Radar in his many meteorologist pursuits.Other interactive games offer experiences in severe weather pre-paredness, safety, and helping the environment.

Radar will step off of the computerscreen to become a wide variety oflicensed products that will includechildren’s toys, plush, books, andlearning games. Radar has a likabil-ity and relevance that lends well tomerchandise extensions in the many

varied topics on the website, including fore-casting activities, careers in meteorology, tipson pet safety for all weather conditions, cli-mate awareness, and exploring the amazingsides of weather and nature.

THE WEATHER CHANNEL

Building on its line of radio-controlled creepy-crawlies, UncleMilton introduces the R/C Scorpion. Use the multi-directionremote to control this authentic scorpion with realistic movements.It is for ages 6 and up.

UNCLE MILTON

Early Star Cow Animal Snacker


TOY FAIR 2009

Duncan Toys will intro-duce Warball to the tradingcard game (TCG) category.This new TCG combines tra-ditional strategy with innova-tive, tactical, head-to-headmarble action. Warball pitstwo or more players, ages8–12, against each other in thequest for supremacy of theplanet Garnath. Players useWarballs (marbles) as assault weapons to knock opposingWarballsoff the battlefield. A range of assaults is directed by the cards.

Battle Boxes include a 60-card set deck, two embedded Savages,six Master Warballs, 16 Core Warballs, a storage pouch, 24 ringstands, six markers, a ruler, and a 24-page rule book. Skirmish Packsare played against other Skirmish Packs or Battle Boxes. They includea 15-card set deck, an embedded Savage Warball, two MasterWarballs, four Core Warballs, six stands, six markers, a ruler, a stor-age pouch, and a 24-page rule book. Boosters are random sets withcommon, uncommon, and rare cards. Each includes five cards, aMaster Warball, and two Core Warballs.

DUNCAN TOYS

CBS Consumer Products, a divisionof CBS Entertainment, will introducenew toys and games based on the pop-ular television series and the new filmStar Trek. CBS Consumer Productswill introduce Star Trek board gamesfrom Fundex and USAopoly as well asa wide range of collectibles and giftitems from Funko and Vandor.

CBS CONSUMER PRODUCTS

Cards in Patch Products’ family game 100 Really Dumb ThingsYou Have To Do While Playing This Game (shown) tell players tosalute the nearest wall, do the Chicken Dance around the room, orwalk like a gorilla. Other cards set off chain reactions among play-ers. One player’s actions might cause other players to do a huladance, pretend to jump rope, or hiss like a snake. The gameincludes 100 Really Dumb Cards and dumb props such as a catnose, pirate eyepatch, and tam-bourine. It is forthree or more play-ers ages 7 and up.

In Pass the Pup, afast-paced preschoolgame, one playerwill be left holdingthe puppy when themusic stops. When the pup’s belly is pressed, the song “Who Let theDogs Out?” plays for a random length of time. Players quickly passthe pup around the circle until the music stops. Whoever is caughtholding the pup will have to bark, howl, roll over, or do some otherpuppy activity. The pup also serves as a soft and cuddly companionfor preschoolers. Pass the Pup is for two or more players ages 3 andup. It uses two button-cell batteries, which are included.

In Where’s Waldo?Ahh Ha! games, players try to spot 39 itemsthat Waldo saw on his trip across America, around town, or on asafari. Shake the tube and jiggle it around until everything is seen.Lucky players will discover the hidden Where’s Waldo? token.The top of the Ahh Ha! Tube has easy-to-use write-on, wipe-offlists of the items players must locate. Check them off with theincluded marker as each item is found. Where’s Waldo? Ahh Ha!games come in three titles: Across America, On a Safari, and InMy Town. The games are for one or more players ages 6 and up.

PATCH PRODUCTS


Techno Source and IAC ConsumerApplications & Portals havepartnered to create Smiley Central Studio toys andSmileyCentralStudio.com. Smiley Central Studio toys allow kidsto show the world who they are, how they feel, and who they wantto be. Kids can collect Smiley Central Studio characters in theform of plush, collectibles, and activity kits. Each Smiley CentralStudio toy includes a studio token with a secret code to unlocksmiley parts, accessories, and even art assets atSmileyCentralStudio.com. Techno Source products includeSmiley Central Three-Pack Charms that can be attached to cellphones, bags, zippers, backpacks, and more. Activity kits includethe Wall Art Kit, which allows kids to color and decorate their ownpieces of art and then stick them on their walls. The Mood JewelryKit lets kids decorate beads and pendants with stickers, glue, andglitter. Smiley Central products are for ages 6 and up.

The patent-pendingtechnology of Printiesallows kids to design,print, and stuff theirown toys in threesteps. Design onlineusing the design studioat MyPrinties.com.Feed the specialPrinties fabric paperinto any ink jet printer. Once the first side is complete, print thedesign on the back side. Then pop out the 2-D, pre-stitched cre-ation and use the enclosed stuffing tool to make it 3-D. The linedebuts with three starter sets: Printies Pets, Printies OceanAdventure, and Printies Jungle Safari. Each set includes access toMyPrinties.com, five pattern sheets for making six Printies, stuff-ing material and the stuffing tool, four display stands, Printiessticker sheets, and two key chain clips. Printies Refill Packsinclude three Printies sheets, three stands, and stuffing for threePrinties. Printies are for ages 5 and up.

TECHNO SOURCE

TOY FAIR 2009

10Vox Entertainment’s Trackstersis a Massively Multiplayer OnlineGame (MMOG) for kids featuringonline racing and car customizingpaired with an affordable line of die-cast, highly collectible, licensed cars.The Tracksters 3-D animated websitelets gamers ages 8–14 enter a virtualcommunity of racing and customiz-ing. Each car has a unique code,which allows users to create a free

online profile. Players can use their personal avatar to customize theircar and race online. By attending TrackCollege, players can partici-pate in trivia-based mini-games to earn TrackBucks and use them tocustomize their cars with new parts from the TrackMall. Tracksters isa safe and secure website that is constantly updated and enhanced tomake gameplay fun and challenging.

10VOX ENTERTAINMENT

Oberon Media, a developer of casual games, appointed ActIII Licensing as its licensing agency to build on its Dream Daycasual game franchise—Dream Day Wedding, Dream DayHoneymoon, Dream Day First Home, and Dream Day: Marriedin Manhattan. Categories available for licensing are electronicgames, DVD games, puzzles, novelty publishing, lottery

scratchers, and Vegas-style gam-ing. Act III has signed Ceaco toproduce a line of puzzles for theDream Day series. Ceaco hastranslated the art and seek-and-find element of the game into aline of three different puzzles.

ACT III LICENSING

Printies

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TOY FAIR 2009

4Kids Entertainment will showcase a com-plement of toy partners with new productlines for the company’s action-packed line-up. Playmates will lead the charge withnew toys for the Teenage Mutant NinjaTurtles, including the 25th anniversary toyline, and Yu-Gi-Oh! New Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds toyswill be unveiled. 4Kids will make an announcement for its hitproperty Chaotic—the trading card and online game. 4Kids andJakks Pacific’s Play Along division will also introduce a newCabbage Patch Kids line—Cabbage Patch Kids Fairies—whichwill build upon its recent 25th anniversary offerings.

4KIDS ENTERTAINMENT

This year, HIT Entertainment’s Bob the Builder embarks onnew building projects, including a live stage show, Bob the BuilderLive! Spud’s Big Mess. It is set to travel to more than 70 cities fromJanuary through June. Bob the Builder is also laying a foundationat LEGOLAND family theme parks worldwide with a 4-D movie.Bob the Builder and the Roller Coaster debuts at LEGOLANDCalifornia and LEGOLANDWindsor in the UK in March and willbe screened in LEGOLAND theaters daily. And this fall, Bob theBuilder’s new CGI series launches on PBS Kids with newmachines and building destinations.

Thomas the Tank Engine welcomes aboard new partners andintroduces new toy items. HIT ToyCo will introduce Let’s GoThomas. This toy takes little engineers on big adventures asThomas chugs along by himself. Let’s Go Thomas is a fully inter-active toy that will get children up and moving. It requires three Cbatteries, which are included. Let’s Go Thomas is for ages 18months and up.

Thomas at The Sodor Steam Works is the latest TrackMaster bat-tery-powered Thomas playset. Guide Thomas into the newest repairyard on the Island of Sodor and use the big claw to pick him up. Next,place him in the rotating lift to make repairs. A special tool—withlights and sounds—helps get the job done. The tool requires threeLR44 batteries, which are included, and Thomas requires oneAAbat-tery, which is not included. The toy is for ages 3 and up.

Angelina Ballerina: The Next Steps is a new CGI series that seesAngelina Ballerina at a new performing artsschool where she’ll experiencenew forms of music and dance. Theshow is slated for a fall 2009 pre-miere on PBS Kids. The programwill be supported with a new CGIwebsite this spring.

HIT ENTERTAINMENT

Angelina Ballerina: The Next Steps

Manhattan Toy430 First Avenue NorthMinneapolis, MN 55401 800.541.1345www.manhattantoy.com Please visit us at

New York Toy Fair Booth #1933


For Disney Consumer Products’Disney Princess brand, a 10th anniver-sary will be celebrated in 2010. Backedby a strong slate of original and classiccontent releasing from 2009 and into2012, Disney Princess will bring to mar-ket an assortment of toys and roleplayproducts from key licensees Mattel,CDI, and Playmates. Disney Princesswill also welcome its newest princess inmore than 10 years, Princess Tiana from Walt Disney Pictures’ ani-mated theatrical film, The Princess and the Frog, releasing this holi-day. The film returns to Disney’s classic fairy tale storytelling, handdrawn 2-D animation, and introduces its first African-AmericanDisney Princess. The toy line will reflect the film’s New Orleans set-ting and will be inspired by elements from the film including thebayou, jazz music, masquerade balls, food, and hospitality. Products

will include dolls, feature dolls, dress-up, playsets, and more.

Disney will release Tinker Bell andthe Lost Treasure. In this story, TinkerBell embarks on a journey where shehas to trust her talents and learn les-sons along the way. Disney has teamedup with CDI for an assortment of toysinspired by this storyline, from role-play dresses to playsets.

Toy Story 3 is set to release in theaters in 2010. In an effort to reac-quaint fans and introduce new audiences, while setting the stage forthe movie, Disney will re-release Toy Story as a special 3-D feature intheaters this fall, followed by Toy Story 2 in 3-D in spring 2010.Disney Consumer Products will embark on a ramp-up strategy releas-ing a focused assortment of new toys inspired by the first two filmswith a major push behind Toy Story 3.

DISNEY CONSUMER PRODUCTS

TOY FAIR 2009

Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure

Courage Brands will expand its line of collectible novelty pens,the Kooky Klickers, with the Kooky Fun Klub. The Klub offersexclusive membership benefits and tools for collectors. Benefitsinclude a special website activationcode for members only, an exclu-sive Kooky Klicker pen namedDesmond, a Klub lanyard, Fun Klubbling stickers, a 2009 KookyKlicker checklist, a Fun Klub mem-ber certificate, a Fun Klub windowsticker, a 2009 Kooky pocket check-list, Fun Klub peel-and-stick stick-ers, and a Klub button. Collectors join theKlub by purchasing a membership kit from a specialty retailer oronline at www.kookys.com.

COURAGE BRANDS

The Kids Only CarsActivity Table and Stool Set (shown) includesa table and one stool. The vinyl surface is washable and no tools arerequired for its easy assembly. The table features sturdy steel construc-tion. The weight limit is 60 pounds. It is for ages 3–7.

The Princess Erasable Activity Table Set includes a table, twopadded chairs, and dry-erase markers and eraser. Adult assembly isrequired and tools are included.The table features metal tubularsteel construction and patent-pending double safety lock-ing mechanisms. The weightlimit is 100 pounds. It is for ages3–7, from Kids Only, which isnow a division of Jakks Pacific.

KIDS ONLY


TOY FAIR 2009

Sesame Workshop and K’nex will introduce the SesameStreet Elmo’s World Adventure Series. Specially designed forchildren ages 2–5, the new sets allow the youngest builders togo on exciting adventures with Elmo. Each set lets kids buildtheir very own talking Elmo model and themed accessories.With Elmo’s Outer Space Adventure Building Set, aspiringastronauts will help Elmo explore the moon and far beyond.This 42-piece space-themed building set lets kids dress Elmo ina white astronaut suit and helmet, and then help him lift off tothe moon by creating a custom red, white, and blue rocket ship.After building, push down Elmo’s head to hear him say, “TodayElmo is exploring the moon, just like an astronaut. Pretend thatyou are an astronaut too, and let’s explore together!” The build-ing set comes with colorful Kid K’nex rods and connectors, aswell as Kid K’nex blocks. It also includes a Play & Learn activ-ity sheet, filled with educational and collaborative activities forparent and child, along with additional building ideas.

New Collect & Build sets include Air Action, Racecar Rally,and Moto-Bots. Each aircraft in the Air Action series, for ages 5and up, comes with its own unique feature, such as flashing lightsor motion-activated sound. All sets have more than 200 parts andK’nexmen pilots. All four racers in the Racecar Rally series, forages 5 and up, feature a high-speed motor, more than 200 parts,and K’nexmen drivers. Each Moto-Bots robot comes with morethan 350 parts and a motor that allows formechanical motion features. Moto-Bots arefor ages 7 and up.

New in the Thrill Ride collection is theLava Launch Coaster. Standing more than fourfeet high when completed, the coaster isshaped like a giant volcano. This building setincludes 1,200 pieces to construct a coasterwith more than 20 feet of spirals, twists,and loops. A motorized blaster spools upand shoots cars up and out of the vol-cano. It is for ages 9 and up.

K’NEX

Lava LaunchCoaster

Senario introduces My Secret Circle, asecure social networking worlddesigned for girls 8–12 and theirinternet-cautious parents. Invisibleto the online world, My SecretCircle lets younger girls createprivate communities with friends.

Products include online accesskeys featuring proprietary technolo-gy with embedded browsers andunique ID codes. Friends can only

connect on My Secret Circle by exchanging these private codes.Special fashion charms are packaged with the access keys, allow-ing girls to exchange charms along with their private codes. Otheroptions include All About Me profile pages with a Diva Designeravatar creator tool, an online journal that can be private or posted,instant messaging, games, and an extensive photo feature in whichgirls can upload photos, add text and décor, and create slideshows.Also available is a headset and microphone, allowing girls tovoice-chat online in a secure environment.

SENARIO

Toy Island and Nickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products(NVCP) announced a multi-year deal to create a line of high-qual-ity wood products inspired by several Nick Jr. series. The new lineof products will be based on characters from Nickelodeon’s libraryof series, including The Wonder Pets;Go, Diego, Go!; Dora the Explorer;The Backyardigans; and Ni Hao, Kai-lan. Featured items will include lac-ing bead sets, bead chasers, vehicles,figures, and figure playsets, whichwill make their retail debut in special-ty stores worldwide in 2009.

TOY ISLAND

Go, Diego, Go!


Funrise expands its Gazillion Bubbles line with the GazillionBubble Rocket (shown). Pour the bubble solution into the tray of thelaunch pad, place therocket on the launch-er, and launch therocket to see it leavea bubble trail. The kitcomes with a rocket,launcher, stomp pad,and a six-ounce bot-tle of GazillionBubbles solution.The Bubble Bobble Train features bubbles streaming out of a

smoke stack and a removable bobble head figure. The trainincludes four ounces of bubble solution. It requires three AA bat-teries, which are not included.The Bubble Bobble Cement Mixer comes with a removable

bobble head driver. Push the bobble head and watch the vehicleroll into action, leaving a trail of bubbles behind it. Three AA bat-teries are required, but not included.Three types of bubbles pop out of the Gazillion Adjustabubble

Machine. Just flip the switch to the desired bubble size. It includes32 ounces of Gazillion Bubbles solution. Six AA batteries arerequired, but not included.With the Gazillion Bubbler Flyer, insert the flyer into the hand-

held docking station and fuel with bubble solution. Pump andpress the trigger to watch the flyer soar in the sky leaving a trail ofbubbles behind. The flyer comes with a launcher and six ounces ofbubble solution. There are three styles to choose from. AllGazillion Bubbles products are for ages 3 and up.New Disney Bubbles products include the Disney Bubble

Wubble No-Spill Tumblers. Dip the wand into the tumbler andblow hundreds of bubbles without spills. The tumblers are avail-able in favorite Disney baby characters, including Winnie thePooh, Tigger, Mickey Mouse, and Donald Duck. Each tumblercomes with four ounces of Gazillion Bubbles solution.

FUNRISE

TOY FAIR 2009

Alex Toys will introduce more than 100 new items for 2009. ItsAlex Jr. line expands with 12 new items as well as 10 new Tub Joytoys. Tub Joy’s Quacky Cups are three colorful duck-shaped cupsto stack and drizzle in three different ways. The ducky heads makegripping easy for little hands. The set comes with one phthalate-free duck squirter. Quacky Cups are for ages 6 months and up.Tootin’ Tubmates are four brightly colored sets of animals with

rafts that link together. Match the animals with their rafts andwatch them float. Dunk them underwater to hear them whistle.They are for ages 6 months and up.Discovery Car is a brightly colored, soft fabric car designed to

guide infants through exploration of tactile surfaces, reflection,sounds, and open/close motions. Pull open the doors to see more.It is for ages 6 months and up.Alex Little Hands introduces 23 new learning toys, games, and

craft kits designed just for preschoolers. Monsters Play All Day isa deluxe game set with seven monstrously fun games. The three-tiered box includes Moody Monsters matching game, a 56-carddeck of playing cards with four different game instructions, and aMix & Match puzzle game. Moody Monsters features 15 differentmonsters each addressing the social and emotional needs of chil-dren. It is for ages 3–5.Alex continues bringing technology to the tub with Tub Target

Screaming Monsters (shown). Use the monster squirter to squirt atthe three monster faces on the targetthat suction cups to the tub wall.Hit the targets and hear differ-ent sounds from each monster.It is for ages 3 and up.Jump for fun and exercise with

Little Jumpers Trampoline. A col-orful padded trampoline with cush-ioned handle offers kids an outlet fortheir energy. Spring-loaded legs makeassembly quick and easy. It holds up to70 pounds and is for ages 3 and up.

ALEX TOYS

Gazillion Bubble Rocket

Tub Target Screaming Monsters

1” CHARACTER MARBS™

1.25” VEHICLE MARBS™

1” PLATINUM LIMITED CHARACTERS MARBS™

EACH MARBS™ IS NUMBEREDFOR COLLECTIBILITY

COLLECTOR BASE

360O SEE THROUGH PACKAGING

SERIALIZED COLLECTOR MARBLES WITH BASE READY TO ROLL OFF SHELVES!

EXPANDING WITH & BEYOND, FALL 2009

VISIT WWW.MARBS.COM CONTACT: [email protected]

TM & © 2009 JAKKS Pacific, Inc., Malibu, CA 90265 U.S.A. All Rights Reserved.

MADE IN CHINA.

Contents may vary in style, color, shape and decoration from images shown on package or in advertising.

Questions or comments? www.jakks.com, [email protected], or 1-877-875-2557 in North America.

© 2009 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM.All Rights Reserved.

MARVEL, MARVEL UNIVERSE : TM & © 2009 Marvel Entertainment, Inc. and its subsidiaries.

Licensed by Marvel Characters B.V. www.marvel.com. All rights reserved.


TOY FAIR 2009

AllStarBuddies.com is a new sports-themed virtual world website, where kids cannot only kick balls, but they can shoot pucksand score touchdowns in their bedrooms.Founded by Caryn Burns and Cindy Prince,AllStarBuddies.com is a safe, virtual play-ground for kids ages 6 and up where a healthy,positive lifestyle is reinforced through fungames, quests, and social interaction.

Based in the fictional town of VarsityHeights, members receive a user ID and password for their own pri-vate account. Kids select one of seven sports-themed, animated char-acters as their onscreen persona. The All Star Buddies animated char-acters in Varsity Heights include Chip (the Golf Buddy), Blitz (the

Football Buddy), Deuce (the Tennis Buddy),Striker (the Soccer Buddy), Ace (the BaseballBuddy), Swish (the Basketball Buddy), andDeke (the Hockey Buddy.)

Kids can visit the Varsity Heights Stadiumfor playing sports-themed games, The Arcadefor challenging friends to arcade-style games,and the School Zone for testing brain powerwith games and activities. Visit the playgroundto play kick ball or slide down the slide.

In addition, children can collect the seven All Star Buddies plushtoys, available for purchase at selected specialty toy and gift stores.Each plush character comes with a unique promotional code that chil-dren can enter online to receive extra privileges in Varsity Heights.

ALL STAR BUDDIES


Action Products released the OLogy line of products under itsAction Toy line, created in partnership with theAmerican Museumof Natural History. GermSoap (shown) lets kidsmake their own glycerinsoaps in the shape of com-mon bacteria, while alsolearning about the rolemicroorganisms play inthe ecosystem. Otheritems include a collectionof stylized wood kits thatcan be easily assembled and painted, a star gazer kit, a compassadventure kit, a shark adventure kit, and wall wraps that allow kidsto create a room of wonder. A collector’s card is packed with eachproduct. To feed kids’ hunger for science and fun and to get a freeField Guide, kids are directed to go to www.fieldguide2adven-ture.com where they can download and print a personalizedOLogist certificate and enjoy additional online OLogy activities.

ACTION PRODUCTS

Wild Republic will debut itsnew bendable skateboarding ani-mal action figures called MongoGrinders. The new toys are six-inch tall bendables with suctioncups that allow for securing theanimal figure in a number ofpositions on the mini skateboard.Mongo Grinders also carry animportant mission of teachingenvironmental concerns when, as the story goes, they sneak out of thezoo one night to skate the streets, only to discover that the planet’secosystems are in danger. Now theMongoGrinders skate to reach andteach others about conservation. Wild Republic will sell individualMongo Grinders animals such as Kickflip Tree Frog, BackslideCrocodile, Nosegrind Rhino, and Bail Wolf, as well as deluxe two-piece sets with environments and ramps.

WILD REPUBLIC

Celebrating 40 years, Sesame Workshop is working with theindustry’s top licensees for products that utilize the latest technologyas well as offer back-to-basic classics that will engage retailers andconsumers alike. This month, Sesame Street co-founder, Joan GanzCooney, will be inducted into the Toy Industry Association’s Hall ofFame for her contributions to the trade.

SESAME WORKSHOP

Play Visions’ Club Earth divisionintroduces the Splashy Dashy Otter(shown). This otter is battery operatedand glides, turns, and twirls in water,making random swimming motions inthe pool and bath.

Play Visions has added a newtwist to its Clackers—a maracashape on the ends and small beadsinside. This combination produces aswishing sound while kids play withthe Maraca Clackers.

PLAY VISIONS

Cadaco Feb T&FE spread.pdf 1/26/09 4:36:32 PM


TOY FAIR 2009

Nelvana Enterprises’ Max and Ruby are entertaining and mis-chievous bunny siblings now showing on Nick Jr., Noggin, andTreehouse TV. With thenew Max and Ruby plushby Jakks Pacific, childrencan snuggle up with theirfavorite bunny buddiesand follow along on theiradventures through theaccompanying storybookand read-along CD.

NELVANA ENTERPRISES

Monogram International’s Marvel Bust Bank lineup featuresfavorite Marvel Heroes in bright colors. The Spider-Man BustBank is available in two styles—classic red and blue, and black.Wolverine is available in masked or unmasked versions. OtherMarvel characters include Venom, The Incredible Hulk, and TheThing. All banks are sized so they can be placed anywhere—ondesks, bookshelves, and more. Made of roto-plastic, the banks willnot become too heavy oncethey are filled withchange. The banks arefor ages 5 and up.

MONOGRAM INTERNATIONAL

Venom and The IncredibleHulk Bust Banks

Family Games is releasing a new line of games calledCognitive Creations, which challenge players with spatial prob-lems. The line includes games such as Quantumino, where thechallenge is to fit 16 of 17 3-D pentamino figures into the playingframe. In Inversé, players position wooden playing pieces on thegame grid, turning them so that no two stand the same.

Three new strategy gamesinclude Stratum, where playersreveal or conceal their pieces.Sprocket is all about movement

and mechanics. One Up is acalculating game ofmounting moves. Eachgame is designed tosharpen spatial andplanning skills.

FAMILY GAMESLarge Rag Doll Grenadine comes inside

bright retro packaging. Her 13-inch soft clothbody features a cheerful painted face witha fleece cap and soft scarf. Nourrissonis a 17-inch toddler doll designed tolook just like a real baby for pretendplay for girls 3 and up.

COROLLE

Large Rag Doll Grenadine


New boys’ craft kits fromCreativity for Kids include thePlanets—Create a Solar SystemMobile (shown). The kit, which isfor ages 8 and up, lets kids coverfoam balls with eight colorsof air-dry clay to create anarray of planets. Hang the planetsfrom the galaxy base with string andthen display. The instruction bookletcontains fun planetary science facts to com-plement the crafting experience.Boys can create 10 paper airplanes with the Sky Diver Paper

Airplanes kit. Follow simple folding techniques to turn sheets ofpatterned paper into slick airplanes. Add sticker accents, then tryto land the planes on the punch-out runways. A bonus sky diverwith a parachute is included. The kit is for ages 6 and up.

CREATIVITY FOR KIDS

TOY FAIR 2009

Nickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products (NVCP) will unveilnew partners creating educational and interactive toys for Nick Jr.’sNiHao, Kai-lan. NVCP will also debut new partners for iCarly.SpongeBob SquarePants kicks off its 10th anniversary with talkingplush from PlayAlong, a line of classic games from Hasbro, and edu-cational toys from LeapFrog. Fisher-Price will introduce an interac-tive dancing doll inspired by theDora Saves the Crystal Kingdom TVevent, along with an interactive kitchen. Go, Diego, Go! and TheWonder Pets will also come to life with new prod-ucts from Fisher-Price. New iconic green Slimeproducts from Jakks Pacific will debut.Nickelodeon will also unveil envi-ronmentally friendly productsincluding organic plush, woodentoys, and a recyclable doll-house from Toy Island.

NICKELODEON & VIACOM

CONSUMER PRODUCTS

SpongeBobSquarePants

New products from Playmobilinclude the Research Submarine.The Submarine comes with anunderwater motor and two arms thatgrasp. The depth of the submarinein water can be adjusted with thehand pump. It also includes two fig-

ures. It requires one AA battery, which is not includ-ed. The Research Submarine is for ages 4 and up.Playmobil’s Family Home (shown) is a two-story house with

attic windows that tilt, an extendable marquee, a terrace, furniture,and a grill. It includes four figures. The house also has a function-ing doorbell. It requires two AAA batteries, which are not includ-ed. It is for ages 4 and up.

PLAYMOBILNew games from Haba includeAnimal UponAnimal—The Duel.In this silly game for two players, anything is possible. Each playerstarts with four different animal shapes. Roll a large die to indicatewhich animal goes on bottom. Then roll a smaller die to decide whichanimal shape goes on top. Two more animals to balance make this a

battle of time and wits to be thefirst player to successfully stackall four animals first. Thegame is for ages 5 and up.Paulina the Horse fea-

tures a soft velour body andchenille mane and tail. The hoovesare made of corduroy. This pinkhorse comes with a grey remov-able saddle and bridle completewith a magnetic flower.

HABA

Paulina the Horse

Planets—Create a SolarSystem Mobile

Coyne PR’s toy team is a specialized group of consumer product public relations professionals that possesses the passion, creativity and experience to impact your business. With in-depth working knowledge of the youth, parenting and trade media, our team is in sync with the industry and your target audience.

Our toy team has managed and executed product launches, brand-building campaigns, trade show support, infl uencer programs, social media marketing, celebrity endorsement programs and media relations for some of the industry’s most prominent brands, including Hasbro, Crayola, Toys“R”Us, and the Walt Disney Company, to name a few.

Tom Coyne12 Years of Toy Experience

Wayne Catan10 Years of Toy Experience

Beth Mosher Kimmerling7 Years of Toy Experience

Call 973-316-1665 or email [email protected] to obtain a copy of our Toy Capabilities Book

Brian Murphy10 Years of Toy Experience

Melissa Skabich5 Years of Toy Experience

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TOY FAIR 2009

Little Kids introduces new animal-themed No-Spill BubbleFriends Bubble Tumbler styles (shown). Kids can tip the tumbler,drop it, or even turn it upside down and the liquid stays inside.New styles include a lion, polar bear, penguin, and monkey. No-Spill Bubble Friends Bubble Tumblers come with a wand and two-ounce bottle ofLittle Kids originalno-stain, no dyes,non-toxic premiumbubble solution. Thetumblers are forages 2 and up.The No-Spill

Bubble Blitzers Bubble Booster Technology continuously feedsbubble liquid to the bubble wand so kids can blow thousands ofbubbles. Fill the product with bubble liquid, close the cap, andblow. The Bubble Blitzer Glitter Critter blows bubbles while themylar glitter wings spin. It comes in pink or yellow. TheNickelodeon Bubble Blitzer assortment features Dora from Dorathe Explorer, Diego from Go, Diego, Go!, and Pablo from TheBackyardigans. Each Blitzer comes with a two-ounce bottle ofLittle Kids bubble solution. It is for ages 3 and up.With a flick of the wrist, the Bubble Twister wand spins around

creating tons of bubbles. The wand’s rotation makes blowing bub-bles easy to do for preschoolers. The Bubble Twister includes twoounces of bubble concentrate that makes up to 18 ounces of bub-ble liquid. It is for ages 4 and up.Little Kids and NASCAR have teamed up to create Bubble Racers

featuring Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon. Each Bubble Racer is aminiature version of the drivers’ cars. The battery-operated Racer hasthree modes of operation—continuous bubble machine, free-rollingracecar, or both features together. When used as a bubble machine,bubbles stream out of the racecar’s tailpipe. The NASCAR BubbleRacers include a gas can-shaped 3.8-ounce bottle of Little Kids bub-ble solution with an easy-fill cap. The Racers require two AA batter-ies, which are not included. The Racers are for ages 3 and up.

LITTLE KIDS

For the ESPN license,Moose Mountain will intro-duce the ESPN QuarterbackChallenge. Complete as manypasses as you can with themoveable launcher and rackup the points. The game fea-tures electronic scoring,music, and sounds.Moose Mountain’s Fisher-

Price Golf N’ Go Ride-On(shown) is a wacky golf cartthat comes with its own built-in putting green and golf bag,

one golf club, two golf balls, and dashboard that plays sounds.Kids can use the golf club to putt or drop the balls through the sidechutes and watch them spiral down the ramp dropping onto theputting green for a hole-in-one.

MOOSE MOUNTAIN

Carrera of America is expanding its GO!!! line of 1:43 scale slotcar racing sets with two entertainment licenses by Disney and Marvelcomics. The GO!!! Cars, the High-Octane Adventure Set seesLightning McQueen and Chick Hicks going head to head. The twocars fly over and through the competition on almost 18 feet of track,featuring two crossover sections, a spiral overpass, and a lap counter.GO!!! Spidey GO!!! is a 1:43-scale slot car and race track sys-

tem themed after Marvel’s fourth installment in the Spider-Manseries (anticipated for release in 2011 by Sony Pictures). As kidsstep into the cockpit of Spider-Man’s Webslinger, they’ll have tocontend with Carnage, who pilots the Parasite RS at scale speedsof up to 450 miles per hour. Twenty feet of web-slung track, fea-turing a double loop, four-way crossover, and wall-climbing fly-over, bring Spidey’s hometown of New York to life.

CARRERA OF AMERICA

No-Spill Bubble Friends Bubble Tumblers

Fisher-Price Golf N’ Go Ride-On


TOY FAIR 2009

ToyQuest’s new roboticpet is Tekno Spider. Thisarachnid walks on wallsand ceilings by remotecontrol. Using a scattermode, Tekno Spider maybe used for target practicewith the duel-action pistol-remote control. Tekno

Spider can even engage in a game of laser tag. Touch, light, and soundsensitive, Tekno Spider recognizes interaction with it.ToyQuest introduces an action figure series from DreamWork’s

newest animation release, Monsters vs. Aliens. Choose from Dr.Cockroach, B.O.B., The Missing Link, Ginormica, Gallaxhar, andthe Alien Robot Clone. These fully articulated six-inch figuresallow kids to recapture the movie’s action at home or create theirown adventures.

TOYQUEST

With the new Etcha Sketch DoodleSketch (shown) fromOhio Art, kids candraw, erase, and drawagain. The doodle sty-lus and four doodlestamps make drawingfun and the doodleeraser makes erasing easy. The grab-and-go handle, available on theclassic and travel models, lets kids doodle wherever they go. Thepocket-sized Doodle Sketch has a special grip feature.Etch a Sketch Freestyle offers a freestyle controller that lets

kids draw lines, curves, and curly-Qs. Just shake to erase and drawagain. Free overlays can be downloaded at www.world-of-toys.com to help kids trace mazes, pictures, and more.The new Etch a Sketch Magic Pad features two ways to draw

and two ways to erase. Use the knobs to draw perfect lines. Usethe magic stylus to draw squiggles. The magic stylus eraser letskids erase a little or a lot. Kids can also use their fingers to erase.All products are for ages 3 and up.

OHIO ART

RJM Licensing, Inc., the licensing agency hired by Chorion tomanage the Paddington Bear property, announced that MadameAlexander will create miniature plush of Paddington Bear to bepaired with its Wendy doll. Yottoy will continue producing its 10-inch Paddington Bear and 18-inch Paddington Bear soft toy plushthrough 2010. Consumers will be able to select different boot,jacket, and hat colors for Paddington Bear and the plush will beoffered with or without the bear’s suitcase.

RJM LICENSING

The Sakar Crayola MP3Player, for ages 4 and up, has abuilt-in speaker/voice recorderand comes with earbuds. Itholds up to 1GB of music. It ismade to work in connectionwith a clock radio or on its own.The MP3 player requires oneAAA battery, which is not included.Sakar will also produce the LeapFrog Digital Camera with

Interactive Software. It features a talking camera that says, “Smilefor the camera,” “Say cheese,” “Great shot,” and “Bye bye.” Thesoftware will include an extensive creative writing area andgames. Kids can easily upload their photos and import them intothe various sections of the software to become part of thegames/stories. It is a 2.1MP camera and is for ages 4 and up.

SAKAR

BANZAI SKIMBOARD SURFER


TOY FAIR 2009

University Games’Great Explorations division is launching theSplatter Mat, an activity mat for kids that changes color with heat.The mat is composed of seven foam Splatter Pieces that fit togeth-er, so kids can create different-shaped, giant Splatters every timethey play. Each piece is coated with a patented, unique materialcalled Flip Faze, which changes color with the heat of a hand orfoot, warm water, or sunlight. As the Splatter Mat cools, the colorchanges back, so kids can create images again and again.The Color On! Coloring Roll: Under the Sea introduces a new

format to a traditional activity. Rather than opening a coloringbook, children can roll out a 10-foot long piece of paper with print-ed images of creatures and plants from under the sea. With such alarge coloring surface, several children can color at the same time.When they’re done they can either roll it back up or tear off sec-tions to show off. There are also hidden images to find to add tothe fun. Crayons are included. The roll can either be pegged verti-cally or shelved horizontally.The game division of University Games has new products for

Fancy Nancy. In the Fancy Nancy Tea Party Game, kids race tocollect Colorforms pieces and then create a lovely tea party scenewith Nancy. The images support important learning tools such as

color matching, critical reasoning, and deci-sion-making.In the Super WHY! ABC

game, players take on thepowers of the Super WHY!characters and move aroundthe board learning key readingskills, such as letter recogni-tion, rhyming, and spelling.Guess What (shown) lets

kids create their own wackyanimal using different legs, bodies, and heads.

Players try to guess what kind of creature their opponent has cre-ated using simple deductive reasoning. The game comes with stur-dy stands so players can face off in any location.

UNIVERSITY GAMES

Cadaco’s new product introductions for 2009 includeEnviroBLOX. Building on last year’s success, EnviroBLOX are backwith new sets that let kids unleash their imaginations and createincredible builds. New this year are kid-safe EnviroBLOX Tools tocreate custom shapes and other accessories that let kids personalizetheir designs. EnviroBLOX are still completely biodegradable andmade from cornstarch in the U.S. Simply moisten and connect for a

firm, instant hold and endlessbuilding fun. The Workshop(shown) and Kitchen sets arefor ages 3 and up, while thePet and Monster sets are forages 4 and up.The Big Draw Chalk

Drawing Machine is aninnovative sidewalk art product. With easy-to-follow instructions,kids can create enormous chalk drawings on sidewalks and drive-ways that are more than six feet and look perfect every time. Usinga simple “recipe card,” children use Big Draw’s corresponding let-ter and number system to plot points for their drawing, then sim-ply connect the dots and color it in. Kids can create drawings suchas a giant Tyrannosaurus Rex. Big Draw is for ages 7 and up.Cadaco has once again teamed up with illusionist Ryan Oakes

to develop exciting new illusions for aspiring magicians. This timeRyan wants kids to have one “hero” trick that will be a true show-stopper during any performance. Tricks include The Sword & TheStone, for ages 4 and up, and The Magic Lunch Box, for ages 8and up. Kids can learn how to amaze their family and friends witha step-by-step DVD featuring Oakes.New games include GameBytes micro-games. About the size

of a thumb drive, GameBytes simply plug into a computer’s USBport, no internet connection required. GameBytes let kids playgames on the computer in a safe way. There are GameBytes foreveryone from Speed Racer and Bella Sara for younger kids toColor Lines and What’s New for older kids. Just clip them on andtake them anywhere. They are for ages 4 and up.

CADACO


Step2’s Lifestyle New Traditions Kitchen(shown) features Old World ele-gance with modern conveniences.The kitchen features a special fry-ing pan and boiling pot with lid thatactivate electronic frying and boil-ing water sounds in the stove’s frontburner. Other features include a“stainless steel” microwave, refrig-erator, and oven. Minimal adultassembly is required and the kitchenrequires batteries, which are not included. It is for ages 2 and up.

Step2 will add new toys designed for children ages 12 months-3 years. Its Basic Rhythm Preschool Band collection featuresseven instruments that combine ABC’s and music notes into avisual and tactile experience. Color-coded sheet music is included.For ages 2 and up, instruments include maracas, a tambourine, adrum, bongos, and a xylophone. Instruments for ages 18 monthsand up include a piano and guitar.

STEP2

TOY FAIR 2009

The Robot HeadBuzz Wire Game,from Russimco, testsa players’ steadyhand. The aim is totake the wire loopfrom one side of therobot’s head to theother, guiding italong his curlyantenna. Touch the sides and the robot will buzz his disapproval withlight-up eyes. Wind up the robot using a handle on its side. RobotHead is also available with a built-in AM/FM radio.

RUSSIMCO

For Paramount’s Hotel for Dogs, Aquarius signed on to producea colorful 14-inch by 19-inch 500-piece lenticular 3-D effects puz-

zle (shown) that features thestars of the film surrounded bytheir canine co-stars.

Madame Alexander Dollswill produce dolls forCharlotte’s Web, Grease,Breakfast at Tiffany’s, FunnyFace, and Sabrina. TheBreakfast at Tiffany’s dolls will

be in limited edition.

PARAMOUNT LICENSING

DCI Los Angeles’ Chop Socky Chooks will debut a variety ofnew products. Licensee Inkology has created a full range of schoolsupplies, including binders, theme books, composition books,journals, notebooks, and novelty writing instruments. TrendsInternational signed on to produce Chop Socky Chooks posters.Jada Toys will offer a range of six-inch articulated action figuresof the three heroes, KO Joe, Chick P, Chuckie Chan, as well as thevillain, Dr. Wasabi. The KO Joe figure features launching afrocomb action, the Chick P figure features fan throwing action, andthe Chuckie Chan figure features launching Pao Kung action. The

Dr. Wasabi figurefeatures launchingbomb action andcomes with alterna-tive pinching claws.

DCI LOS ANGELES

Jada Toys’ Dr. Wasabi figure(pending final licensor approval)


TOY FAIR 2009

Basic Fun acquired the Fisher-PriceClassic Toy line. The line includes theChatter Phone, Pull-A-Tune Xylophone,Snoop & Sniff, Two Tune TV, and theMusicBox Teaching Clock. The line will be mar-keted and distributed to specialty retailersnationwide, as well as into specialty aisleswithin select mass-market accounts.

Basic Fun partnered with CartoonNetwork for a Ben 10 handheld featuring action-packed gameplayconsistent with the show, its aliens, and their powers. Basic Fun willalso offer two series of Ben 10 figural key chains, with each seriesfeaturing three unique characters.

Two series of Bakugan Battle Brawlers Mega Key Chains featurethe familiar Bakugan Battle Brawler ball in a slightly oversized for-mat. Each Battle Brawler springs open and morphs into one of sixBakugan fighters when the button is pulled.

Multiple styles of Star Trek key chains will be introduced, basedon the original Star Trek series, the Next Generation series, and theupcoming Star Trek movie. The Star Trek Communicator Talking Key

Chain is a miniature replica of the originalseries communicator. When the Communicatoris opened, the opening sound effect from theseries plays. The inside features two buttons:one button sounds the phaser sound effect andthe other button scrolls through seven popularphrases. Based on the new Star Trek, Basic Funwill offer a highly detailed key chain miniatureof the Enterprise. Basic Fun will also offer a

collectible assortment of vehicle key chains including the originalEnterprise ship, the Enterprise from Next Generation, and the originalKlingon ship.

Basic Fun will release Madballs Series III, which consists of twolines—Classic and Sick. All six character styles are soft foam rubberballs that feature highly detailed faces bursting with freakish person-ality. Nail Biter has got brains and is not afraid to ooze them. Fist Faceexcels at hand/eyeball coordination. Other characters include PuckTeeth, Mosh Pitts, Lock Lips, and Snake Bait. This fall, a competitionand gaming website Madballs.com will pit four teams against eachother for the ultimate site takeover.

BASIC FUN

Fisher-PriceChatter Phone

Classic Metal Works’ new Hot Rod Magazine Shelby MustangGT 500 Cobra is one of several die-cast model assembly kits thatCMW Holdings Ltd./Classic Metal Works markets around theglobe. The kits feature a super high-gloss custom paint finish, adetailed engine and interior, and custom wheels and tires. The kits

are easy to assemble witha small screwdriver andminimal gluing.

CLASSIC METAL WORKS

Douglas Company’s Sassy Pet Sak Sillos are animal silhou-ette-shaped bags with a long shoulder strap.These bags exude fashion-forward style andare created with new fabric combinationsand beautiful designs. Sillos have a zipperclosure at the top of the body and a pock-et on the outside for additional storage.There are eight new Sassy Pet SakSillo designs in all—three puppystyles and five pony styles.

DOUGLAS COMPANY


The Disney Fairies will star on all of Cardinal’s basic games,including checkers, dominoes, bingo, and card games. The Tub Fullof Games will have all the Fairies games inside and a Game Pack onWheels will allow girls to take their Fairies games with them wher-ever they go. The Tub Full of Games and Game Pack onWheels willalso feature the Cars, Princesses, and Mickey Mouse brands.The Disney TV show Wizards

of Waverly Place will become aboard game and a card game.The board game has kids cre-ating spells with uniqueMagic Wand technology. InThe Wizards of Waverly PlaceCard Game, the first player tocollect five different spells wins.New Nickelodeon games

from Cardinal include two versions of iCarly Charades—theiCarly Charades Card Game in a Tin and the Board Game in aBox. The games challenge kids to act out unique iCarlyismssuch as “groovy smoothie” and “spaghetti tacos.”Nickelodeon’s Ni Hao, Kai-lan will be featured on classic

games such as Chinese Checkers (shown), card games, anddominoes. The entire assortment of games will also come pack-aged in a Ni Hao, Kai-lan game pack and a game tub.

CARDINAL GAMES

TOY FAIR 2009

ThinkFun introduces S’Match, a classic memory game with atwist. Instead of matching identical objects, players are asked tomake matches according to specific attributes, such as color, num-

ber, or category. The S’MatchSpinner decides the path to amatch. Pictures and words allowpre-readers and early readers toplay together. It is for two or moreplayers ages 4 and up.In its Brainteasers category,

ThinkFun’s new 36 Cube challengesplayers to solve the world’s mostchallenging puzzle. 36 Cube is a

multi-colored puzzle comprised of 36 tow-ers arranged in the shape of a cube. The goal is to place only oneof each colored tower in every row and column to form a perfectlevel cube. The game is for one player ages 8 and up.

THINKFUN

Fiesta Kidz is a new collectible line of plush toys from FiestaToy. The seven-inch collectible plush animals include browndog, gray cat, giraffe, elephant, monkey, panda, brown bear,black bear, tiger, and white tiger.The Animal Trolley Back Pack collection offers more than 10

styles. Three new styles are being added for 2009, including an 11-inch monkey and bear style, as well as a 10-inch orange clown fishstyle. These plush toy-shaped bags can be used as a traditionalbackpack by simply unsnapping from the trolley wheeled frame,

and the easily pulled-out straps turn it intoa conventional back-pack. The backpacksalso feature a retract-ing handle.

FIESTA TOY

Fiesta KidzKids can draw the wackiest, craziest pictures they’ve ever seen

with Scratch Art’s Scratch Magic Wacky Scratch. Use the woodstylus to scratch the black coating and reveal designs that will popoff the page and create the illusion of movement. Each packageincludes four sheets, a stencil, and a wooden stick.

SCRATCH ART


TOY FAIR 2009

New Gamewright gamesinclude Walter Wick’s Can YouSee What I See? FindersKeepers Game. Reveala picture tile and try tofind the featured objectamong your set of KeepMe cards. Find a matchand turn that card facedown. Look carefully as you mayhave more than one match on your cards.Be the first player to turn all of your cards face down. The gamecomes with 40 Find Me tiles, 60 Keep Me cards, and instructionsin English and Spanish. It is for two to six players ages 4 and up.

GAMEWRIGHT

The latest brand from RocketUSA is Lubies, created by DakotaDesigns. Featuring a round shapeand soft material inside and out,kids can grab them and toss them.There are no beans or codes—justsimple fun. Included in the firstseries of eight are the Lubie Cat,Cow, Polar Bear, Pig, Brown Bear,Elephant, Dog, and Penguin, aswell as two seasonal releases for

Easter, Lubie Chick and Lubie Bunny. Also available will be thefirst releases of the My First Lubie infant line featuring a babypink and baby blue Lubie Bear. Licensing discussions are under-way with Major League Baseball for Lubie Bears, branded withteam logos. A line of Lubies Citybears (Chicago, Boston, NewYork, etc.) is being developed for the souvenir gift market. A cus-tom Lubie program is also underway.

ROCKET USA

Scholastic Media will unravel the mystery surrounding its newmulti-platform property, The 39 Clues, with both UniversityGames and Trends as licensees. Briarpatch has signed on forScholastic’s Wordgirl, with product set to release in 2010.Scholastic will also introduce its new series on qubo, Turbo Dogs.There are new The Magic School Bus kits from The YoungScientists Club and Clifford the Big Red Dog will have tails wag-ging in conjunction with licensees, such as Yottoy and Mattel.

SCHOLASTIC MEDIAThe Young Scientists Club introduces new Magic School Bus

kits. The Magic School Bus Going Green kit teaches kids experi-ments and activities that can save the Earth. Young scientists willrecreate the water cycle, build a compost tube, shrink plastic, makepacking peanuts disappear, decompose food with fungus, formpulp, create new paper, design recycled paper shapes, learn aboutthe three R’s, and more.

THE YOUNG

SCIENTISTS CLUB


TOY FAIR 2009

Life’s Building Blocks introduces a talking plush chameleonnamed Zaki. Storytelling Zaki sings “Zaki’sSong” and has six fables written into short sto-ries and rhymes starring the Spruce Street Six, agroup of best friends in the third grade. Zaki hasfins on its back that change colors when kidsare in situations where they shouldstop, slow down, and think, or go forit. Zaki is for ages 3–6.

LIFE’S BUILDING BLOCKS

The Oregon Scientific SmartGlobe getssmarter with wireless updates and an inter-active LCD screen. With the SmartGlobeElite, kids and families can discover theAustralian outback, hear the history of theEgyptian pyramids, take a trip to MountEverest, and listen to notable facts fromaround the world in the comfort of theirhome. Children and adults can playage-appropriate activities learn-ing history, geography, culture,and other categories. The touch sensitiveSmartPen allows for interactive fun. Simply choosea learning category and touch the spot on the globe to learn aboutcurrency, climate, politics, and more. The integrated LCD screenshows additional video and still pictures. Always have the mostup-to-date world information by wirelessly downloading contentfor free from Oregon Scientific’s secure online server. TheSmartGlobe Elite is for ages 5 and up.

OREGON SCIENTIFIC

Fundex Games reintroduces the electronic game Dream Phone. Itincludes a modern cell phone component with new features includingtext messaging. Players use deductive reasoning, based on clues theyreceive by calling different boys, to determine which of the 24 boys istheir secret admirer. Dream Phone is for girls ages 8–14.

Fundex will expand its card game line with Heist. Players usethe tools of their trade to try to crack the vault code. As playerscompete to dial up the right combi-nation of numbers, they must stayalert. An alarm bell will set off asuper-size card shift and a dou-ble-cross may force a loss ofturn. Heist can be played bytwo to six players and is forages 8 and up.

FUNDEX GAMES

Schylling expands its Flatsy doll line with a new assortment ofdeluxe Flatsy playsets that focus on birthday, slumber, and danceparty themes. Each playset includes two Flatsy dolls, two partyoutfits, and accessories. The new Flatsy Take Along Playsets arefor girls on the go. Each set has a doll, pet, take-along purse, andhair accessories. The new Flatsy doll assortment will be refreshed

to include six new dollswith updated outfits.

Flatsy is a remake ofthe original ’70s doll.Flatsy dolls are flat andable to be posed and bentinto different positions.

SCHYLLING

SmartGlobeElite

Storytelling Zaki


Crayola’s Beginnings Baby Rainbow Tower lets babies explorecolors with lights and music. Babies 6 months and older can stackthe easy-to-grasp TaDoodles on the base and watch them light upin different colors, each with its own melody. Stack the yellowTaDoodle on top of blue and watch it turn to green, or nestle theblue TaDoodle underneath red and purple appears. Stacking andnesting activities help develop a baby’s size perception skills andeye-hand coordination.

With the Crayola Glow Station, kids can create glow-in-the-darkart with strokes of light. Stencil sheets create space scenes or a day atthe zoo. The light texture sheets reveal textures like spider webs, riverrocks, and 3-D animal patterns. Kids can draw by pressing the lightwand directly onto theglowing canvas or createfunky shadow prints byplacing an object on thecanvas and waving thelight wand above it. TheGlow Station also fea-tures a plain acetatesheet and a black dry-erase marker that servesas a blank, reusable can-vas for transferring origi-nal works of art onto the glow board. It is equipped with a compart-ment for the light wand and crystal tip, a pocket for smaller stencils,and hanging posts for larger ones. It requires threeAAAbatteries. Kidscan also create glowing effects on the go with Crayola Glow StationOn the Go (shown). The self-contained glow tablet features a carrycase and storage space. The kit comes with one light wand, a stencilsheet with light-resist shapes, and one light texture sheet. Both GlowStations are for ages 6 and up.

CRAYOLA

TOY FAIR 2009

New from Pressman Toy is the Seinfeld Trivia Game. Playersjoin the show’s quirky characters and their misadventures withmore than 600 trivia questions. Race the board to visit Jerry,Elaine, George, and Kramer, and go to Monk’s Diner to guess thequote. The first person to get soup from you-know-who wins. Thegame is for two to four players.

In Ring Around the Nosy, players put on elephant masks andput their rings on the playing board. Using only their trunk, play-ers must scoop up the color rings as fast as they can onto theirtrunks. Keep the rings on the trunk while picking up additionalrings. The first player to get all three rings on their trunk wins. Thegame is for two to four players ages 4 and up.

The Original Rummikub Large Numbers Edition (shown) fea-tures bright, oversized numbers so that it’s easier than ever forplayers to see the tiles that have been played. The orange tiles havebeen substituted with green, offering players a clearer color dis-tinction. Players must create runs and groups of numbers with theirtiles and try to be the first player to lay down all their tiles to wineach round. The game is for two to four players ages 8 and up.

Rummikub Kids Edition is the first Rummikub set forpreschoolers. It is designed with shapes that help children self-cor-rect their moves. The game helps children develop number andcolor recognition skills, teaches players how to build sets of con-secutive numbers, and also fosters logical reasoning as they learnthe basics of Rummikub. There are three levels of game play. It isfor two to four players ages 4 and up.

PRESSMAN TOY


Aurora has inked a deal to produce an exclusive line of plushproduct for Stephan Pastis’Pearls Before Swine, the cartoon comicstrip syndicated in more than 550 newspapers worldwide. The line

will initially consist of seven pieces: 12-inchplush Rat, Pig, and Croc, as well as eight-inch

plush Rat, Pig, Croc, and Zebra.Aurora is also producing a new line

of Looney Tunes plush as well. TheTazmanian Devil plush features a burg-er, held in place by Velcro paws, thatmakes Taz burp when it goes in andout of his mouth. Fantasy Tweety fea-tures floppy legs that are designed to

help it sit on the edge of a desk or bookshelf. Aurorawill also be making a full huggable assortment of plush, featur-ing Bugs Bunny, Tweety, Daffy Duck, Taz, and Sylvester.

AURORA

Playroom Entertainment expands its Killer Bunnies and theJourney to Jupiter board game with the new Laser Red and UltraViolet Booster Decks. These decks work with the stand-aloneboard game to expand thegame play with three newsectors for the board, 55new cards, and more.Also coming up from

Playroom is Livingstone.The newest addition toPlayroom’s Big-BoxGame line, Livingstone isdesigned by BenjaminLiersch and set in 1855. Players strategically set tents and gathergemstones along the Zambezi River to win.

PLAYROOM ENTERTAINMENT

Around The Table Games will introduce its newest line addi-tions, Camp Talk and Buddy Talk. With Camp Talk (shown), kidsget to know new camp friends on the bus to camp, in the bunk afterlights out, or around the campfire while eating s’mores. Just drawa card, read one of the 50 questions, and let the fun begin. If thecabin or tent is dark, just use the attached flashlight to read thequestion. It also has a compass. Questions include “What’s thefunniest or most unusual nickname for a counselor you’ve heard?”and “If you designed a camp for kids, what would it be like?”Buddy Talk helps kids find out a ton about their friends at the

bus stop, during recess, or at a sleepover. Questions include“What’s your favorite thing about summer break?” and “If youcould have picked your own name, what would it be?”Also new for 2009, Around The Table Games is offering a dou-

ble-deck tin with full playing-card-sized Family Talk andGrandparent Talk decks. In addition, the company will debut newand improved cards. From now on all cards will be full-sized play-ing cards and be made from heavier paper stock. Cards will nowhave rounded edges and a circular carabiner for easier flipping.

AROUND THE TABLE GAMES


All New Materials, Inc., will add more eco-friendly products to its lineup with the OurChildren’s Gorilla line from Sweden. The line includes a variety of toys and kids’ room décorfor all ages, including the Brownstone and Fire Station Dollhouses made from recycled card-board, FSC-certified wood, and organic dyes. These houses feature exteriors that depictactual New York City building fronts and interiors that can be decorated to a child’s taste.Other products in the line include The Skullcave Playhouse. This indoor and out-

door playhouse is made from Sensaten, a recyclable, nontoxic material that is both pli-able and durable. Wooden Apehangers are made from Valchromat, a sustainable woodmaterial made from forest waste, and colored with organic dyes. Albert and Albert Jr. coat hooks are fin-ished with a water-based lacquer and made of recyclable material. All products are for ages 3 and up.All New Materials adds baby and toddler extensions to its plush line The Deglingos. Discovery Deglingos are a group of explorative adven-

ture plush toys for newborns. With familiar characteristics of the Original Deglingos, the discovery is found in several different activities suchas squeaks, rattles, crinkles, and pull-string tails. Baby Deglingos are super soft corduroy companion mini blankets for newborns. They aremachine-washable. Deglingos Rattles are brightly colored grabbing toys sized for a baby’s hands. Deglingos Footwear are slip-on booties.

ALL NEW MATERIALS

TOY FAIR 2009

Big Bocca Productions announced that UpperDeck International signed on as the worldwide mas-ter toy licensee for Huntik: Secrets & Seekers. UpperDeck will launch its Huntik: Secrets & Seekers toyline this fall. The line will include six- and nine-inchfigures, showcasing the adventure’s heroes and vil-lains, known as Seekers, and mystical creaturescalled Titans, along with a basic holotome, a keyelectronic device within the series. Huntik: Secrets& Seekers is an original action-adventure property,developed through a partnership between Big BoccaProductions, animation studio Rainbow S.p.A., andproduction company m4e AG. It debuted in NorthAmerica on The CW4Kids network last month.

BIG BOCCASkate Ranger is the world’s newest superhero. This R/C action figure is a

roller-blading, body-gyrating, daredevil toy with extreme sport super powers.There are three Skate Ranger versions. The Original Skate Ranger stands at12 inches tall and features a 27 MHz engine. The style can be adjusted intokneel and go, left leg angle, right leg angle, stand and go, backbend and go,and prone and go. Motorcycle Skate Ranger is an all-terrain vehicle that canbe maneuvered forward, backward, left, and right. It comes with a non-

removable Skate Ranger figure with shock-absorbers for a smooth ride and inde-pendent steering for sharp turns.Acrobatic Skate Ranger is in a stable

crouching position with independ-ently controlled skates. It featuresa light-up Skate Ranger logo anda voice-over option.

SKATE RANGER

Motorcycle Skate Ranger

DiscoveryDeglingos


Global Icons has signed a number of deals for its brands in 2009.Jasman Toys will be producing new products for the Chuck E. Cheeseline, including the Chuck E. Cheese Alley Roller Classic game withlights and sounds. Tek Nek will be producing a newATV foot to floorride-on for the Honda Motorcycle brand (shown), featuring electron-ic rumbling seat motion and revvingand talking sound effects. DumarInternational will be handling battery-powered ride-ons for the HondaMotorcycle brand.

GLOBAL ICONS

Gateway4m International has signed three new deals for itsWunderkind Little Amadeus brand. Naxos of America will releasea DVD box set featuring season one of the Wunderkind LittleAmadeus television show, as well as the show’s soundtrack.Playgo Ltd. will produce 21 toy musical instruments for the brand.The Games Company will be producing a new interactive videogame for the brand for the Nintendo DS.

GATEWAY4M

New from Poof-Slinky is the Light-Up Slinky. Built-in LEDlights keep the slinky lit up as it goes down stairs.Electronic Arcade Speedballs turns the classic arcade speedball

into a home game, featuring automatic scoring and ball return. TheRack N’ Roll Bowl is a 10-pin alley for tabletop bowling that fea-tures a hook ball launcher and pin rack. The Electro Shot ShootingGallery is an enclosed shooting gallery for safe play, featuring sin-gle or rapid-fire shooting.Dollhouse Decorator gives kids the chance to design and

transform a doll house using paint, stencils, stamps, weaves,and stickers to various rooms in the house. It is available inthree different styles.Poof-Slinky will also be producing the Kellogg’s brand No

Bake Cooking Kit for various Kellogg’s brands, including FrostedFlakes, Froot Loops, and Keebler.

POOF-SLINKY

3-D Funtime will produce Noah’s ArkAnimal Stackers. TheArkcan be used as a play environment, shape sorter, puzzle, and storagecase. Forty-four detailed figures are included in the set, as well as abonus DVD that tells the story of Noah’s Ark.

3-D FUNTIME

TOY FAIR 2009


With Discovery Kids’ Build Your Own Robot Kits from SRM,kids can follow the step-by-step instructions to build a fully work-ing robot. In both the Robocrawler and RobotronX kits, all piecesand tools are provided, as well as the remote control.

SRM

Dodge has partnered with Die-Cast Promotions and The MayaGroup for a number of new models and radio-controlled vehicles.Die-Cast Promotions will be creating scaled down replicas of the2008 Dodge Challenger, 2008 Challenger Concept, and the 1969Dodge Dart (shown). The Maya Group will be producing theDodge Rampage Concept remote-controlled monster truck, as wellas an R/C Dodge Venom and an R/C Dodge Zeo.

DODGE

Boikido, a French-based wooden toy company, is launching aline of environmentally friendly wooden toys for 2009. Boikido’sEco-Friendly Wooden Toys are made of Forest StewardshipCouncil-certified wood that comes from monitored plantationsources. Non-toxic water-based paints are also used and the toysare packaged with recycled cardboard packaging printed on soybean ink. The line consists of 11 products.

BOIKIDO

Thames & Kosmos will introduce eight new science kits for 2009.Power House Green Essentials Edition is an updated version of theoriginal Power House kit that teaches kids about alternative energysources with energy-related models, such as a greenhouse or solar cellarray. Thames&Kosmoswill also update its first science kit with FuelCell 10 Car&Experiment kit with a reversible hydrogen fuel cell. TheHydropower kit lets children explore the power of harnessing waterenergy to do physical work. The Global Warming kit can create amodel atmosphere for kids to learn the effects of pollution and chem-icals on the Earth’s atmosphere. Optical Science & Art lets childrenexperiment with light and the color spectrum by building and experi-menting with refracting lenses and viewing optical illusions. Thames& Kosmos will also introduce the 12th kit in its Little Labs series,Engineering, which will teach basic principles of engineering andexplore engineering on land, in the air, and at sea. The company willalso release two new kits under the Dangerous Book for Boys brand:Classic Chemistry and Essential Electronics.

THAMES & KOSMOS


The Curious GeorgeHide and Seek Zoo Gameputs George in charge ofthe zoo. Players must helpCurious George and theman with the yellow hatfeed and care for zoo ani-mals, repair fences, andclean up messes. Whenthe electronic “walkie-talkie” says that the ani-mals have escaped, other players grab their masks and hide and theplayer must find them within a set time limit.In Curious George Discovery Beach (shown), players comb the

beaches to reach the goals set by flipping a card. Sea creatures andtreasures are hidden below five secret beach locations and must bematched to the player’s cards. When the spinner lands on a wave, aplayer must shake the box and the treasure will hide in new locations.The Curious George Super Helper Game lets kids help Curious

George help others around the neighborhood. Players flip over threecards to see who needs help, pick a place to help, and drop the includ-ed ball, coin, or cube into the Super Helper tower and try to make amatch as they come down on different sides.

I CAN DO THAT! GAMES

Quackgammon, from Endless Games, takes the classic game ofbackgammon and simplifies it for quicker play that can be enjoyedby the whole family, including young children. Players protecttheir three mallards by keeping them next to each other on thegame board’s lake.Endless Games will also be reintroducing its Official Foam

Table Tennis Set. The set contains an adjustable plastic net thatsnaps together and a foam ball and soft plastic paddles for safeplay inside or outside.X-Ceter-O is Endless Games’ new version of tic-tac-toe.

Players place six numbered pieces—Os marked 1, 3, and 5 and Xsmarked 2, 4, and 6—on the play field. Once all six have beenplaced, play continues sequentially, moving the symbols in orderuntil a row of three is achieved by a player.

ENDLESS GAMES

TOY FAIR 2009

In Out of the Box’s new game Backseat Drawing Junior (shown), players race to identify drawings, but the artistdoesn’t knowwhat they’re drawing. The artist follows the directions of a director, while others guess based on the sec-ond-hand drawing. In Ninja Versus Ninja, players must lead their teams of ninjas to victory by eliminating their oppo-nent’s ninjas and using the included sword dice. In Word on the Street, one team flips over a category card and mustpick a word from the category and pull each letter of the word off the “street” without the other team pulling it back.In 7ATE 9, players add or subtract 1, 2, or 3 to the top card on a pile to determine if they can play next whileother players do the same. Run Wild is a new take on traditional rummy. Players still create runs andsets to get rid of their cards, but they can now additionally steal from a set or run already out, or donatetheir cards to any existing set or run.

OUT OF THE BOX


Whacky Music’s newcollection of products arebased on the Chroma-Notes colors of the com-pany’s Boomwhackerproduct line. TheWhackyChroma-Notes Composeris a music compositionsoftware program thatfeatures a set of virtual Boomwhackers tubes that create Chroma-Notes-colored notes on a musical score that the computer can playback or print out. Chroma-Notes Stick-Ons are removable stickerscolored to the Chroma-Notes color scheme for placement on existinginstruments to allow kids to play colored music from WhackyChroma-Notes Composer on real musical instruments. Whack-aBoom is a new Boomwhackers Card Game that features two carddecks, one with different colored cards and one with four-beat rhyth-mic patterns of varying difficulty.

WHACKY MUSIC

The 276-piece ZinkoTek construction set features brightlycolored, soft, sturdy pieces that can be used to build a varietyof structures, from animals to play houses, large enough for achild to play in. The system is designed to be easy to use bothinside and outdoors.

ZINKOTEK

Lisa Marks & Associates (LMA) will be developing new pro-grams for popular children’s toy brands. Colorforms, fromUniversity Games, will be licensed to a number of new partners.Tara Toy will create mini playset party favors. IDM Group willproduce juvenile layette, as well as baby apparel and sleepwear.Briefly Stated/Giant Merchandising has signed on for juniors’ andmen’s sleepwear, loungewear, and underwear, as well as juniors’and girls’ T-shirts, fashion tops, and fleece.

LMA is also currently developing a lifestyle brand for theGroovy Girls brand. Design International Group will continue todevelop a comprehensive stationery program and Simon &Schuster will expand its line of coloring and activity books.

LMA has extended the Just Born licensing program into newmarkets. Russ Berrie will produce basic, collectible, and noveltyPeeps plush, toys, and slippers, as well as Peeps chick and bunnynecklaces made with Swarovski crystals. Lenos will create a lineof porcelain and ivory fine china home décor and giftware prod-ucts for the Peeps brand. Chronicle books has released Peeps!Recipes and Crafts to Make with Your Favorite MarhsmallowTreat. Hanna’s Candle Company is developing a new line of Peepscandles and home fragrance.

LISA MARKS & ASSOCIATES


Cartoon Network hasnamed Mattel as the mastertoy licensee for its originalseries, The SecretSaturdays. Mattel willmanufacture, market,and sell a wide range oftoys inspired by thenew series, includingaction figures, playsets,roleplay, and more.

CARTOON NETWORK

Playmates Toys will add a number ofnew licensed products to its 2009 lineup.Working with Nickelodeon, the compa-ny will be releasing new dolls for thechannel’s H2O brand, based on threeteenage magical mermaids facing every-day teen problems. The Deluxe FashionDolls feature a skirt that transforms intoa fin and back, while the Basic FashionDolls come packaged with a transform-ing fin that changes to doll legs. Bothtypes can interact with the H2O OceanAdventure Boat.Playmates will also release a new

line of dolls to coincide with Disney’sTinker Bell and the Lost Treasure DVD release. Pixie Fairy dollswill feature 3.5-inch figures with interchangeable wings. Theline also include eight-inch fashion dolls, two-inch collectibleFairies, locket jewelry, and keepsakes.

PLAYMATES

Elmer’s is introducing new products in the education and craftscategory. The Kinder-Ready Early Learning Products is a line ofeight educational items for children 3 and up. Elmer’s has part-nered with The World of Eric Carle to provide imagery on theproducts, which go from basic skills such as learning letters tomore advanced activities. For older kids (8 and up), Elmer’s hasteamed up with MythBusters for a line of science kits that featurethe license based on the Discovery Channel television show.Also coming up for

2009 is a new line ofcraft kits for kids onthe go. Elmer’s haspaired with Disney fora number of new travelproducts featuringbrands such as Cars,Toy Story, Camp Rock,My Friends Tigger &Pooh, and more.

ELMER’S

New from Learning Resources for 2009 are the Number Bugs.These critters introduce children to numbers,counting, addition, and color matchingwith chunky snap-together pieces.Color Caterpillars help introduce chil-dren to colors, patterns, and sizes.The Funny Phone Early ListeningGame (shown) features more than300 challenges, including singing,drawing, and more. Jitterz Fast-Paced Trivia Game features 250questions about science, geogra-phy, logic, and more.

LEARNING RESOURCES

TOY FAIR 2009

H2O Basic Fashion Doll

The Secret Saturdays


2009 will see more expansion from the Pokémon line with sev-eral new Pokémon video game and TCG releases, the U.S. DVDrelease of Pokémon: Giratina and the Sky Warrior, the 12th sea-son of the television series, and an international QSR promotion.It will be punctuated by a series of TCG and video game tourna-ments leading to the Pokémon World Championship in August.

POKÉMON

A Wish Come True’s newCharmed Dress gives young girlsa chance to dress up as a princessand goes along with the compa-ny’s new Gold Tiara and Wand. Ituses high-quality fabrics to createa more durable and comfortableproduct for children to wear.

A WISH COME TRUE

Zizzle is bringing back P.J. Sparkles with a new line of dolls. The P.J. SparklesLarge Doll features a light-up heart, tiara, bracelet, and earrings, as well as a partydress that changes into pajamas. The Ballet P.J. Sparkles doll includes a changing bal-let outfit, water bottle, and hairbrush. The Princess P.J. Sparkles Sparkle Friend dollincludes a multi-color light-up heart, wand, and party gifts, as well as a removabletiara and Sparkles’ pet bear, Blaze. Other Sparkle Friends dolls include PrincessGlowee and her pet cat, Flash; Princess Dazzle and her pet puppy, Shimmer; andPrincess Sparks and her pet puppy, Fire. The Sparkle Friends line is compatible withthe Twinkle Town playsets, such as the Twinkle Town Fashion Runway, whichincludes a hairbrush, magic wand, trophy, and fashion runway, as well as a specialFashion Princess P.J. Sparkles doll. The Twinkle Town Birthday Party comes with aspecial Birthday Princess P.J. Sparkles doll, as well as party balloons, a cake, pres-ents, and more. The Twinkle Town Beach playset includes a beach umbrella, radio, sunglasses, and the Princess Flare doll with her pet puppy, Silver.The Twinkle Town Park comes with Playtime Princess Sparks and features a light-up Twinkle Totter, water bottle, flying disk, lemonade, and more.The P.J. Magical Lights Bedroom comes with a Bedtime Princess P.J. Sparkles doll, as well as a full set of accessories to get the doll ready for bed,such as a hair dryer, hand mirror, hair brush, and more.

Zizzles Skunk Fu line, based on the animated children’s program, features basic action figures, Flingz, and fling launchers. The line will alsoinclude small SFX Plush, large feature plush, and deluxe two-pack figure sets.

ZIZZLE

Twinkle Town Park


Karito Kids will release a line of new TravelCharmers this fall, including the first-ever PiperTravel Charmer, Piper goes to Ireland. Each dollcomes with its own souvenir charm to attachto the Karito Kids bracelet.

KARITO KIDS

CopCorp’s It’s Happy Bunny brand will be expanding with theaddition of new licensee Anico International. Anico will be pro-ducing a full line of It’s Happy Bunny plush products for chainstores and small retailers. The line will include plush hand-pup-pets, wrist wallets, and hanging plush pocket organizers.

COP CORP

TOY FAIR 2009

BBC Worldwide Children’s and Licensing Division will beshowcasing its key properties with licensing programs forPlanet Earth, In the Night Garden, and Charlie and Lola.

Planet Earth, the BBC’s epic production celebrating the beau-ty of the planet, is the inspiration behind an extensive licensingand merchandising program. BBC Worldwide, together withlicensing agent The Joester Loria Group, is continuing to lever-age the brand with the continued development of an extensivemerchandising program as well as new entertainment.

Excitement for the brand will continue to grow in 2009 withthe upcoming U.S. release of the Earth film. The Walt DisneyStudios is U.S. distributor of Earth, the first feature-lengthnature documentary from its new production banner,Disneynature. It will premiere on Earth Day 2009. This newfilm is from British producer/director Alastair Fothergill,whose credits include the Emmy and Peabody award-winningPlanet Earth series (A BBC/Discovery Channel/NHK co-pro-duction, in association with the CBC) and Emmy-nominatedThe Blue Planet (A BBC/Discovery Channel co-production).Earth, which is produced by BBC Worldwide and GreenlightMedia (a Berlin Atlantic Company) and co-directed by MarkLinfield, takes moviegoers on a tour of our home planet in asimilar vein to the original Planet Earth documentary. The filmwill be narrated by actor James Earl Jones.

Licensees such as Scholastic, Imagination International,Modern Publishing and the Canadian Group will be showcasinga new range of products inspired by Planet Earth and the Earthfilm for 2009. The master toy licensee, Planet Toys, has gone outof business. Existing Planet Toys’ items will remain on shelf.

Cache Sales has signed on as the new plush toy licensee forPlanet Earth. Cache’s Planet Earth line features multiple sizesof basic plush animals from the series along with mini plushwith sound, plush with web play, and plush with exclusiveDVDs. The entire range incorporates eco-friendly and recycledmaterials and packaging.

BBC WORLDWIDE

New for 2009, Sequence Numbers expands on Jax’s Sequenceseries. Each card has anequation and the board hasthe answers. Players matcha card to its correct answerand put down a chip.When a player has fivechips in a row, they winthe game with a sequence.

JAX


iToys is introducing Kenken, a new hand-held electronic game based on the Japanesebrainteaser puzzle created by TetsuyaMiyamoto. The officially licensed Kenkenelectronic handheld game will feature atouch screen, stylus, sound effects, helptools, score tracker, and backlighting.

iToys will also be introducing two newPlatinum Edition Deal or No DealElectronic Games. Available in tabletop orhandheld versions, the Platinum Edition

expands the gameplay of the original game versions with enhancedfeatures and more realistic play, and a new “Deal Wheel” feature.

The i-TOP is being revamped with a fresh look for 2009 withnew features and two ways to play. Top Spin challenges players toobtain the maximum amount of top rotations in a single spin, whileStop 99 challenges them to stop the top on its 99th revolution.

ITOYS

Gund’s Buggy Buddies Flutter Activity Butterfly is a 10.25-inch multicolor butterfly with crinkly wings. The attached pull bugvibrates. The butterfly has two ring teethers and a ring rattle, aswell as a tie to let it hang from the crib. The Buggy BuddiesBowling Set (shown) includes one bowling ball and five “Bug”pins packaged in a vinyl carrying case.

GUND

ModelWorks’ new ActionJetz are sturdy toy planes with han-dles to help kids see the action as they fly the plane around theroom. The collection includes the F-18, A-10 Warthog, B-2Bomber, and F-16. ActionJetz tie in to the online world at action-jetz.com where kids can create their own personalized avatar,learn about planes, and hang out with other kids.

MODELWORKS

TOY FAIR 2009


Mary Meyer is releasing a new line of Cutsie Caterpillarbaby items. The line includes seven baby toys, such as theWooby ChewActivity toy and the Fluff N Play, as well as a babyblanket and wind-up musical toy.

Mary Meyer will also be expanding its Taggies line. NewTaggies Naturals are organic stuffed animals with new patterns.The plush use organic cotton fibers, pure silk ribbons, and safedyes. Taggies Colours include 12 new designs in a Europeanstyle and will come in Puffy, Hang Around, and Wee One styles,as well as a new 13-inch long Colours Soft Caterpillar.

The new Fuzz That Wuzz collection from Mary Meyer recy-cles plastic bottles into polyester fibers for cuddly toys, such aspuppies, bunnies, bears, cats, and more. They are made com-pletely out of recycled materials.

MARY MEYER

Dunecraft’s Desert BioDome can grow more than 25 differentdesert plants in a controlled setting. The Medieval Herber kit is alarge-format set that provides information on how plants were clas-sified for use in the Middle Ages. The Mini Science Fair Kits comewith all the materials needed for a science fair project and more.

DUNECRAFT

Amav’s new Chocolart Coin Pressgives kids a chance to make their ownchocolate coins. The new machinecreates gold-wrapped bullion ofchocolate that can be eaten or givenas gifts to others. The kit includes themachine, foil, and chocolate.

AMAV

Taggies Naturals

Seedlings are Goldberger’s new line of nature-friendly plush,made with natural cotton. All of the Seedlings plush are madewithout harsh chemicals and using natural fibers.

The Goldberger Company’s Basic Training line helps teach chil-dren a variety of skills and knowledge at an early age. The Look &Learn baby dolls (shown) feature contrasting colors, patterns, andsounds to encourage exploration and early development. The MollyManners doll teaches children about manners. Pressing the doll’stummy plays a song about saying “please” and “thank you.”

GOLDBERGER COMPANY


PlaSmart’s new i-Gami features uniqueplastic pieces that bend, fold, and snaptogether. Based on the Japanesepaper-folding art of origami, i-Gami allows children to createsharks, helicopters, flowers,dinosaurs, and more. There are ninekits, ranging from 54–600 pieces in size.

PLASMART

The Razor Spark Kick Scooter takes the classic kick scooterdesign and adds a foot-controlled spark mechanism. Stepping on thespark bar will make the scooter spark as kids ride.

The Razor RipRider 360 is a three-wheeler designed for toddlersthat allows for small kids to drift and spin in the same way Razor’solder-oriented riders can, with dual-inclined caster wheels.

The Razor Pocket Rocket features ascaled down street bike design that canreach up to 15 MPH. It features pneumatictires and a single-speed motor. The PocketRocket runs off a rechargeable batteryand can support up to a 170-pound person.

RAZOR

TOY FAIR 2009

i-Gami

Razor Pocket Rocket

At St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, we can’t.

That’s why we are working every day to find cures for life-threatening diseases that strike

children everywhere. Diseases like cancer, pediatric AIDS and sickle cell.

And we won’t stop until every child is cured, and every disease is defeated.

Because we can’t imagine a world without children...can you?

Call 1-800-785-5189 or log onto www.stjude.org to learn how you can help.

Can you imagine... a world without children?

CRP5413_9x10.875_PSA.indd 1 2/11/2008 12:50:06 PM


TOY FAIR 2009

Learning Curve has teamed up with Out of the Blue Enterprises to launch a line of products based on SuperWHY! The line consists of plush, roleplay sets, action figures and dolls, vehicles, and electronic learning aids.Super WHY! Vehicle Two-Packs feature two Super WHY! characters in their plastic Why Flyer Vehicles. TheElectronic Roleplay sets feature lights, sounds, and fun accessories for kids to dress up as SuperWhy andPrincess Presto. Super WHY! action figures are also available, featuring Super Why andAlpha Pig.Dolls include Style & Pose Wonder Red and Princess Presto.

Learning Curve will be expanding its Caring Corners line with the newHappy Camper TalkingRV. The RV plays sounds and messages and provides kids with activities when they press the horn.The RV holds a fully equipped kitchen, bathroom, and a slide that makes moving from one level toanother easier. Hidden surprises include a swing-out dog bed, a fold-down TV, and an outdoor grill.

Learning Curve is also adding to its new ThomasWooden Railway Talking Railway Series. TheGreat Discovery Set lets children join Thomas as he explores an abandoned mine. The Stop &Greet Station features Sir Topham Hat, who uses RFID to identify each train.

Learning Curve will also be expanding the Lamaze brand with new developmental toysfor infants. The Spin & Explore Sea Gym provides a surfboard-shaped cushioned base fortummy play. The Discovery Pyramid is an interactive toy that features a mirror, a turtle withribbons, and a fish with crinkle flaps. Elephantunes is a plush elephant that plays a differentnote whenever the child pushes the leg of the toy and comes with a song book.

LEARNING CURVE

Wild Planet is introducing new games to keep kids active. 1–2–3 Stomp has kids stomp their feet to send numbers flying and then run to retrievenumbers as the electronic base calls out what to retrieve. The game starts at basic commands and advances tomore complex levels. Hyper Blast offers similar play, but at a more advanced level, featuringdouble-digit numbers and competitive play.

Partnering with Crayola, Wild Planet has created Crayon Town, a collection of coloring andactivity sets. The sets let kids create an entire town, complete with three-dimensional structures,to color and build.

Working with Disney, Wild Planet has adapted the basis of its games such as Hyper DashandAnimal Scramble to the new game, Mouse-ke-TAG. The game features a tagger that lookslike the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Goofy calls out descriptions of various Disney-oriented tar-gets and kids must tag those targets as commands get more and more complex.

New fromWild Planet’s Spy Gear line is the Spy Gear Evidence Kit. The kit allows kids to collectfingerprints and scan surroundings with ultra-violet light. Tweezers are included for finding extra clues, with a microscope for closer looks.

WILD PLANET

Elephantunes

Spy Gear Evidence Kit

Created by Jim Silver, editor-in-chief at aNb Media, and Chris Byrne, renowned toy and children's lifestyle expert (A.K.A. The Toy Guy®), Time to Play is powered by aNb Media, TheToyGuy.com, and a team of leading, well-known toy, family entertainment, and parenting experts. Key team members include Elizabeth Werner, chief toy o�cer, iVillage.com, and Shannon Eis, parenting and toy expert.

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Cloud B will release two new products for the Cloud BEndangered Species line, which benefits the ConservationInternational Foundation. The Gentle Giraffe offers a compila-tion of sounds from the plains of the Serengeti, such as rhyth-mic drums, water falls, and actual giraffe sounds. The TwilightSea Turtle illuminates a room in blue and green and casts a star-ry night on the ceiling. Embedded in the shell are constellationsthat project onto the ceiling.

The Dozy Dolphin (shown) is an eco-friendly plush toy that fea-tures relaxing water-based sounds to soothe children to sleep withthe sounds of dolphins, whales, and oceanwaves. It is made of soft bam-boo fabric with hypo-allergenic stuffing.

CLOUD B

The new Pawparazzi Luxury Set from Noodlehead is a fullplayset featuring pets, purses, fashion, and more fromNoodlehead’s Pawparazzi line. The set includes the HotelPawparazzi, two Pawparazzi Pet sets, two Celebrity Pet Dress Upsets, Doggy Dining set,and two Plush Pet Beds.

NOODLEHEAD

TOY FAIR 2009

The new Charge Large board game focuses on credit card man-agement and financial success. The game pits players in a compe-tition to become a Black Card Member. Each player starts with anentry-level Gold Credit Card and cash and must upgrade by mak-ing strategic invest-ments and managingtheir cash and credit.The game is intendedto teach playershow to managecredit cards.

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Tara Toy’s new Scratch & Design lets girls scratch away a coverlayer to reveal sparkling colors on accessory stickers for theirfavorite characters. There are more than 100 stickers in each set.

Available sets include Disney Princess,Disney Fairies, and Barbie.

The Sparkle FashionFriends Magnetic Paper Dollsfeatures three friends in onedie-cut magnetic scene. Girlscan mix and match differentpieces for hundreds of different

fashions on Disney Fairies and Barbie characters.Sparkling Scrunch Art lets girls use special sparkling tissue

paper to add dimension and texture to scenes featuring DisneyPrincess, Disney Fairies, or Barbie characters. They can scrunchthe paper and apply the sticky side to the included scene.

TARA TOY

New from NextSport is the FuzionElectron. The new ride-on scooter fea-tures patented suspension and a full360-degree rotation, as well as an alu-minum frame for jumps and tricks.The scooter folds up to fit conve-niently anywhere for easy transport.

NEXTSPORT

Twentieth Century Fox will introduce a new line of action fig-ures, vehicles, and roleplay toys for the upcoming filmDragonball. Fox will also introduce new flashlights, bobbleheads,and remote-control planes from Excalibur Electronics for Night atthe Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. IceAge will return with IceAge: Dawn of the Dinosaurs and Fox L&M will unveil BeanieBabies from Ty, Inc., and a new View-Master from Fisher-Price.For Holiday 2009, Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Squeakuel willbe joined by numerous licensees in all categories. Fox will alsointroduce new toy lines for The Simpsons, Family Guy, and 24, andfunctions as the licensing agent for Microsoft’s Halo 3 and HaloWars. There will be a Halo Risk board game from USAopoly, con-struction from MEGA Brands, and figures from McFarlane Toys.

20TH CENTURY FOX

TOY FAIR 2009

THE ONE BANK THAT PAYS INTEREST IN SMILESSince The Toy Industry Foundation™ launched The Toy Bank in 2003, we have distributed over $44 million worth of toys to homeless, at-risk and under-served children—as well as children displaced in times of crisis or natural disaster.

Working with Gifts In Kind International, a global leader in new product philanthropy, we’re able to reach children in the United States and around the world through an international network of more than 200,000 charities.

We depend on the generosity of toy manufacturers, retailers and distributors to donate available inventory. Please visit www.giftsinkind.org/toybank and complete the Product Donation Agreement. Your company may qualify for a tax benefit of up to twice the cost of the donated product.

For more information, contact Virginia Royal, Gifts In Kind International, at 703.836.2121 x550 or [email protected].

www.toyindustryfoundation.org


TOY FAIR 2009

American Greetings Properties (AGP) will con-tinue to expand its brands in 2009. The Care Bearsbrand has a new global master toy and game partnerin Hasbro. Hasbro’s upcoming products will comple-ment the release of the Care Bears: Share BearShines Movie, in theaters and on DVD.AGP is also continuing to work with Cookie Jar

on the Strawberry Shortcake brand. The charactershave a new look and Hasbro will be acting as the master toy part-ner for the brand. Hasbro’s line will feature dolls, mini-dolls, play-sets, figurines, and more. Fox will support the relaunch with a new

CGI animated adventure, The Sky’s the Limit.Sushi Pack is one of AGP’s newest properties, tar-

geted at girls and boys ages 4–8. Big Time Toys willintroduce a new line of toys for 2009 and AGP isseeking additional partners.Spring 2009 will unveil Madballs Classic Series 3

and Madballs Sick Series 3. The Classic Series includesPuck Teeth, Nail Biter, Mosh Pitts, Fist Face, Lock Lips,

and Snake Bait. The Sick Series balls all feature gross functions.AGP is further developing its Twisted Whiskers with an upcom-

ing CGI television series based on the CGI shorts from theAGKidZone.com website. Partners will be sought for home video,toys, gifts, novelties, and more.AGP will also be developing a new Holly Hobbie Classic brand,

based on the original image of the Holly Hobbie rag doll. The nos-talgic brand will be expanded into categories such as toys, gifts,novelties, collectibles, bedding, and more.

AMERICAN GREETINGS

Chicco will release a number of new developmental toys for2009. Billy Big Wheels features a steering wheel controller thatturns Billy left and right as the controller is turned left and right,to help develop hand-eye coordination and gross motor skills. TheBilingual Talking Bear teaches children numbers and words inEnglish and Spanish when its buttons, hands, and feet are pressed.The Sing ‘N Learn Orchestra introduces a child to four musicalinstruments and three musical styles, with multiple play modesand melodies to choose from. Finally, the Talking Vacation Car ismade for travel entertainment andcan speak in English or Spanish,teaching new words, tellingstories, and telling riddles.

CHICCO

Talking Vacation Car

Manhattan Toy will launch more than 100 new toys in2009. For its Groovy Girls line of soft fashion dolls,Manhattan Toy joins Girl Scouts of the USA in welcomingthree new 13-inch Troop Groovy Girls to the line of themedGroovy Girls dolls and accessories. The doll line embracesvalues inspired by the Girl Scout Law, including fairness,responsibility, helpfulness, consideration, and strength. Thethree dolls are Fair Faye, Responsible Rilee, and HelpfulHaylee. The dolls are for ages 3 and up.Four new toys from the Whoozit collection will be

released this year. The assortment of toys are for babiesages birth–18 months and stimulate fundamental learningskills through color, texture, sound, and fun.Manhattan Toy introduces the new Natural Skwish, an

un-dyed toy for parents seeking a natural look for theirchildren. All Skwish styles, including Classic Skwish andColor Burst Skwish, are made from replenishable rubber-

wood with nontoxic, water-based finishes. NaturalSkwish is for ages birth and up.Puzzibits, a line of flexible 3-D art, allows kids to imag-

ine, connect, and create 3-D designs with flexible interlock-ing pieces. Six new sets, featuring 150, 300, and 450 pieces,come with themes such as bugs, circus, and reptiles. The setscontain instructions for designs to spark creativity.As the exclusive licensed manufacturer and worldwide

distributor, Manhattan Toy will offer the Automobloxbrand, a toy line consisting of modular wooden vehiclesthat encourage young minds to build cars and trucks oftheir own design. Each car features the heirloom charm ofclassic wooden toys fused with an updated moderndesign. Interchangeable components come with all carmodels. The line is made up of nine full-size cars, threefull-size R-Series cars, six mini cars, and two mini three-car sets. It is for ages 3 and up.

MANHATTAN TOY


TOY FAIR 2009

Pretty Ugly introduces a newUglyDoll character. Trunko freaks outover everything and overreacting ishis hobby. Where there’s smoke,there’s fire and there’s Trunko

using a fire hose to put out hisbirthday candles. Trunko will

be available in four-inch, seven-inch, 12-inch, and 24-inch plush.

PRETTY UGLY LLCBachmann Trains announced a licensing agreement with HIT

Entertainment through which Bachmann is granted rights to large-scale Thomas & Friends products in the United States and Canada.Bachmann first introduced HO-scale Thomas & Friends productsin 2002, and over the years has worked closely with HITEntertainment to create train sets and separate-sale offerings thatdeliver railroading adventures to children of all ages.

BACHMANN TRAINS

Troop Groovy Girls Haylee


TOY FAIR 2009FILM PREVIEW

Posted on the next two pages are a sample of high-profile films expected to be released on the bigscreen in the next few years. These films either have full licensing programs in the works or at least offerlicensing potential. The majority of the films are family-friendly offerings or at least have aspects to themthat could be translated into toy products.

TITLEEXPECTED

RELEASE DATE STUDIO

The Hannah Montana Movie

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Star Trek

Land of the Lost

Transformers:Revenge of the Fallen

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

Harry Potter and theHalf-Blood Prince

G.I. JOE: Rise of Cobra

Toy Story 2

Where the Wild Things Are

Astro Boy

A Christmas Carol

April 10, 2009

May 1, 2009

May 8, 2009

June 5, 2009

June 26, 2009

July 1, 2009

July 17, 2009

August 7, 2009

October 2, 2009

October 16, 2009

October 23, 2009

November 6, 2009

Walt Disney Pictures

20th Century Fox

Paramount Pictures

Universal Pictures

DreamWorks Pictures

20th Century Fox

Warner Bros. Pictures

Paramount Pictures



Summit Entertainment


COMPILED BY CHRIS ADAMS


TITLEEXPECTED

RELEASE DATE STUDIO

The Three Stooges

Alvin and the Chipmunks:The Squeakquel

Alice in Wonderland

How to Train Your Dragon

Iron Man 2

Shrek Goes Fourth

Toy Story 3

The Green Hornet

The Last Airbender

Harry Potter and theDeathly Hallows: Part I

The Smurfs

The First Avenger: Captain America

Harry Potter and theDeathly Hallows: Part II

Pandamonium(Kung Fu Panda sequel)

Cars 2

November 20, 2009

December 25, 2009

March 5, 2010

March 26, 2010

May 7, 2010

May 21, 2010

June 18, 2010

June 25, 2010

July 2, 2010

November 19, 2010

December 17, 2010

May 6, 2011

May 2011

June 3, 2011

June 24, 2011

MGM

20th Century Fox


DreamWorks Animation

Paramount Pictures/Marvel Studios



Columbia Pictures

Paramount Pictures


Columbia

Paramount Pictures




It only takes one successful product tostart a company, and in 2002 TimothyKimber found the seed that would startPlaSmart’s growth. Late in the year,Kimber, an Ottawa entrepreneur and

PlaSmart’s founder, was given a chance by aChinese business partner to take a ride on a toyfrom China that was powered entirely by achild’s back-and-forth motion. Kimber fell inlove with the product. Seeing potential for theride-on on a grander scale, he developed amarketing plan and brought the product to the2003 Canadian Toy Fair in Toronto. Taking acue from Radio Flyer, which was named aftertwo of the most desirable and cutting edgetechnologies of its day and age, Kimbernamed the product the PlasmaCar, playing onthe popularity of plasma screen televisions.PlasmaCar had a successful show. After twoyears of tweaking and planning, Kimberbrought his product and his company,PlaSmart (named for the PlasmaCar), to the2005 Toy Fair in New York City and began tosell to the U.S. and international markets.

While the PlasmaCar remains PlaSmart’stop product, the company has expanded fur-ther into new lines of products, such as the 3-D origami product I-Gami and the Rubabbuline of rubber foam-based children’s toys.Throughout its development, the company fol-lows one overarching philosophy about itsproducts: making sure they are smart, but sim-ple toys. “PlaSmart chooses products that aresmart, simple, fun, and unique and we avoidelectronic toys and toys that are complicated

to understand or operate,” says TraceyMcIlwaine, key and international accountmanager at PlaSmart.

PlaSmart’s products show that philosophy intheir design. The original PlaSmart product, thePlasmaCar, is powered only by the back-and-forth motion of the child seated on the ride-on.There are no batteries or external power sourcesto be applied and the toy is completely quiet,except for the sound of the wheels on the ridingsurface. The product makes use of inertia, cen-trifugal force, gravity, and friction rather thanusing a traditional pedal-and-gear system. Theproduct’s simplicity makes it easy for childrento use and is rooted in clever design rather thanelectronics or circuitry.

Rubbabu, a newer PlaSmart product line,also focuses on the company’s ideal of produc-ing “smart, simple toys.” Made from naturalrubber foam, the Rubbabu line provides analternative to classic plush toys. The line con-sists of vehicles, animals, balls, and more, allmade in bright colors. “Unique materials, sim-ple designs, and exceptionally fun, appealingcolors make Rubbabu a perfect fit with our phi-losophy,” says McIlwaine. Rubbabu is made byan Indian manufacturer that was one of the

competitors of Huggy Buggy, which produceda similar product.

PlaSmart’s products have traditionallydone well in the specialty toy and educationalstores. “[PlaSmart] has only recently begunselling into larger and national retail establish-ments,” says McIlwaine. However, as thecompany has grown, so has its scope. Whilestill based in Canada, PlaSmart does businessin more than 20 countries spread across fivecontinents. The company has also begun toenter partnerships with manufacturers in theU.S. to expand the distribution of some U.S.brands into the Canadian market. PlaSmart hasa standard policy of “under-promising andover-delivering” to its retailers, to make surethat there are enough products to go aroundand to keep retailers happy with their treat-ment from PlaSmart.

While PlaSmart is continuing to grow andexpand its presence in the toy world,McIlwaine notes that the company will notcompromise its internal philosophy for thesake of releasing more product lines. Plansfor the future currently include expanding theRubbabu line of products, but the main focusof the company will remain on refining andperfecting its current lines, rather than push-ing to introduce more new products.“Although there is an expectation to intro-duce new products, we resist the pull to additems for the sake of showing retailers some-thing new,” says McIlwaine. “We focus ondelivering products that offer a unique valuefor retailers and their customers alike.”

PLAYING SMART WITH PLASMART


BY PAUL NARULA

PlasmaCar

GAMEPLAN EUROPE LTDHelping toy manufacturers expand internationally.

Since 1988 Gameplan Europe has been helping toy manufacturers and suppliers to develop theirexport sales. Here are some of our services, which cover the whole world.

> Market investigations of opportunities

> Viability studies for business set-ups

> Finding distributors, sales agencies, etc.

> Managing distributor networks

> Executive recruitment.

Gameplan Europe also publishes the InternationalDirectory of Retail Toy Buyers and the InternationalDirectory of Toy Importer-Distributors. These invaluable sources of information cover 38 countries and are the essential starting point for building international business.

For further information please contactAndrew Dobbie or Margit PendlTel. +44 (0) 1442 870100 (United Kingdom)email: [email protected] site: www.gameplaneurope.com

Project1 9/25/06 10:46 AM Page 1


CALEND

AROF

EVEN

TS

INDUSTRY-RELATED TRADE SHOWS

MARCH6–9 Halloween Costume & Party Show hcpshow.com The Sands Expo & Convention Center Las Vegas7–10 Western States Toy & Hobby Show wthra.com The Fairplex Pomona, CA

APRIL14–17 GAMATrade Show gama.org Bally’s Las Vegas Las Vegas18–20 Hawaii Market Merchandise Expo douglastradeshows.com Exhibition Hall, Blaisdell Center Honolulu27–30 Hong Kong Gifts & Premium Fair hkgiftspremiumfair.com Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Center Wanchai, Hong Kong

MAY6–8 ToyCon 2009 toyassociation.org Wigwam Golf Resort and Spa Litchfield Park, AZ19–21 All Candy Expo allcandyexpo.com McCormick Place Chicago

JUNE2–4 E3 e3expo.com Los Angeles Convention Center Los Angeles14–17 ASTRA astratoy.org St. Paul Rivercentre St. Paul, MN24–28 Origins Game Fair originsgames.com Greater Columbus Convention Center Columbus, OH

JULY17–20 California Gift Show californiagiftshow.com Los Angeles Convention Center Los Angeles23–25 OASIS Gift Show oasis.org University of Phoenix Stadium Glendale, AZ

LICENSING INTERNATIONAL EXPO 2009TUESDAY–THURSDAY, JUNE 2–4; MANDALAY BAY CONVENTION CENTER,

LAS VEGAS

FALL TOY PREVIEW

TUESDAY–THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6–9; DALLAS MARKET CENTER, DALLAS

Go Baby Go!Crawl & Cruise Musical Jungle

Sitting, crawling, standing, cruising … there’s no end to the fun things babies can discover in

this jungle playground. Lots of busy ball play, sing-along songs, music, dancing lights and

silly animal sounds invite new discoveries. Each step of the way offers exciting rewards

to encourage physical development — and encourage your sales to grow!

www.fisher-price.com

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LZR44902_M8072_TFE_Feb_Ad.indd 1 1/16/09 5:08:16 PM

toys & family entertainment, february 2009 toy fair issue

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