It’s an interesting marketing move by television giant Nickelodeon, made even more interesting by the fact that they more or less decided not to bother advertising it: Nickelodeon has thrown their hat into the interactive online kiddie environment ring with the brand-new world of Nicktropolis.

Yesterday, this article detailed the launch, ending with this rather vague bit:

Nicktropolis will launch without advertising, but it expects to incorporate marketers in myriad ways, according to Stephen Youngwood, executive vp at Nickelodeon and MTVN Kids & Family Group.

Has anyone seen any advertising or “incorporated marketers” in association with this? No? Me neither. (But wait; I’m talking about it right now. Somehow I’ve become an unwitting pawn in their game! Aiiieeeee!)

The Yahoo! News article had a few slightly more informative tidbits, as well:

In Nicktropolis, kids can customize the appearance of an avatar, the onscreen character with which they navigate a digital world complete with its own currency. The environment includes branded regions like Nicktoon Boulevard, where surfers can visit rooms inspired by such Nick shows as “SpongeBob SquarePants” and “Danny Phantom.” Avatars can interact with icons representing characters from the shows or cue up episodes for viewing.

I’m experiencing deja vu. What does this remind me of? Oh, right. It’s sort of like Penguin Island meets Webkinz. Except with licensed character tie-ins.

It’s hard to know how I feel about it, really. On the one hand, I appreciate that it’s completely free (unlike Webkinz, which requires purchase of a stuffed animal), and I like the safety features (Nicktropolis offers various restricted levels of chat, much like Penguin Island). On the other hand, wouldn’t I rather that my kids not spend their time on the computer watching more cartoons?

Then again, if I’m going to let them watch SpongeBob SquarePants, isn’t it sort of cool to let them play a game where they can go hang out in his pineapple?

I’ll be very curious to see if Nicktropolis develops the sort of following that other sites of its kind have, or if Nick has just overreached and produced a pale imitation of the great communities already giving our kids a safe place to play and interact. I guess time will tell.

*I apologize for sticking the SpongeBob theme song in your head. I didn’t want to feel so alone, is all. (P.S. Absorbent and yellow and porous is he!) (Sorry.)

There are precious few shows I have fond memories of watching as a family, when I was a kid. (One of those shows was Sha Na Na, and yes, I am aware than I am old so there is no need to point it out.) And I would argue that The Muppet Show was perfect family fare: Muppets, yes, but also celebrity guests; ongoing plot lines interspersed with everything from gags to Broadway- caliber musical numbers; something for everyone!

I was crushed when The Muppet Show bid its final farewell to the airwaves in 1981. So I had high hopes for Muppets Tonight when it premiered in 1996, but… it wasn’t the same. And it wasn’t very good. (Critics agreed; it lasted just a year.) Kermit and Miss Piggy were a part of my childhood. My kids like the movies, but I wish the original show was still around to share with them, even as I realize that my kids might not find it all that great, now, anyway.

Anyway, perhaps you can imagine my glee upon reading that the muppets may be busting out a new series. At first, I remembered Muppets Tonight and was skeptical, but check it out:

It’s been reported that the Walt Disney Company has recently completed a presentation pilot for a new weekly television series starring Kermit, Piggy and the gang. The pilot is ten minutes long and is part of a proposal for a mini-series that would be shot in an Office-like mock documentary style. The mockumentary film crew would be led by fictional British filmmaker and interviewer Ian Bascombe.

The mini-series would follow lovable Kermit the Frog as he travels to reassemble his old gang so they can launch a new Muppet Show. Since we last saw the beloved characters, they have each moved on to new jobs and lives. Insecure Fozzie Bear is a solo stand-up comic (after spending a year writing for the TV series Moesha), headstrong Miss Piggy is an actress in Hollywood, patriotic Sam the Eagle works in security, etc. Once the group is assembled, they then have to plan, develop and produce the new show — and the viewers would see it all via the documentary footage.

And there’s more, too, but I’m too busy giggling over the idea of The Office starring muppets to tell you the rest. Go read it yourself. And then cross your fingers that this project makes it to the light of day, because how awesome would that be??

(Answer: So very awesome. More awesome than Pigs in Space, even.)

Every now and then, my son straps some plastic object onto his arm, announces that it’s his Omnitrix, and then goes on a tear throughout the house, announcing that he’s turning into various aliens and destroying us all.

If you’re not a parent, you may find this behavior alarming. But for those of us deep in the trenches of what appeals to kids—and, particularly, what causes small boys to swoon with glee—this behavior is nothing more than typical (if slavish) devotion to Ben 10.

Being the simplistic person that I am, I thought it was enough when Bandai started making the aforementioned Omnitrix and some alien action figures. Silly me! Soon enough, there were Ben 10 vehicles, the Alien Experiment Laboratory, and even alien rocks which reveal the creatures trapped within once you submerge them in water.

Want to drive your little Ben 10 fan wild? Surf on over to Bandai’s interactive Ben 10 site to watch clips and interviews, read all about the various aliens, and—of course—see great footage of the newest toys.

And now Animation Insider reports the latest Ben 10 merchandising news: Back-to-school is the next order of business.

“We are very excited to be working with Cartoon Network on their premiere boy’s property, Ben 10,” Steve Russo, President and CEO of FAB/Starpoint commented in a recent press release. “FAB/Starpoint prides itself on the fashion detail of every product. We are incorporating today’s coolest treatments to our product lines for back to school!”

The agreement looks to cover a full line of products in relation to FAB/Starpoint’s talent for creating interesting backpacks, accessories, school supplies, watches and clocks under a multi-year agreement that will have product in store for the back-to-school season.

That sounds like a pretty big undertaking. So did Cartoon Network stop there? Nope; they’re striking while the iron is hot, in as many ways as they can:

Cartoon Network Enterprises has also signed a deal (in a separate matter) to help create more toys for Ben 10 through additional product licensing. Working with Pressman Toys, CNE hopes to get some really cool games and puzzles based on the incredibly popular action and adventure animated television series onto store shelves and into the homes of Ben 10 fans. A multiple-year agreement, Pressman Toys will make products related to the property that will wonderfully mesh in the plethora of toys, action figures and other uniquely designed materials based on the animated property.

It sounds like 2007 is going to be a year of Ben 10 product nirvana. As always, stay tuned to the Ty’s Toy Box Ben 10 Store for the latest and greatest offerings. Just a small word to the wise—try to check it out when the kids aren’t around, otherwise you’re going to be hearing endless whining about how they need this action figure (”But MOM! His head lights up!”) and that voice changer.

Trust me on this one.

I never realized that Cartoon Network was headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia until I was on a visit there and couldn’t stop laughing at the billboards. There are (or were, the last time I was there, anyway) a zillion different billboards featuring various characters from Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends doing, well, everything. And nothing. There are billboards of Bloo making funny faces and billboard of Wilt just standing there and—of course—one of Cheese declaring that he likes chocolate milk.

Anyway, that was my first introduction to the very large foothold Cartoon Network has in Atlanta. And starting on February 1st, Museum of Design Atlanta will be hosting the Design at Play exhibit, dedicated to showcasing “The High Design & Low-Brow Humor of Cartoon Network”:

This multi-media exhibit—featuring wide samples of print advertising and marketing materials, billboard executions, premium design, on-air spots, Websites and online games, each designed to support the network’s original animated programming—will spotlight the local talents of Cartoon Network’s renown team of designers, writers, animators, producers and graphic artists.

Spanning three full galleries at MODA, this first-time partnership also will explore the process of creating an animated television program from doodles and 3-D models to styleguides and storyboards. Futhermore, Design at Play will review the “holistic” approach to branding and promotion through multimedia platforms, explore product design and packaging for retail, and highlight creative examples of more traditional advertising.

Blah blah blah marketing blah blah blah design blah blah blah advertising. Dude, three entire galleries of Cartoon Network art! I know it’s a museum about design but three entire galleries of cartoon stuff? You don’t have to be a designer to appreciate that.

And AnimatedBliss told me what I wanted to hear:

The exhibition also will highlight the work of creative masterminds behind some of Cartoon Network’s most beloved cartoons, including animator Craig McCracken, who created the global cartoon sensation, The Powerpuff Girls, and the network’s current top original series, Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, recently featured as part of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York.

Additional original shows that will be featured include Ed, Edd n Eddy, My Gym Partner’s a Monkey, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy and Camp Lazlo.

(I think I might be a Craig McCracken groupie. And I’m not even sorry, so there.)

If you can make it to MODA on February 1st (that’s next Thursday), there’s a free opening night party happening that night from 5-9. If you can’t make it for the opening, don’t worry—the exhibit will run through May 19th. Mark your calendars and check it out if you’re in the Atlanta area.

My son had to stay home from school a couple of days this week, on account of a nasty cough and some silly rules about not sending your kid in when he has a fever. Honestly, that school is so rigid. Anyway.

Most of his days were spent laying on the couch, reciting entire television shows and the commercials.

On the second day, he felt well enough in the afternoon to ask if he could play on the computer, and I acquiesced. You see, for Christmas, both of my kids received Webkinz animals. (Not from me. From me they each got a few sticks and a couple of rocks and a Test Tube Alien. Obviously.)

If you’re as oblivious as I was until recently, and don’t know this phenomenon, Webkinz are little stuffed animals which come with a unique keycode to allow the owner to enter the online Webkinz world. Online, your Webkinz comes to life. There’s a variety of ways to earn Webkinz Cash, and with it kids can expand their pet’s house, dress them (my daughter’s elephant favors a ballerina outfit), feed them, and generally spoil them rotten.

My son, being the younger of my kids, doesn’t get a lot of play time with his Webkinz. He will allow his sister to take his turn if she so much as bats her eyelashes (or shoves him off the chair, which also happens). So I had no problem allowing him a bit of time to play unfettered, and it gave me a break from listening to him recite the entire commercial for the Bedazzler.

The problem is that, apparently, you have to make sure you put your pet to bed and log off from your visits to Webkinz world when you’re done, or you run the risk of your pet… becoming ill? Dying? I’m not sure. And my son, he accidentally just closed out of the window when I told him his time was up.

That night, it was about twenty minutes after bedtime when I heard crying coming from his room. Concerned, I rushed in to see what was wrong. Was he sick again? No, he was crying because he realized that he hadn’t logged out, and he was afraid his Webkinz was going to die and be gone forever.

I comforted him, assured him that that wouldn’t happen, and got him settled down. And then I did something that I had never pictured myself doing: I went and logged on to Webkinz to check on his dog. He was still there, thankfully, but he was pretty hungry. So I fumbled through the menus until I figured out how to buy him some beef-flavored jellybeans (a favorite of cocker spaniels, it told me) and feed him. Then I put him to bed and logged off properly.

Yeah. I can’t believe it either. I’m going soft! But it’s one thing to say “Pick up all of these Legos off the floor” and another thing to have to say “Well, I’m sorry your dog died, but I guess you should’ve fed him.”

If you’ve watched Nickelodeon for more than a minute in the last month or so, chances are you’ve seen one (or twenty; who’s counting, really) commercials for their upcoming series, The Naked Brothers Band, starring “rockstar” pre-teen brothers Nat and Alex Wolff. They had me at the tagline: “Real brothers. Real music. Not really naked.”

The original movie—which happened to win Best Family Feature Film in 2005 at the Hamptons International Film Festival—was the brainchild of one Polly Draper, who is the boys’ mother. The movie’s press page features this excerpt from Variety.com (back when the movie was released):

Polly Draper’s independent quasi-mockumentary, “The Naked Brothers Band,” spins her two young sons’ modest neighborhood rock band into a fictional chartbusting phenomenon sweeping the country. Conceived as a cross between “A Hard Day’s Night” and “Our Gang” two-reelers, pic’s sped-up whimsy, soon succumbs to the kids’ precocious charm and the potent charisma of 9-year-old leader/songwriter Nat Wolff….This bouncy, feel-good kidpic, with targeted release strategy, could rock peers and parents alike.

It’s two years later, and the Wolff boys are older but no less entertaining. Spinning out an entire series from the quirky film was a natural follow-on, and Nickelodeon is every inch the proud papa:

“The Naked Brothers Band is kid-genius at its best,” said Tom Ascheim, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Nickelodeon Television. “The entire production showcases the Wolff family’s musical and dramatic talents while delivering an amusing, behind-the-scenes glimpse at being a kid rock star. We are simply ecstatic about it!”

So what can you expect from the series, which kicks off with the original movie this coming Saturday night (January 27th), then airs as half-hour segments each Saturday thereafter?

Throughout the season, Nat, Alex and their pals will share the screen with celebrity guests including VJ Matt Pinfield and George Lopez. The former turns up in the first regular episode, “VMA’s,” on February 3, when the band is nominated for its first video music award. The kids find themselves relying on their horoscopes to determine the outcome and face the added pressure of host Pinfield’s pessimistic take on their fate.

As for the musical element of the show, series’ Executive Producer Albie Hecht says, “Nat Wolff’s soulful and catchy original songs will be a hit with kids and adults alike. We think the music and the videos will even inspire other real kids to go after their dreams, writing their own songs or shooting their own homemade-style music videos.”

From the clips I’ve seen, Naked Brothers looks to be the closest thing to a tween version of This is Spinal Tap as you can get. Which is to say: It looks absolutely hilarious, and the humor doesn’t come from kids being little adults. It’s funny because the kids are very much real kids. (And as an added bonus, the music is actually pretty good.)

So set those TiVos and get ready to add a new show to the roster of offerings you can watch with your kids without wanting to chew off your own arm to escape.

Remember when child experts whipped us all into a frenzy about how today’s kids are overscheduled and it was harming their delicate little psyches? Well, Time Magazine wants you to know that it’s actually okay; that was just a myth:

[L]ast year a team led by Joseph Mahoney of the Yale psychology department wrote a paper for the journal Social Policy Report showing that most of the scheduling is beneficial: kids’ well-being tends to improve when they participate in extracurriculars. The paper notes that only 6% of adolescents spend more than 20 hours a week in organized activities. And there’s no consistent evidence that even these enthusiasts are worse off. Instead they report better well-being and less drug use. They even eat meals with their parents more often than those who don’t participate at all.

While I find the article as a whole fascinating (and you should definitely read the whole thing, particularly if you seem to be spending a lot of time in the car, schlepping kids here and there), the curmudgeon in me wants to know what happened to moderation.

First we’re told kids are doing too much. It’s not good for them! Kids need time to be kids! And the hand-wringing commenced; Little Johnny was perhaps losing his childhood to squeezing Boy Scouts in-between basketball and clarinet lessons, but there were college applications to think about, you know, just ten years away.

Now this take in Time (which is in fact titled “The Overscheduled Child Myth” just in case it wasn’t abundantly clear how the author feels) is not content to say “it may not be that simple,” but goes so far as to say that research says extracurriculars are good, end of story.

Hey, I’m all for kids having organized activities. I do my own share of toting the kids here and there, and I definitely see the merit in a variety of extracurriculars. But I’ll say it again: Where’s the moderation? The Time article touts the benefits of kids being involved in a variety of activities, pays brief lip service to a few of the drawbacks, and then concludes that when there is talk of “needing a break” it’s really the parents wanting a break, because the kids are just fine.

Whatever. Moderation in all things, says I. (And maybe some other people.) We like to take a Saturday now and then to stay in our pajamas until noon. We like to tuck in for an at-home movie night on a regular basis, which sometimes involves foregoing another, more social, activity. Do I need the break? Of course. But I think it’s good for the kids, too.

Besides, I think part of my job as a mom is to teach my children the important things. Like that a life with no time for cartoons is not a life worth living.

Take that, Time.

[image courtesy of Dewey Does]

After careful deliberation and many complicated mathematical formulas, we have our winners in the contest to win Spider Riders books courtesy of Cookie Jar Entertainment and Special Ops Media. I wish I had prizes for every last one of you, because each comment gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling. “You like me! You really like me!” I thought, as each comment rolled in. And then I would think, “They just want free stuff!” and I would feel slightly less warm and fuzzy, but I know that deep down, you all really love me. So.

Here is how the winners were determined:

1. I counted up the number of comments. (There were 63.)
2. I snuck up behind my children while they were watching TV.
3. I pointed at my daughter. “Quick, pick a number from 1 to 63. Don’t think! Just pick one!”
4. She looked at me like I had six heads, and answered, “Ummm… 52?”
5. I then turned to my son and pointed. “You! Pick a number!
6. He was much more confident than his sister, having had an extra three seconds to prepare. “13!” he yelled.
7. I looked up commenters 13 and 52.

Congratulations to lucky commenters Paige and Amanda! You will both be receiving a trilogy of Spider Riders books, and the satisfaction of knowing that my kids apparently approve of when you decided to comment.

I haven’t seen the books, myself, but we did catch the show on the Kids’ WB this weekend and enjoyed it. After having watched a lot of Pokémon lately, I was predisposed to like this show. Because, yes, on the one hand, it’s a similar animation style, but on the other hand, Spider Riders is (to my mind, anyway) slightly less over-the-top than Pokémon. (Okay, if you must know, at the end of the second episode when the young princess declares “I am Sparkle!” I may have snorted a little. But lines like that comprise entire Pokémon episodes, so really, I can’t complain.)

Anyway, thanks to everyone who participated in the contest. We hope to have more giveaways like it in the future, so keep reading for another chance to win!

It’s big business in the United States; there’s a huge industry based on the concept of parental controls. Special codes for your television remote. Programs for your computer. Everyone claims to have the product that’s going to keep your children from seeing anything you haven’t authorized or wandering out of your (virtual) backyard online, and possibly into a predator’s grasp.

Earlier this week, famed social networking site MySpace announced its new parental notification software, Zephyr, will be available this summer:

The tool, which will alert parents of the username, age and location a child lists on personal MySpace pages known as profiles, is designed to spark conversations about Internet safety.

But it is also meant to give kids enough room to maneuver lest they flee to rival social-networking sites such as Facebook or Xanga. Unlike third-party monitoring software available for sale, the free MySpace tool won’t let parents see their kids’ password-protected profiles or any communications they have with friends.

I feel a cranky “kids today!” moment coming on, I think. Actually, I take that back. I think it’s a cranky “parents today!” moment.

Listen, my kids are still in elementary school. Maybe I just don’t understand (there are plenty of things I don’t understand, by the way), but I’m a little confused about why this is exciting. If I understand the article correctly, all this exciting new tool does is notify parents of the age listed on any profile created on their home computer:

Under MySpace’s current policies, children under 14 are banned and those 14 or 15 years old can display their full profiles — containing hobbies, schools and any other personal details — only to people already on the teen’s list of friends. Others see only the bare-bones profile, listing username, gender, age and location.

But MySpace relies on users to specify their age. With the software, parents could tell if a 14-year-old tries to get full profile access by pretending to be 18.

Call me crazy, but here’s an idea: Try talking to your kid, monitoring their online activity with your eyeballs instead of a software tool, and setting rules about what is acceptable behavior online and off.

No offense to MySpace and the creators of Zephyr is meant, by the way. Maybe I’m being naïve in thinking that tools like this would be superfluous in a world where we parents are doing our jobs. Lord knows that my eyes tend to roll back into my skull when my daughter is showing me the umpteenth outfit her Webkinz elephant is going to try on now, but I make sure I spend some time sitting with her when she plays online so that I know what she’s doing.

Maybe when my kids are teens I’ll be eating my words. Or maybe when my kids are teens they’ll be spending a lot of time grounded. Hard to know.

[Don’t let your kids run amok online. Instead, why not try to win them some books about giant spiders on an alien planet? That’s a much more wholesome activity, and I personally certify it to be 100% free of human predators.]

I have to tell you, I am not a fan of bugs. Of any kind. Oh, sure; I try to ignore or “free” spiders that I find in my house, telling the children that I like them because they eat the other, yuckier, bugs, but I’m shuddering on the inside.

So do not ask me to explain to you why it is that little spiders I can step on completely gross me out, but gigantic spiders saddled up by cartoon characters delight me so. I don’t know the answer. I can only offer Exhibit A for your consideration: Meet the Spider Riders!

(Lost world! Elite warriors! Bravely fight against evil! I was powerless against all of my favorite cartoon jargon, I tell you. And you just try telling me you didn’t find the theme song catchy.)

The Spider Riders series is having its “official” debut on the Kids’ WB this Saturday morning, January 20th, at 11:00 AM. (It has aired previously, but this is the Real Deal.) Tune in to the special one-hour block for an abundance of arachnid goodness.

Haven’t heard of Spider Riders before? Check out the press release for all the gory details, but here’s your crib sheet on the animated series:

SPIDER RIDERS follows the adventures of 11-year-old Hunter Steele who is suddenly transported into the fantastic subterranean world of Arachna, a land of eternal day where the sun is earth’s molten core and waterfalls flow towards the sky. Trapped in this world, Hunter discovers a lost civilization. Struggling to survive and locked in battle with the Invectids - giant humanoid insects determined to wipe out human life - the people of Arachna are fearlessly protected by a group of elite warriors who ride aloft 10-foot tall Battle Spiders - the SPIDER RIDERS. In the city of Arachna, Prince Lumen’s royal army defends the people - and Hunter and his spider Shadow are determined to help their cause. The stage is set for an epic battle and quest that follows Hunter, Shadow and their small team of warriors as they hone their skills to win their fight against the evil Invectids. In classic anime style, SPIDER RIDERS focuses on the everyday boy who becomes a great SPIDER RIDER warrior encountering field battles, competition - and gains friends along the way.

Also be sure to check out the award-winning Spider Riders website at www.spiderriders.com to play the Spider Riders game and find out more about the Spider Riders.

Remember how I said at the beginning that there were prizes? Thanks to Cookie Jar Entertainment and Special Ops Media, Ty’s Toy Box is excited to join in on the excitement and celebrate the very best way possible—with free stuff! Two lucky Ty’s Toy Box Blog readers will receive the Spider Rider trilogy of books from Newmarket Press just for being part of our community. All you have to do to win is leave a comment on this entry with a valid email address. (Seriously, people, would it kill you to comment when I’m not giving stuff away? Ahem.)

You have from now until 11:59 PM on Saturday, January 20th to leave a comment here for a chance to win one of the two sets of books we’ll be giving away. We will randomly select two winners via a highly scientific process and announce them on Monday.

The fine print: One entry per person, please. Kids, please have your parents enter on your behalf. Entries without a valid email address will be disqualified. Flattery and bribery will not increase your chances of winning, but that doesn’t mean you can’t try them, anyway.