Archive for the ‘Of Industry Note’ Category

Mr. President… Super-Hero?

Wednesday, January 21st, 2009

I don’t know about you, but I spent most of yesterday glued to CNN, taking in Obamarama. (Oh… is that… not the official name for it? It seems like it ought to be.) Anyway, this phenomenon of Obama’s pop-culture popularity is something to behold, regardless of what you think of the man’s politics.

And so today I thought I’d point you at a great article about super-heroes who’ve ascended to the presidency.

Though he’s already met the Savage Dragon and Spider-Man, and will be playing a role in both Youngblood and Marvel’s Thunderbolts series, Obama is no superhero president.

While he may joke about being rocketed to earth from Krypton as a child, comic book readers know that there have been times when real super-heroes have been inaugurated as President. Often times these stories are used as springboards to explore larger topics, but more often than not, are funhouse mirrors on our own world.

It’s a must-read for any comics fan, not to mention that I’d had no idea that Obama had already been inserted into several comics, already. Fun!

Thomas goes to Fisher-Price

Wednesday, January 7th, 2009

A commenter on the last post was kind enough to point me to the story about Fisher-Price entering into a global agreement with HIT Entertainment:

Under the terms of the agreement, Fisher-Price, a division of the world’s leading toy company, Mattel, Inc., will be bringing together some of Thomas & Friends’ core category rights and will begin using its world-wide distribution capability to enhance and grow the long term business for this iconic brand. The first line of products will be available in 2010 and will expand as existing licensees’ rights expire across key toy categories.

[...]

Jeff Dunn, CEO, HIT Entertainment, commented: “Aligning one of the world’s most successful and preeminent pre-school brands with the world’s largest toy company is both an exciting event and a natural evolution for HIT Entertainment. We are immensely proud of Thomas & Friends, a brand which continues healthy growth around the world and is today in 185 territories and in 45 languages around the world. We look forward to working closely with Fisher-Price in taking Thomas & Friends to the next level as we begin preparations for Thomas’ 65th Anniversary celebrations in 2010.”

In related news: How is it possible that Thomas has been around for nearly 65 years?? Time flies when you’re a talking train, apparently.

Bratz continuing through 2009

Monday, January 5th, 2009

The big news last month was everywhere: A California judge passed an injunction against MGA Entertainment, prohibiting them from making or selling Bratz items by mid-February of this year. Mattel (owner of the Barbie line) had brought suit against MGA for copyright infringement four years ago, and this had been the long-awaited outcome.

But no sooner had the dust settled than another decision was passed down, last week. Now the AP is reporting that the judge in this case has granted MGA another ten months to comply:

The judge who barred MGA Entertainment Inc. from selling or making its popular Bratz dolls agreed Tuesday to extend a deadline he set for the company to take the products off store shelves.

MGA, which was initially told to stop selling Bratz by Feb. 11, had argued in court that retailers would not order the toys unless the court could guarantee they would remain in stores through most of 2009. U.S. District Judge Stephen Larson obliged, and allowed MGA to file a motion for a later deadline by next week.

“Given the clear importance of the Bratz line to MGA’s financial health, it’s not a big leap to see that (the February deadline) would have significant economic impact on the viability of MGA,” Larson said.

I’m… confused. MGA was found guilty of copyright infringement. Mattel was awarded $100 million in damages, and an injunction was passed. But now MGA is being given extra time because the order as originally given would impact them financially?

There’s a lesson here, I’m sure of it. But I have no idea what it is.

More Iron Man, and Avengers, too

Wednesday, October 29th, 2008

Well, the early buzz about Iron Man was right on, and the movie was a box office hit. So it’s only natural that Marvel would plan to ride the tide and make a sequel, right?

But how much of the movie’s success was script, production, etc., and how much as of it was their leading man?

Turns out, Marvel’s willing to bank on Robert Downey Jr.; they’ve just inked a deal with him that cements his role as Iron man for not just one but two more movies, as well as another role:

In addition to starring in “Iron Man 2,” Downey has agreed to return as billionaire Tony Stark and his crime-fighting alter ego in “The Avengers” and a third “Iron Man” installment, guaranteeing the thesp a superhero-sized payday and his own ongoing franchise as part of a four-picture deal with the comicbook company.

Jon Favreau, who is set to helm the second “Iron Man” pic, will also exec produce “The Avengers,” which is skedded for release on July 15, 2011. Pic will unite the Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and the Incredible Hulk characters.

Oh, man. Do you suppose they’ll manage to keep The Avengers rated PG? I sure hope so. I think the kids would enjoy that. And I’ve heard enough about what a horrible mother I am about not letting them see Iron Man.

(Of course, I just realized that in 2011 I’ll have a kid who’s actually old enough for a PG-13 movie. Wow. Between that and what Downey Jr.’s speculated to earn over this 4-picture deal with Marvel, I may need to go lie down.)

A harmonious future for digital video?

Monday, September 15th, 2008

I just started using iTunes in the last year, since (finally) getting my first iPod. On a couple of occasions I’ve acquired music or video from other sources, and boy was I confused when I realized that I couldn’t actually play that media on my iPod without converting it to another format (or in some cases, at all).

Why yes, I did used to ride a dinosaur to school, too. Thanks for asking.

Of course, short of your grandparents, I’m just about the last person in this country to realize that the iTunes format is different than everyone else’s format, and even those so-called “open format” devices can occasionally be bamboozled by a different format (or even a rogue file extension). And—like most people—I mostly just want these things to work the way I want them to with minimal fuss.

All of which I bring up to explain why last week’s news is kind of a big deal:

A group of media industry companies said it is planning to build a digital world where video devices and content websites play together in perfect harmony, and consumers can safely store their digital content and access it anywhere in the world.

The consortium of Hollywood studios, retailers, service providers, and consumer electronics and information technology companies, called the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem, or DECE, is working on a “uniform digital media experience” but won’t announce details until the Consumer Electronics Show in January.

As for iTunes…?

“This is very different from the Apple ecosystem,” he said. “We encourage Apple to join the consortium. We don’t ever anticipate Apple going away or this consortium replacing it.”

I dunno. I mean, they say “consortium,” but I mostly just picture the guys from the “I’m a Mac / I’m a PC” commercial singing kumbaya together. And then I can watch it on my iPod with a single click, right? While telling the kids how back in my day you had to run it through three different converters, first, and it would crash your computer and still not work…?

Cookie Jar’s growing berry big

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

I remember thinking that “Cookie Jar” was a great name for a company dealing in kids’ entertainment. Cute, but not cloying. Evoking pleasant visions of a small treat. Perfect!

And, of course, I encountered them right here at Ty’s Toy Box, because Cookie Jar was becoming a household name on account of a little property know as The Doodlebops. Remember them? (Oh, I’m so funny.) And then, of course, they also own Caillou.

So it’s not that Cookie Jar wasn’t a real player, before now. Merely that they were… smallish. Maybe medium. But that’s all about to change. Not only is Cookie Jar merging with DIC Entertainment, now they’re acquiring some American Greetings properties as well:

[T]he children’s entertainment company will acquire AG’s evergreen properties Strawberry Shortcake, Care Bears and Sushi Pack for $195 million.

As someone close to this decision might say, that’s a berry exciting piece of news.

(Okay, I’ll stop with the Strawberry Shortcake jokes. They’re just so easy!)

The transaction establishes Cookie Jar as one of the world’s largest independent children’s entertainment and education companies with ownership and licensing rights to some of the world’s most recognizable character brands, an animation library totaling nearly 6,000 half-hours of family programming, and strong capabilities in global merchandising and licensing.

Congratulations to Cookie Jar on the merger, the acquisitions, and on generally making expanding and thriving in licensing children’s entertainment properties look good!

Penguin “goes there” with Sir Fartsalot

Monday, July 21st, 2008

Honestly, when Captain Underpants arrived on the scene, I assumed that now I’d seen it all. I’m a voracious bookworm and have been lucky enough to have kids who likewise love to read, but I understand that reluctant young readers sometimes need to be lured in, sure. I understand that young boys, in particular, can often be hooked with a bit of low-brow humor, yes.

But Sir Fartsalot??

Yes. Sir Fartsalot.

Notable not just for the name—or the fact that it’s aimed to mix medieval times with every modern boy’s favorite giggle-provoker (flatulence! so funny!)—Penguin decided to back an official webisode to drive kids towards their website.

Warning: Do not view the following if you are of weak constitution or no sense of humor.

Can I tell you a secret? I think the cartoon is hilarious. (Please don’t tell my son. It’s a struggle to keep him… ummmm… contained… as it is.)

Author Kevin Bolger clearly knows what will grab middle-school boys, and Penguin was likewise savvy in launching both the website and cartoon.

I guess you could say it’s a coup for both marketing and armpit-farting children everywhere.

Movies with smoking will discourage smoking…?

Tuesday, July 15th, 2008

Hey, remember back when we were kids and movies were divided into two categories: Those we were allowed to see (G and PG) and those we weren’t (R)? Nowadays we also have PG-13, which I think was supposed to help matters, somehow, but really just made them more complicated for most of us.

Well, some of us. Me, I have children under 13, and I have no problem telling them that they have to be this high to go on that ride. Er, 13 to see that movie. End of story. But it turns out that their friends all get to see those movies because their friends’ parents are much cooler than I am. Or something. I don’t know. I, however, maintain my position because I’m a big meanie.

I also believe in old-fashioned values like parenting my children myself, and not blaming the media for its influence on them. But I am just crazy that way.

Okay, now that you know my particular bent on these matters, perhaps you’ll understand how amusing I find the news that kid-targeted movies containing scenes of characters smoking will now also contain anti-smoking PSAs:

The six major studios will begin including antismoking public service announcements in youth-rated DVDs of films that include tobacco use.

Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros., Fox and Disney will place public service announcements on DVDs of new releases that are rated G, PG and PG-13 under an agreement reached by California health officials, studio reps and the Entertainment Industry Foundation. For the past year, Walt Disney Studios has had its own program of antismoking PSAs, but joined the agreement late Thursday to feature the state-produced spots.

I mean, this is good, I guess. It would be better if they just stopped putting gratuitous smoking into movies designed for underage audiences, I suppose, and better still if parents talked to their children about the dangers of smoking… but this is good, too.

July heat brings August… ice?

Wednesday, July 9th, 2008

Disney on Ice, that is. Obviously.

As if the Disney on Ice phenomenon wasn’t already an empire unto itself, the latest incarnation is hitting the country next month with all-new bells and whistles:

Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Fantasy takes flight this fall as Feld Entertainment’s newest ice spectacular, featuring four fun-filled classic and current Disney stories. Set to launch on a 70 city, two-year tour in August 2008, Worlds of Fantasy showcases beloved characters from Disney/Pixar’s Cars, Disney’s The Lion King and The Little Mermaid, as well as a live debut of the magical cast of new Fairies from the highly anticipated October 28th DVD and Blu-ray(TM) release of Walt Disney Pictures Tinker Bell.

In a captivating “fairy tale” segment, audiences will enter into the wondrous world of Pixie Hollow and meet the Disney Fairies from Tinker Bell. The entire ice floor will transform into springtime, as the fairies’ magical role in the mysteries of nature is finally revealed. For the tour’s first nine cities, Worlds of Fantasy performs before the movie releases in the U.S., serving as a sneak preview of the enchantment to come.

The piece details the other new features of this upcoming tour, including:

A bonus experience, complimentary with ticket purchase, the Disney Princess Pre-Show will tour nationally for the first time in Feld Entertainment history. Prior to each Worlds of Fantasy performance, families will be treated to an exclusive collection of enchanting ball gowns and mementos from the Disney Princess stories. The exhibit features beautiful settings for photo opportunities.

Do you have a little girl who’s a Disney Princess fan? I think this Pre-Show may well blow her little mind. Just sayin’.

You can learn more, check the schedule, and purchase tickets through the official Disney site. Hey, consider it a simple way to cool off in the summer heat, thinking about your favorite characters on ice. Heh.

Big news for Ty’s and Nickelodeon

Thursday, June 19th, 2008

Have you heard the big news?

TTB Marketplace LLC, a premier online brand development and performance resource for licensed character products, today announced its debut agreement with Nickelodeon, the most-watched television network by kids in the United States, to offer a full array of apparel and sportswear options featuring the complete lineup of Nickelodeon characters. TTB Marketplace will be able to offer officially licensed Nickelodeon apparel, showcasing all of Nickelodeon’s characters, from the widely popular to those supporting characters that are rarely seen in merchandise lines.

In addition to offering a wider variety of characters than the mainstream retail stores make available, TTB Marketplace e-tail partners TysToyBox.com and AllAboardToys.com will be able to offer personalization options for consumers seeking Nickelodeon apparel via their online stores. The multi-year agreement between TTB Marketplace and Nickelodeon covers apparel and sportswear licenses only, extending across all of Nickelodeon’s current brands including: Blue’s Clues; Dora the Explorer; Go!, Diego, Go; Avatar the Last Airbender; The Backyardigans; SpongeBob SquarePants; The Wonderpets!; and Ni-hao, Kai Lan.

Allow me to translate that for you, just in case you’re confused, or in case you just didn’t feel like reading all of that: Nickelodeon likes us best.

See? Now you know it all!

Okay, well, there may be just a little more to it than that; the bottom line for Ty’s customers is that you’ll soon be able to find not only all of your favorite Nick characters, but you’ll be able to buy your kid a shirt sports his favorite character and his name.

And we think that’s pretty cool.

Stay tuned—the new products will start rolling out next month, right here at Ty’s. We promise to only gloat a little.