Toy sellers send bat signal

DSN Retailing Today, Feb 7, 2005 by Doug Desjardins

Toy sales have been flat since 2000, but those sales would have been worse if not for a steady stream of products based on blockbuster film franchises like "Spider-Man" and "Harry Potter." And at this year's Toy Fair in New York on Feb. 20-23, retailers will get a first look at another round of new products based on new films and DVD titles.

With "Spider-Man" on hiatus this year, Warner Bros. will fill the void when it resurrects "Batman" with "Batman Begins." The film starring Christian Bale will hit theaters this summer, and Warner Bros. has a full line of toys and merchandise due to arrive starting in late spring.

Mattel will serve as the master toy licensee for "Batman," and dozens of manufacturers will contribute a full range of action figures and gadgets that are an integral part of the character. "Technology is always a big part of Batman's crime-solving skills, and high-tech gadgets will be a big part of the toy lineup," said Kelly Gilmore, senior vp of global toys and themed entertainment for Warner Consumer Products.

Oregon Scientific and Craig Electronics are two licensees signed on to create Batman electronics such as DVD players and radios. Think-way will unveil the 3-in-1 Power Gauntlet featuring a wrist-held flashlight, disc shooter and dart shooter.

Warner also has a full line of merchandise coming out in advance of its holiday release, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," including a new line of toys from Mattel. And the studio has a line of merchandise and toys coming this spring for "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," a "Willy Wonka" remake starring Johnny Depp.

Marvel Enterprises has big plans for its new franchise "The Fantastic Four." The film version of the 1960s comic book produced by 20th Century Fox will feature "The Shield" star Michael Chikilis as The Thing and Jessica Alba as The Invisible Woman.

"It's going to be a big [licensing] package, comparable to the programs we had for Spider-Man," said Tim Rothwell, president of Marvel's Worldwide Consumer Products Media Group. "And that's because we're dealing with four different characters who have different powers."

Toy Biz will unveil its new wave of Fantastic Four toys headlined by The Thing Hands and The Thing Feet, which make crashing sounds when kids put them on. There will also be toys based on the other Fantastic heroes who include The Human Torch, The Invisible Woman and Mr. Fantastic.

One of the challenges Toy Biz will face is familiarizing kids with those characters, since the comic book isn't as well-known as classics like "Spider-Man" and "The Hulk." In order to overcome this, the company is working on a commercial that will serve as a primer for kids.

"We're going to air a 60-second commercial in the spring that will serve as a trailer and educate kids about The Fantastic Four and their powers," said Joanne McLaughlin, co-chief operating officer for Toy Biz.

The Walt Disney Co. has two tent-pole family films due for the holidays: "Chicken Little" and "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe." "Chicken Little" will target younger kids with a small line of toys while Narnia goes after a slightly older audience.

"We're looking at Narnia as the launch of a franchise, so we don't want to over-license it out of the gate," said Vince Klaseus, vp of film franchise marketing for Disney Consumer Products. Disney has Mega Bloks, and Hasbro signed on as the primary toy licensees and plans to release a line of toys, construction sets and games before the film's Dec. 9 release.

The final Star Wars film, "Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith," will also generate a raft of new product before its May release, with Hasbro serving as the master toy licensee. The lineup includes a new Darth Vader talking action figure featuring the voice of the actor James Earl Jones.

Movie studios and toy manufacturers are also teaming up for toy programs based on films making their debuts on DVD. 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment and MGA Entertainment are preparing a merchandise package for the DVD debut of a movie based on MGA's Bratz line of dolls. The still-to-be-named DVD will arrive in September, and MGA will release new dolls and play sets based on the film.

Disney is preparing a full line of toys and merchandise for the October DVD debut of "Cinderella." The 1950 classic was last released on VHS in 1995 and has been on moratorium since then, which makes its DVD release an event the studio will commemorate with a new line of Cinderella toys and merchandise.

Other manufacturers that will be busy at Toy Fair include Fisher Price. The learning-toy specialist will unveil its new "Read with Me DVD," developed with Scholastic Entertainment, which helps build language skills. Fisher-Price will also have new toys based on characters like SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer.

LeapFrog Enterprises will introduce its new line of products headlined by Fly. The gadget that is billed as a talking pen-top computer can translate written English words into Spanish and includes a calculator and an alarm clock.