Karen Raugust reports from Toy Fair 2008, where toys linked to animated online virtual worlds were a notable trend.
Online virtual worlds to support collectible toy brands were the hot topic at this year's New York International Toy Fair, held February 17-20, 2008, at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. With each toy purchase, children receive an access code that unlocks bonus content in an online virtual world themed to the toy. These safe and secure worlds feature games, social networking, customizable environments and avatars, stories, animated clips and other content; users can navigate through the world and interact with characters and with other fans of the toy.
Researcher eMarketer estimates that 24% of U.S. children and teen Internet users visited virtual worlds in 2007, and predicts that number will rise to 53% by 2011. The toy brand Webkinz is often credited with starting the trend. Some of the latest examples seen at Toy Fair included Hasbros Virtual Interactive Pets, based on its Littlest Pet Shop brand; Mattels Barbie Girls, 10% of which is free to all and 100% of which is accessible to those who purchase a Barbie MP3 player; and Beanie Babies 2.0.
Bella Sara is a horse-themed trading card set for girls 5-12, supported by a virtual world that includes games, puzzles, coloring books, interactive story books, customizable cottages, stables for the virtual horses -- each horse pictured on a trading card can be registered online -- and wallpapers. The website has 1.6 million registered users in 240 countries. The company introduced its latest card extension at the show; each set is based on the folklore of a particular region and all promote positive values and self-esteem for girls.
Disney launched a new online virtual world called Pixie Hollow, tied to its $800 million Disney Fairies brand. It includes chat, games, social networking, crafting, personalization of jewelry and clothes, and other activities. The new world adds content and interactivity to what was already available at the Disney Fairies online site, where girls have created more than 4.5 million unique fairy avatars. A new line of collectible interactive jewelry and handheld electronic LCD games from licensee Techno Source interacts with the Pixie Hollow site.
Play Visions launched an online world to support its Zibbies line. It is story-driven and features character response technology that allows children to send and receive e-mails and instant messages from the characters on the site. Zibbies also is about to launch mobile phone content on MobiTV and is in development on an animated television series for a spring 2009 launch. All drive traffic to each other; for example, the toys have a tag that gives buyers access codes to content. Similarly, each download on MobiTV comes with its own code. One feeds the other, says Stephen Cosgrove, an author and creator of the ZibbieZone virtual world.
Licensed Toys
Animation-based toy lines were prevalent on the show floor. According to the NPD Group, licensed toys accounted for 27% of toy industry sales in 2007. (Total sales were $22 billion, down 2% from 2006, in part due to toy industry recalls and difficult economic conditions.) Four of the top five toy licenses for 2007 had an animation connection; Cars, Disney Princess, Dora the Explorer and Spider-Man were the bestselling toy licenses, NPD says, with Star Wars rounding out the top five.
This year, many of the most visible licenses featured at the show were based on movies, many of them animated or inspired by animation. Mattel was promoting Warner Bros. Speed Racer, mostly in connection with its Hot Wheels brand, as well as Dreamworks Kung Fu Panda, including a talking figure featuring Jack Blacks voice, and action figures and activity toys based on Warner Bros. next Batman film, The Dark Knight. Hasbro showed a line of toys tied to Lucasfilms new Indiana Jones movie, along with a line based on the new Iron Man and Hulk films, inspired by the classic Marvel characters. Other film properties seen on the show floor included The Tale of Despereaux from iToys, which also makes Spiderwick Chronicles products, and Horton Hears a Who from several licensees. Dr. Seuss toys -- including Horton and others -- were offered by Manhattan Toy, McFarlane Toys and I Can Do That Games.
On the TV side, the new Clone Wars TV series, which will air on Cartoon Network following a theatrical release of the first three episodes, had a strong presence at the show, with licensees including Hasbro and LEGO. Mattel showed new preschool toys tied to Nick Jr. shows including Wow! Wow! Wubbzy and Wonderpets, as well as to Disney Channel preschool series including Handy Manny. Several licensees on the show floor said the Disney Channels preschool properties, including Handy Manny, My Friends Tigger and Pooh, and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, were among their fastest-growing licenses.
Zula USA, producer of Zula Patrol, a 3D-animated science series for preschoolers that airs on public television stations, announced it has granted licenses for science kits to the Scientific Explorer division of Elmers and contruction activity kits to Toobeez. The show premiered in fall 2005 and will debut its first DVDs exclusively in Borders stores in March, promoted by a theatrical screening. The show also has an online site, Zulaworld, in partnership with IBM; a digital dome show; a traveling museum exhibit; and an educational curriculum through Carolina Biological.
Among the other TV animation-based licenses making news at Toy Fair this year were SpongeBob SquarePants, for which Play-Along introduced the first-ever episode-themed plush, packaged with a DVD, and Shin Chan, which will be featured on a line of plush and accessories from Toy Vault. The latter airs on Cartoon Network and is licensed by FUNimation. Meanwhile, The Simpsons had a presence at a number of licensee booths.
Toy-Based Animation
Some toy companies were touting or pitching animation based on their toy lines. Hasbro was promoting its 2D-animated Transformers TV series, which will debut on Cartoon Network this year, while Mattel showed its eighth 3D-animated direct-to-DVD production, Barbie and the Diamond Castle, and the toys based on it. It also announced its first holiday release, Barbie in A Christmas Carol, to premiere in November. In it, Barbie will wear this years edition of the annual holiday designer outfit, which will help introduce young girls to this collector line.
Applehead Factory Design Studio introduced Series 2 of its collectible plush series, Teddy Scares. It recently debuted the first two of a line of graphic novels featuring the zombie teddies, and it also was giving out CDs containing two animated shorts: a five-minute production for Teddy Scares and an eight-minute film for another of its properties, Tofu the Vegan Zombie. Currently, the clips are distributed on Appleheads website and YouTube.
Animation studio Curious Productions has a unique means of participating in the toy industry. Rather than creating animation based on a toy line or licensing its animation properties for toys -- the two traditional paths for animation studios to become involved with the toy industry -- it launched its own toy company, Curious Toys, in 1997. Each year it introduces a new line extension of its Bonz construction toy kits, all of which interconnect with one another. This years edition was the Bonz Band, which lets children create their own musical instruments.
Green Themes
Aside from the trend toward Internet-connected toys, the other major theme of the show was toy companies efforts to go green. Some offered toys that contain bamboo or other materials in lieu of plastic, while others touted their batteryless operation. Mattel had a line of girls accessories, including purses and wallets, made from leftover fabrics from the manufacture of Barbie outfits, which will be sold at Toys R Us.
Bandais new line extension of its Tamagotchi brand, Tamagotchi v.5, links to the Tamatown website, where the v.5 section features an Ecology Pavilion. (Bandai also introduced the Digivice, a sort of Tamagotchi for boys based on the Digimon brand, which has recently been relaunched after being off-shelf for three years, and a line of toys based on Blue Dragon, an Xbox game.)
Several companies were highlighting science kits that taught about the environment. An increasing number of science kits are tied to entertainment licenses, including animated TV series. Elmers and its Scientific Explorer division showed kits tied to Nickelodeons Dora the Explorer and Go, Diego, Go!, and TV personality and author Bill Nye the Science Guy, in addition to Zula Patrol. Similarly, Uncle Milton Industries has a license for Indiana Jones kits.
Early indications were that this years 105th Toy Fair would see a boost in attendance over recent years. On opening day, 30% more buyers registered than in 2007, with 9,200 signing in this year, compared to 7,100 on last years opening day. All told, the Toy Industry Association estimated that 35,000 members of the industry and media would view the wares of the shows 1,200 exhibitors over the four days of the show.
Karen Raugust is a Minneapolis-based freelance business writer specializing in animation, publishing, licensing and art. She is the author of The Licensing Business Handbook (EPM Communications).
