Gentle giants
It's no myth—dragon toys inspire the imagination
By Karyn M. Peterson -- Playthings, 7/1/2006
Fantasy rules! The era when dragons reigned has actually come alive—at least in toy stores. Amidst huge popularity of fantasy books and book-to-film properties, retailers are cashing in on the enduring appeal of mythological beasts.
“With the introduction of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and other fantasy themes, children's imaginations have been stimulated,” says Larry Hotaling, the Sherrill, N.Y.-based U.S. distributor of Papo's distinctive dragons.
Andrew Frankel, Dragons brand manager at Mega Bloks, Montreal, agrees. “There have been great new books such as Eragon and retellings of older stories like Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia that have put mythological or dragon-based properties back into the minds of children recently.”
The trend will only gain momentum, marketers say, ahead of the film adaptation of Eragon from Fox, who has licensed collectibles, games and more.
A history of heat“In most countries, dragons are important parts of the lore,” Frankel says. “[Dragons are] about great storytelling and imagination in a time past when anything was possible.” His perennial Dragons line is being relaunched with new styling and toys, including the Battlestorm Castle and Plasma Dragons. Mega Bloks is always looking at new ways “to bring our dragons to life,” Frankel says. “There [are] many more Dragons stories to be told.”
Papo will also continue to develop its dragon category, Hotaling says; the company has already added several figures this year, including a two-headed edition Hotaling calls the “most impressive” on the market.
“Sales of our dragons are very strong,” Hotaling says. Meanwhile, Sababa Toys, New York, is releasing both a board game and a line of action figures based on the recent best-selling Dragonology book from Candlewick Press, Cambridge, Mass.
For the older crowd, McFarlane Toys, Tempe, Ariz., is releasing six painstakingly detailed figures in the fourth wave of its dragons series, The Fall of the Dragon Kingdom.
Also popular with older collectors is the Stikfas Dragon Deluxe kit, says Martin New, sales and marketing director for Saizon, Montreal, distributor of the interchangeable kits. The dragons “have proved to be top performers” and a “favorite with male and female fans young and old,” he says.
There are even dragon offerings available for the littlest of fans!
“Fantasy creatures and fairy tales seem to play a part in every child's life,” says Milanie Cleere, founder of Los Angeles-based retailer Oompa.com, which specializes in European and non-character branded toys. Oompa carries nearly a dozen popular dragon products. “The number of our dragon-themed product sales has gone up in the past six months,” Cleere says, with Oompa gift customers buying these equally for girls and boys. Cleere also notes that Oompa site visitors searched more for dragons than most other popular product categories, “more than cats, dogs or trains!” Cleere hopes to stock new dragon products later this year.
Also for younger kids, the Emeryville, Calif.-based Folkmanis has a new two-headed dragon puppet that can be wrapped around a child's shoulders. It follows the debut of two other dragon puppets this spring.
Even the youngest kids “can appreciate dragons as powerful creatures that…feed their sense of wonderment and imagination,” Frankel says. “Who wouldn't want to show off their pet dragon…as long as it was fire-trained!”
