ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINE - ISSUE 5.12 - MARCH 2001

Toy Fair 2001: The Big Hits To Come
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Nick Jr.'s Bob the Builder series created by HIT Entertainment PLC and Keith Chapman plans to expand merchandising along with the popularity of the show.

Bob the Builder (May 2001), the popular Nick Jr. cartoon created by HIT Entertainment PLC and Keith Chapman, will be releasing two new, as yet unnamed titles this May through New Home Video. The hard working Bob promises to build out as a leading licensee for the pre-school set with Hasbro unveiling a new product line. Released in April 1999 on the U.K.'s BBC, the Bob the Builder television series has become an international success currently sold in over 100 countries worldwide. The Hasbro toy line will include a broad range of products including plush, figures, play sets, board games, puzzles and electronic novelty products under their brand names Playskool, Tiger, Milton Bradely and Parker Brothers.

Another HIT Entertainment product is Angelina Ballerina (Fall 2001), a tiny mouse that wants to dance. Originally released by Mattel's American Girl as a book with plush toy tie-in, Angelina Ballerina will launch on television this fall.

Currently airing on the U.K.'s CiTV with great success, The Butt-Ugly Martians' toy license expects to put these characters in front of a lot more viewers and in many more homes.

Being broadcast in the U.K., Butt-Ugly Martians is a 30-minute CGI episodic cartoon featuring Doo-Wah-Diddy, B. Bop-A-Luna and 2-T-Fru-T who have been sent to Earth for purposes of invasion, only to befriend three Earth friends, Mikey, Angela and Cedric, and the invaders become the protectors. Hasbro has scooped up this property's master toy license and we can expect to see more of the Butt-Ugly Martians on American television and, quite possibly, movie screens.

At the end of the event, one thing was very clear. The hottest toys include a multi-media franchise stretching from Saturday morning cartoons, through video games and on to the silver screen.

Looking ahead to next year, a few animated properties announced include (all dates 2002):

  • The Fellowship of the Ring (New Line; December)
  • Eloise in Paris (Di Novi Pictures; television and film; Summer)
  • The Country Bears (Walt Disney Pictures with the Jim Henson Creature Workshop; animatronic puppets; date TBA)
  • Scooby-Doo (Warner Bros.; CGI animation and live-action; date TBA)
  • The Wild Thornberrys (Paramount/Nickelodeon/Klasky-Csupo; date TBA)

Jacquie Kubin, a Washington, DC-based freelance journalist, enjoys writing about the electronic entertainment and edutainment mediums, including the Internet. She is a frequent contributor to the Washington Times and Krause Publication magazines. She has won the 1998 Certificate of Award granted by the Metropolitan Area Mass Media Committee of the American Association of University Women.

 
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