Business with Character

A new multi-platform trading card game from 4Kids Entertainment and TC Digital Games will launch this month based on the Chaotic animated series, while books, video games and toys will be tied to Nate the Great, a new PBS Kids! animated mystery series debuting this fall. Viva Piñata, Cabbage Patch Kids and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will also be featured.

In partnership with Playmates Toys, American Greetings Properties, Cleveland, is launching a new line of Popples transformable plush this fall from master toy partner Basic Fun. AG also plans to add Tinpo, a series of animated interstitials about a group of little vinyl creatures, to its Saturday morning CBS lineup. New properties Maryoku Yummy and Sushi Pack, along with classic licenses like Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake, will also be showcased this year.

Designer/illustrator Jason Tharp is working with Art Impressions, Calabasas, Calif. to expand his new stylized Corky brand of characters into toys as well as multiple other licensed categories.

BBC Worldwide, New York, will showcase the Disney Channel series Charlie and Lola. Children's Apparel Network (CAP), Celebrate Express and Rix Products (games) have already signed on to create products. BBC will also be marking the 10th anniversary of its Teletubbies preschool series, created by Ragdoll Ltd.

A Japanese hit since 1998, Domo will launch here via New York-based Big Tent. Licensees include Play Along (master toy), Andrews McMeel and Basic Fun. U.K. series Those Scurvy Rascals will have books and toys; while The Saddle Club master toy licensee Breyer will debut toys this fall; licensees in multiple other categories are available. Planet Groove, Crusty Demons, Discovery Kids and Miffy and Friends will also be showcased.

U.K. preschool series Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! will be the focus for Bolder Media, New York, as it finalizes recent product deals with Starz Entertainment, Fisher-Price, Hasbro, Scholastic, Simon & Schuster, Meredith and CAP.

The Brainy Baby Co., Atlanta, will launch a new line of plush toys from Mary Meyer based on its DVDs, while Bendon Publishing will produce books.

New toys from Bandai and games and puzzles from Pressman Toy will debut for Atlanta-based Cartoon Network's Ben 10. Leapfrog will create Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends software and Midway Games will develop Aqua Teen Hunger Force titles.

Los Angeles-based Cookie Jar has signed with iToys to create kids' musical gear based on The Doodlebops. DVDs, CDs, books, games, costumes and more will hit the market this summer.

CopCorp Licensing, New York, is hoping to expand product around the (Not So) Scary Monsters licensing program, which officially kicked off last month at FAO Schwarz in New York.

The licensing program for The World of Beatrix Potter will focus on socially-responsible and earth-friendly products and practices across all categories, including a line of Peter Rabbit organic food and “green” releases of the original books (Penguin).

Berkeley, Calif.-based Cosmic Debris will be offering both its Emily the Strange (who turns 13 this year) and Emiwee characters for license, along with product from licensees Dark Horse, Epiphone, Foundation 9, Chronicle and Boston America.

Crayola, Easton, Pa., will continue to expand its licensing in the electronics, food and home decor categories. Licensees include Crave Entertainment, Sakar, and DPI (MP3 player, calculators and more) The company also hopes to expand its licensing in the apparel, publishing, stationery, toys and games categories.

New programs for Teen Dino Squad, premiering this fall from DIC, Burbank, Calif., will include toys, publishing, entertainment, apparel and more.

Merchandise inspired by Disney's Hannah Montana, High School Musical 2, That's So Raven, The Cheetah Girls and Disney Fairies will expand in 2007, including books, toys, and electronics. The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Little Einsteins will get interactive toys, while the spring debut of My Friends Tigger & Pooh will bring additional preschool products. The Pirates of the Caribbean product line will continue to grow, with an expanded line from Zizzle, including toys and action figures, role play items and handheld games.

Charlotte, N.C.-based Educational Adventures has recently signed an agreement that will market and distribute its award-winning Danger Rangers Safety Rules! stage show into live venues.

Milestones for 20th Century Fox Licensing & Merchandising in 2007 include The Simpsons, the longest running animated TV series, which will have its first-ever film release next month. Fox L&M will expand the brand into apparel and accessories, toys, games, gifts and novelty. Family Guy also expands with toys and novelty items from Mezco Toys, NJ Croce and Kurt Adler. Fans of 24 will have line extensions from BI Media games, C-Life and Concept 1, as well as books (Harper Entertainment, Palace Press) and figures (McFarlane Toys). Also on the horizon is the animated Space Chimps film (summer 2008) and the third installment of Ice Age (2009).

New partners for American Idol have been signed, though the big news for Fremantle Media, New York, is an expanded licensing program for Baywatch, including apparel and stationery (MeadWestvaco).

The Giddy Gander Co., Fort Lee, N.J., will be promoting its animated preschool series The Wumblers, which debuts this fall; only licensee ELH Enterprises has been signed already (for plush toys).

Hasbro, Pawtucket, R.I., will make a splash with its key licenses, especially the more than 220 international deals in all categories tied to the debut of the Transformers film next month, including video games (Activitision) and accessories (Core Gamer), costumes (Disguise), DVDs (Paramount), and books. Hasbro also has more than 85 licenses for the Littlest Pet Shop, while the 60-year anniversary of Tonka includes deals with THQ, Scholastic and more. For My Little Pony, 175 licenses (including HarperCollins and American Greetings) are in the works for its 25th year. Habro Games will showcase Monopoly, Battleship, Clue, Yahtzee, Scrabble and The Game of Life.

New York-based HIT is showcasing the Rainbow Magic books, which are being developed as an animated series, while new episodes and specials of Thomas and Friends are in production and Bob the Builder will debut new episodes and DVD specials next year. Barney marks 20 years, while Angelina Ballerina and Fraggle Rock each turn 25; both will debut DVDs and commemorative products. New series available for licensing are Fireman Sam and Pingu.

In addition to its American Greetings property the Care Bears, the Joester Loria group, New York, will debut new developmental toys and plush from Creative Innovations & Sourcing for its Baby Genius brand. New bilingual DVDs from Baby Genius are also due out this year.

New York-based King Features Syndicate will promote its classic Felix the Cat, Popeye, Betty Boop, Mutts and Beetle Bailey licenses, along with several newer properties that are seeking licensees in multiple categories. These include SeeMore's Playhouse, Zits and David & Goliath's Stupid Factory characters (Trendy Wendy, Boys Are Stupid*, Goodbye Kitty, Bad Babies and Varmints in Undergarments).

Marvel Entertainment, New York, has big plans for Spider-Man as the character returns to TV via a new series on Kids' WB! on the CW Network. The company will be looking for additional partners for its Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk films, which debut next summer. Hasbro is the master toy licensee, with Sega, Hallmark, Disguise, Mega Bloks, Jakks Pacific, Sideshow and MGA also on board. Marvel will also showcase characters being developed for films in 2009. Marvel Heroes will also be available.

El Segundo, Calif.-based Mattel will showcase partnerships with multiple manufacturers (for its Barbie, Hot Wheels, Polly Pocket and Fisher-Price brands), including new Barbie products (both classic and those tied to its new DVD release, Barbie as The Island Princess) in multiple categories, such as kids' electronics (Oregon Scientific). Mattel also will produce dolls for Disney's High School Musical 2, a DVD game for Hannah Montana, and dolls for the new animated Disney film Enchanted. For DC, Mattel will produce a new line of preschool action figures and playsets.

New Line Cinema, Los Angeles, is focusing on four key film properties this year: Inkheart, a new trilogy based on the book series by Cornelia Funke; Journey 3-D, an adventure flick based on the classic Jules Verne novel Journey to the Center of the Earth; Hairspray, in theaters next month; and The Golden Compass, due out this December. Tonner has already signed on to create dolls for the film, including characters played by Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig.

Nickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products continues to expand its roster of properties, including Dora the Explorer; SpongeBob SquarePants; Go, Diego, Go!; The Backyardigans; Blue's Clues; Avatar: The Last Airbender; Zoey 101; and Unfabulous. VTech will incorporate Dora and Diego into several new products.

San Francisco-based Puffy P is seeking licensees in multiple categories for The Kreemy Snack Kids, a collection of seven creamy dessert characters that are inspired by Japanese candy packaging.

New York-based Scholastic Media will release a line of pet products around Clifford the Dog. Also, the Goosebumps books will relaunch an entirely new series, and in December, the first film in The Golden Compass trilogy, co-produced by New Line Cinema, will see a host of product from nearly 30 companies, including master toy licensee, Corgi International and master interactive licensee, SEGA.

The new Abby Cadabby fairy-in-training has made her debut on Sesame Street, and will soon be translated into plush (Fisher-Price, Gund); greeting cards (American Greetings); books (Bendon Publishing, Dalmation, Random House, Reader's Digest); CDs (Soundprints); and DVDs (Sony Wonder).

Franny's Feet has signed Hasbro's Playskool as the worldwide master toy license, as well as Penguin, Simon & Schuster, Disguise and Cadaco. For the Naughty Naughty Pets, licensees include Fiesta and American Greetings. Sharpe's Rubik's Cube has landed Techno Source as well as multiple other licensees. The Angry Little Girls has signed with the Oxygen network to create an animated television series, with licensees Harry Abrams and Running Press signed on and other categories still available. For Mr. Bean, licensees include Penguin and Funko,

Sony Pictures Consumer Products, Tokyo, is currently licensing across all key product categories for its upcoming animated film, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (March 2009), based on the classic book.

Los Angeles-based Suppertime Entertainment will be focusing on two properties this year, the Emmy-nominated ToddWorld, for which it is seeking online partners, and its newest property, the new animated series Alien Clones From Outer Space, for which multiple licensing categories are available.

Kuwait-based Teshkeel Media Group hopes to bring its properties to the states. In particular, it is seeking partners for its original series The 99, which is published in over 20 countries and will finally launch in the U.S. this fall.

United Media, New York, is debuting the new Raggedy Ann & and Me property, which will include dolls (Russ Berrie) and books (Simon & Schuster) next year. The company will also highlight a new Dirty Dancing video game (Codemasters), and expanded distribution for its classic Original Snoppy Sno-cone Machine.

San Francisco-based Viz will focus on four of its top manga properties: Death Note, Bleach, Naruto, Blue Dragon, although the full spectrum of its kid-friendly titles will also be available for potential licensees, including Inuyasha and Zatch Bell. Blue Dragon, a heroic anime adventure story, is the newest in the lineup.

Voodoo Entertainment, Vancouver, will highlight its Plain Lazy lifestyle brand from the U.K., along with the new Biwis characters, for which a film is currently in development. Apparel, plush, greeting cards, gifts, accessories and other categories are available for potential licensees. Lehner & Whyte's artwork; Bernard, the hairless polar bear who stars in his own computer animated shorts; and the World of Foxwood Tales will also be available.

Burbank, Calif.-based Warner Bros. Consumer Products' feature film lineup includes Speed Racer, The Dark Knight, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Where the Wild Things Are, with new deals seen in multiple categories. Additional product will debut for Tweety, Speedy Gonzales, Scooby-Doo, Tom and Jerry, Harry Potter, Batman, The Wizard of Oz and DC Comics' Aquaman, for which a limited edition Tonner doll is already available. WBCP will also have its football licensing portfolio available.

Stamford, Conn.-based World Wrestling Entertainment will launch an expanded program for consumer products, which already includes categories such as toys, video games, T-shirts and DVDs. The latest licensed product in the lineup is Bliss Beverages' new WWE-branded Socko Energy drink.