Also in development is an original interactive Web comic on the Microsoft Network featuring Idiot Jimmy, George Liquor, Cigarettes the Cat, and Dirty Dog. The webzine will be online in about three months and can be found within the MSN site called Spoken Word.

Whoever Jimmy is, he is available for purchase. The Jimmy of the Future and Jimmy the Idiot dolls retail for about $40 and can be found at Spencer gifts, through Spumco's Web site and at Musicland. "John is a huge toy fan and a collector." This is apparent in his new Three Stooges doll line, where careful attention to detail has been paid. Says Kolde, "John spent weeks just getting the fabric on the dresses right (the dolls are in drag). He tortured the sculptors until every detail was exact, down to the scar on Curly."

Cyber Barney
If you ever suspected Barney was like the Wizard controlling your children's thoughts and ideas, you weren't far off from what Microsoft had in mind. With the new Actimates Early Learning System, featuring the Microsoft Realmation Animation Technology, Microsoft combines children's love for the purple dino with the absolute latest in software technology. (Oh ,and just to say I warned you, production of a Barney movie will begin this summer, with a spring '98 release from Polygram Filmed Entertainment.) But first, imagine this: a stuffed animal that interacts with you as you play a game at your computer. It tells you when you get something wrong. It can even take a turn too. Here's how it works (to the best of my IQ): There is a transmitter that plugs into the gameport on a PC that transmits a wireless RF signal to a receiver in Barney's head. This allows the plush to interact with the software. The transmitter sends digitally encoded signals to tell the doll when and how to react to what is going on onscreen. Barney has a 14,000 word vocabulary. Be afraid, be very afraid and look for this at Toys R' Us this fall. The elements are all sold separately with the Interactive Barney retailing for $109.95, the PC transmitter for $64.95 and the software titles for around $34.95.

The Interactive Barney also works as a stand alone toy--touch various parts of his body and he'll sing one of his14 classic hits, play peek-a-boo, or give you his signature chuckle. At the showroom they said that in tests Interactive Barney survived repeatedly being dropped on his head from 7 feet and tumbling for 14 hours in the dryer. Now there's something I'd like to see!

The Mask action figures.

Mr. Men Makes US Debut
Leisure Concepts, Inc. (LCI), a division of 4Kids Entertainment, is currently developing licensing programs for two animated children's series: Oscar's Orchestra and Mr. Men, based upon the award-winning book series by illustrator Roger Hargraves. I spoke with Al Kahn, LCI's Chairman and CEO, about the challenges of predicting what properties will be lucrative licenses. He noted that a successful property may not be a successful license. "There are certain things," Kahn says, "that kids will watch that they don't necessarily want to live. The key to make a license really work is when the kids want to become one with the characters and have their existence peppered with them. Kids need to be immersable into the character group."

Mr. Men is a classic property that has been in France for 25 years. Kahn plans on using toys to introduce a new generation to the Mr. Men characters. A comprehensive back-to-school program and the rerelease of the books by Price, Stern and Sloan will coincide with the show's fall debut in the US. "Any exposure of these characters (television or merchandising) will help the character get seated." Kahn feels that both the series and the licenses have a strong chance of doing well.

"The storyline is very important to kids getting involved with the characters," Kahn points out. "In this property, the characters are the storyline. When I say Mr. Happy you know exactly what I'm talking about. These characters are basically the personifications of those emotions. Kids see them and know who they are. That will drive recognition and kids to get involved with the characters and collect them (there's about 80 of them).