Creative Licenses

It's the 21st century and brands are inescapable. In the toy and related children's entertainment markets, licensing has been ubiquitous—about a third of annual toy sales have involved licenses since at least the late 1970s—and the question has long since passed the point of “why license?” Today, licensing is a business no-brainer, and the essential question is not why, but which—which licenses to choose next...and how long to keep those one already has.

This month's Licensing 2006 show will also seek to answer the question, What's next?

The following are just a small selection of what there is to see. For a more complete rundown of what Licensing Show exhibitors have in store this year, go to www.playthings.com/licensing2006 starting on June 20.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) will be in full force on Fox Saturday mornings, as 4Kids TV debuts 26 new episodes of TMNT Fast Forward, set 99 years into the future. As part of the series, 4Kids, New York, will debut a new Web site and partner with Warner Bros. and The Weinstein Co. for the March 30, 2007, premiere of the first-ever CGI-animated TMNT movie. 4Kids will be expanding the Fast Forward theme in all core categories including toys, apparel and publishing, and will partner with Playmates for figures, vehicles, play sets and role play products and with Ubisoft for a video game.

Just in time for the company's 100^th anniversary as well as the upcoming 25th anniversary of its classic Care Bears line, Cleveland-based American Greetings will kick off a series of initiatives for the brand under its recently formed AG Properties umbrella.

Plans for 2006/2007 products include updated looks for all the characters, a continued focus on the juniors market, TV-promoted toys and plush, apparel, home textiles, publishing and infant products. Meanwhile, Madballs, the classic squishy boys' toys from the 1980s, are back! AG has partnered with Art Asylum to release new variations in late summer 2006, and will expand the line into T-shirts, boxers, lounge wear, comic books and novelties.

For its Little Robots children's series, BBC Worldwide, New York, has signed on some experienced partners in the toy, home entertainment and publishing categories. Playmates, its master toy licensee for North America, will launch a full line of toys and other products this fall, including figures, talking plush, a robot builder, vehicles and more. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will also debut the first Little Robots home video titles.

A new line of six book titles from Penguin Young Readers Group will debut next spring, starting with two 8x8 books: Little Robots: Tiny's New Moon and Little Robots: Robot Race Day.

As the Japanese series Domo debuts this fall on Nickelodeon, Big Tent is eyeing partners in publishing, collectibles, plush, interactive games, video, stationery, room decor and mobile entertainment. The Koala Brothers series, currently on Playhouse Disney, also gets a retail boost this summer with gift wrap, party goods, and ornaments by American Greetings.

Camp Lazlo, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, HiHi Puffy Ami Yumi, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends and Aqua Teen Hunger Force, all popular series from Cartoon Network, Atlanta, will be getting their own video games in 2006/2007.

Crave Entertainment's Foster's and Camp Lazlo titles for Nintendo Gameboy Advance and Midway Games' Billy & Mandy title for Sony Playstation 2, Gameboy Advance and GameCube are expected this fall, with Midway's Aqua Teen title due out next year.

From Game Factory, look for a Cartoon Network Racing title for Sony Playstation 2 and Nintendo Dual Screen in October, while D3PA is on tap for a unique HiHi Puffy Ami Yumi game for Nintendo's DS platform (in which the game controls appear on the touch pad in the form of a guitar), expected to debut in June.

Cookie Jar Entertainment, Los Angeles, enters the boys action arena with the launch of the adventure series Spider Riders, based on the book The Shards of the Oracle by Tedd and Patsy Cameron-Anasti. The series will have a presence in both the online gaming and wireless worlds, starting with a kids' online game at spiderriders.com and eventually expanding into a multi-user, online global role play community through the site as well as on cell phones.

The three trendy Beverly Hills teens of the Totally Spies! animated action series will debut in a girls' apparel line by Star Ride Kids, New York, at Kmart. Marathon Media will also be offering a promotional merchandising program with mobile phone gems by Gameloft, video games from Atari and an interactive book series by Brighter Minds. Additional Totally Spies! licensees include books by Simon & Schuster, costumes by Disguise, backpacks from AD Sutton and a graphic novel series from Papercutz.

Caped Crusader fans will get new collectible die-cast editions of the famed Batmobile this year, produced by Corgi USA. Each 1:43 scale replica has been duplicated from actual designs that appeared over the last 70 years in DC Comics' comic books. Corgi USA's Batman Collectible Die-Cast Editions will join the limited edition Batman Bronze Age Collection Set: The 1970s Batmobile and 1980s Batmobile with Batman and Robin metal figures, which are already being offered for purchase to adult collectors.

DIC Entertainment, Burbank, Calif., will debut two brand-new properties this year, Horseland and Cake, and will significantly expand its offerings of the classic Trolls brand throughout 2006.

Horseland is based on the successful horseland.com online community where kids can interactively buy, sell, breed and train virtual horses, and compete against themselves or others. Merchandising for girls 6 to 12 as well as for equine aficionados will launch in spring 2007 in toys, apparel, publishing, mobile content and collectibles. In the fall, DIC will also debut a combination CGI and traditional animation series, which will be seen on CBS Saturday mornings.

Cake, a DIY brand for tween girls ages 8 to 13, is based on the upcoming live-action, reality-based series debuting this fall on CBS. Merchandising for the brand will launch in spring 2007 in the stationery, craft and activity, fashion accessories and room decor categories. Expanded product releases will follow in fall 2007 featuring the apparel, footwear, domestics, interactive and gift and novelty categories.

The classic Trolls brand will head to mass retailers for the first time ever this year via an extensive rollout of products from toy partner Play Along.

To capitalize on the release of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Burbank, Calif.-based Disney will partner with Zizzle to create a mass market toy line for the franchise, encompassing the sequel and the yet-to-be-named final film in the trilogy. Zizzle's line will include action figures, play sets, role play products, interactive handheld games and novelty electronics.

Dreamworks Animation SKG, Glendale, Calif., will be offering several of its upcoming feature film titles for new licensing deals this year.

Flushed Away follows a snooty rat named Roddy who is flushed into the London sewer system but becomes a hero when he tries to save his world. A November release date is set for the flick. In 2007, Shrek the Third continues the story of Shrek and Fiona; this time around, the couple find themselves unenthusiastically in charge of Far, Far Away kingdom and yearning to get back to their beloved swamp.

Building on its recent global licensing efforts, Pawtucket, R.I.-based Hasbro will expand its My Little Pony franchise with another theatrical release plus the fall launch of the first Pony titles for Nintendo's Game Boy Advance and PCs. New games for Nintendo's Dual Screen are slated for fall 2007.

Fans of the Transformers franchise will have a lot to look forward to next year, as a line of Generation One (G1) products hits the market—especially in the digital media space—due to a partnership with Activision. These offerings will debut in 2007 along with a movie co-produced by Dreamworks Pictures and Paramount Pictures. Movie merchandise is planned for categories such as apparel, accessories, publishing and home decor. Additional products include comics (IDW) and collectibles (Diamond Select), plus an online portal that will provide customizable Transformers images on T-shirts, sweatshirts and stamps.

Fairfield, Calif.-based Jelly Belly jelly beans are not just for eating anymore! The Licensing Co. North America has its licensing partners bringing pounds of new products to retail—from bean bags to books.

Senario will offer novelty pillows, bean bags and pet beds to mid-tier, department and specialty retailers this fall before expanding into mass market and TV shopping programs. In the spring, Jerry Leigh will introduce “bean-inspired” fashion tops at specialty boutiques, with a full fall retail rollout to follow. Arriving next Valentine's Day are multi-colored Jelly Belly infant board books by Penguin Young Readers Group.

Along with its 25th anniversary plans for AG's Care Bears, the Joester Loria Group, New York, will bring to the U.S. products from the animated series Peppa Pig, currently airing on Cartoon Network.

Peppa Pig licensees include Shelcore Toys for infant and preschool playthings, Harper Collins for publishing, Lions Gate Entertainment for DVDs and Dan River for home video and bedding products.

In a first-time collaboration with a major Hollywood studio, Mattel Entertainment of El Segundo, Calif., has formed a multi-year, multi-picture alliance with Universal Studios Home Entertainment. The partners will release Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses this fall, followed immediately by the worldwide release of Pollyworld, the first feature based on the miniature Polly Pocket doll line, with related lifestyle products and room decor items. Also for Barbie, Mattel teams with Benetton to launch four spring collections of 50 apparel/accessory items and four new dolls, and with Elan for Barbie-themed skis and snowboards.

Marvel Entertainment, New York, will see its superheroes take form in collectible 6-inch, 1/12th scale metal figurines from Corgi USA. The first in the series—Captain America, Wolverine, Spider-Man and The Thing—are limited editions and each carry a $60 price tag. Boasting realistic details and design, new SKUs will be introduced every other month throughout the year. Diamond Select Toys will also release X-Men collectible busts this fall.

Marvel plans to add interactive entertainment and apparel to the licensee roster for the upcoming Cartoon Network debut of the Fantastic Four animated TV series this fall; Toy Biz will launch a toy line of the property.

For preschoolers, Marvel has expanded its Spider-Man and Friends property by adding characters Storm and Cyclops from X-Men. Marvel Juniors will target the teen/tween markets, featuring characters like Captain America, Spider-Man, Hulk and X-Men on clothing by Jerry Leigh and accessories by FAB.

New Line Cinema, Los Angeles, will get techno savvy with Journey to the Center of the Earth 3-D, a full-length film shot in high definition 3-D. This update of the classic film—about a teenager and his scientist uncle who discover an age-old message inside an ancient artifact—will premiere in 2007.

Also in 2007, the much awaited big-screen adaptation of Philip Pullman's young-adult novel The Golden Compass, a joint production of New Line and Scholastic Media, will debut in November. Pullman's magical and mysterious parallel universes inhabited by shape-shifting animals, witches and angels should provide a host of exciting licensing opportunities in the near future. Meanwhile, the 2007 film version of Cornelia Funke's best-selling Inkheart, the magical adventure of a 12-year-old girl whose father brings book characters to life, will birth a new licensing program.

Silver Lining Productions, New York, has lots in store for children's book author Eric Carle. Key partners on the horizon include University Games (The Very Hungry Caterpillar and other board games, puzzles, card games and Colorforms), Chronicle Books (flashcards, stationery and publishing products), Dan River (juvenile bed linens and coordinating room decor), Mrs. Grossman's Paper (stickers, sticker sets and sticker books), Hallmark (greeting cards and paper party goods) and Small World Toys (developmental soft toys, wooden puzzles and blocks).

To promote the June 2007 release of its first feature-length animated film, Open Season, Tokyo-based Sony Pictures Consumer Products, Culver City, Calif., will unleash an array of toy and game licensees: Ubisoft Entertainment (video game software), Zizzle (self-contained LCD games and handheld electronic pinball), Endless Games (board games and card games) and Nanco (amusement plush).

After 17 seasons on the air, the Simpson family finally jumps to the big screen in July 2007. Look for merchandise tied to the film under license from 20th Century Fox Licensing & Merchandising, Century City, Calif.

Also from the Fox film world, products and apparel from cult flicks Napoleon Dynamite and Office Space, and from nouveau retro properties The Princess Bride and Edward Scissorhands, are in the works.

Additional new products and apparel from current comedy shows Family Guy (posters, journals and a boxed calendar by Aquarius Entertainment in 2007 and 2008), My Name is Earl (posters from Trends International) and nouveau retro property In Living Color are due on the horizon.

United Media, New York, and partner Collingwood O'Hare Entertainment will bring the award winning preschool series Yoko! Jakamoko! Toto! to the U.S., with an initial focus on toys, publishing and videos. Additional categories include gifts, packaged goods, stationery, HBA and domestics. The show will air weekdays on the Cartoon Network.

United will celebrate the 20th anniversary of Dirty Dancing with a licensing program next quarter along with partner Lionsgate. Initial categories include apparel, publishing, gift and collectibles.

Universal Studios

Universal Studios Consumer Products, Universal Studios, Calif., has a plethora of new products tied to several TV and film properties, including the first-ever releases for the newly updated Battlestar Galactica television series. For the classic teen flick 16 Candles and the TV comedy The Office, Basic Fun touts talking key chains and pens, while Rubie's Costume Co. will supply costumes and accessories for classic TV detective shows Knight Rider, Magnum P.I. and Miami Vice.

Just ahead of the December big screen premiere of a Beatrix Potter biopic starring Renee Zellweger, The Wildflower Group, New York, is partnering with Enesco Group to produce frames, figurines and ornaments from The World of Beatrix Potter.

The tales of Flopsy, Mopsy, Peter and Cotton-tail will then take center stage with additional figurines and a playhouse by Workshop Toys, plus a new style guide that emphasizes Beatrix Potter's artwork. Also in the works is a partnership with Penguin Young Readers Group to create dedicated areas for selected Beatrix Potter merchandise and books at Barnes & Noble booksellers nationwide.