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With a new TV series and a major motion picture, coming 2014, Nickelodeon is reinventing the wildly popular and iconic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters. Bravo Sports Corp. is releasing a new line of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles skateboards, to be sold at Toys “R” Us beginning in late January.
The line will include the 21-inch Cruiser Shape and the 28-inch Skateboard.
For more information, visit www.bravosportscorp.com/.
As part of the Chicago Toy & Game Week, industry leaders from 18 countries gathered at the Chicago Field Museum of Natural History for the 5th Annual Toy and Game Inventors Awards, known as “The TAGIEs,” to honor the creators of some of the world’s best known playthings.
Nearly 400 industry movers-and-shakers gathered for the event, at which famed inventor Bruce Lund gave a keynote address after being introduced by a full-sized marching band. Kevin Harrington, chairman of As Seen On TV, Inc., and “Shark Investor” on the show Shark Tank was also in attendance to present the Young Inventor of the Year Award. [Read more...]
On December 14, Nickelodeon will premiere a brand new primetime holiday special. A re-imagining of Beatrix Potter children’s book, Peter Rabbit’s Christmas Tale, will be told with humor. Peter Rabbit is produced in conjunction with Silvergate Media and animated by Brown Bag Films. [Read more...]
Parents seeking a birthday adventure for their children soon will be able to grab their backpacks and head to The Little Gym. Nickelodeon and The Little Gym International have announced a partnership that will bring Dora the Explorer-themed birthday parties to the more than 210 The Little Gym locations in the United States.
The Little Gym, the leading experiential learning and child physical development center for ages four months through 12 years, will become the exclusive host of Dora the Explorer-themed birthday parties during its 2012-2013 season. The company has worked with Nickelodeon to create a special birthday party curriculum that includes a storyline and music from the Emmy award-winning animated preschool series. The Little Gym’s trained instructors will lead children through a Dora adventure featuring encounters with Backpack, Map, and other characters from Dora’s world.
The Little Gym expects to also add Go, Diego, Go!-themed parties later in the 2012-2013 season.
To locate the nearest The Little Gym location, please visit www.thelittlegym.com.
The Lego Group and Nickelodeon are expanding their global partnership to develop construction toys inspired by the recently launched CG-animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles television series. The collection is slated to launch in North America and the UK in January and will roll out in global markets later in the year. The companies have a long-standing relationship and first partnered together in 2006 to create Lego SpongeBob Squarepants. Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles premiered on Sept. 29, drawing almost 12 million viewers during its premiere weekend.
One playset and select minifigures from the forthcoming line were unveiled at the Lego booth at New York Comic-Con at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center from October 11 to 14.
D3Publisher (D3P) and Nickelodeon have partnered for two new video games, Victorious: Taking the Lead for Nintendo DS and Wii, and Winx Club: Magical Fairy Party for Nintendo DS. Both games will release this holiday season and give kids the chance to be the star in a school play or throw magical fairy parties with their favorite television characters.
Victorious: Taking the Lead
Victorious: Taking the Lead, based on the hit Nickelodeon television series, is an adventure and exploration game where fans can be Tori Vega and star in a Hollywood Arts production. Tori really wants the lead role in the upcoming school play and fans can help her get the part by successfully playing through a variety of fun mini-games that are tied to the show. Fans will receive an inside look into the Victorious world where they can fully interact with cast members like Jade and Beck and visit their favorite show locations. The Wii version (rated “E10+”) was developed by High Voltage Software, and the Nintendo DS version (rated “E10+”) was created by 1st Playable Productions.
Winx Club: Magical Fairy Party
Girls will embrace the magic within and discover their inner fairy in Winx Club: Magical Fairy Party, through the enchanting story and exciting mini-games filled with fairies, fashion, friendship, and pets that fans love. Fans can star in the game as their own fairy, interact with their favorite show characters and enroll in the enchanting Alfea School. They will form new friendships, perform spells, and plan unforgettable events that include a wondrous ball! The game is based on a brand new Winx Club modern fantasy adventure television series that will take the fairies of Alfea School on magical experiences and showcase a new art style with CGI episodes releasing this fall. Developed by 1st Playable Productions, Inc., this game is rated “E” and releases on October 30.
For more information about D3Publisher and these titles, visit www.d3publisher.us.
Jazwares has partnered with Nickelodeon to create Nicktoons-themed figures and plush. The line will feature Rugrats, Jimmy Neutron, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, Ren & Stimpy, Fairly Odd Parents, CatDog, Hey Arnold!, Danny Phantom, Rocket Power, Rocko’s Modern Life, and Tuff Puppy products.
Jazwares’ Nicktoons line will include 2-inch six-pack and four-pack figure sets, as well as 2-inch and 6-inch figures, and 7-inch plush toys. The line will be available this fall.
This post was originally written by Loren Moreno and published by ToyBook.com. For more news, visit www.toybook.com, follow The Toy Book on Twitter, and like The Toy Book on Facebook. The Toy Book is a bimonthly trade magazine covering the toy industry, published by Adventure Publishing Group.
HIT Entertainment has tapped AB Studio Licensing to license a nine-month Angelina Ballerina Dance Academy curriculum to dance studios across the U.S. and Canada. The Angelina Ballerina Dance Academy will commence this fall.
The 34-week program is inspired by the CG-animated series airing on PBS and Sprout, Angelina Ballerina The Next Steps, and it will focus on one story book per month. Targeted at children ages 3 to 6 years old, the program teaches beginner ballet at two levels. The Angelina Ballerina Dance Academy curriculum was developed by dance education specialist Beverly Spell, master teacher and author of the Leap ‘N Learn program. Angelina Ballerina’s voice will guide aspiring dancers through their movement lessons, and the program incorporates music from Angelina Ballerina The Next Steps, and custom music developed by Spell and composer Scott Killian. Participating studios will also have access to Angelina Ballerina posters and signage, costume items such as tutus and mouse ears, and placement mats.
To date, more than 100 studios across North America have applied to become Angelina Ballerina Dance Academy partner studios. The program already exists in the UK and Ireland, as well as Australia and New Zealand. Angelina Ballerina Dance Academy partner studios will also be listed in the national directory of official studio partners linked from the Angelina Ballerina website.
To learn more about the program or to find participating studios, visit www.angelinadanceclass.com.
This post was originally written by Ali Mierzejewski and published by ToyBook.com. For more news, visit www.toybook.com, follow The Toy Book on Twitter, and like The Toy Book on Facebook. The Toy Book is a bimonthly trade magazine covering the toy industry, published by Adventure Publishing Group.
VTech Electronics North America, LLC, is bringing bigger roars to the toy vehicle aisle as Attila the Ankylosaurus, Span the Spinosaurus, and Brok the Brachiosaurus join the other Switch & Go Dinos on shelves. All seven durable and collectable Switch & Go Dinos are now available both online and in store at all major retailers. In conjunction with the full launch of the toys, VTech is unveiling the “Show & Tell with Switch & Go” video contest, which encourages children to use their imaginations to discover the ultimate dinosaur and car combination toy.
Designed for ages 3 to 9, VTech’s Switch & Go Dinos provide a unique 2-in-1 play experience, as all seven toys easily transform back and forth between dinosaur and vehicle in a few simple steps. Each Switch & Go Dino comes equipped with a customizable LCD screen allowing kids to personalize their play experience by choosing dinosaur eyes when in dinosaur mode and driver faces when in vehicle mode. More than 50 dinosaur and vehicle sound effects and educational dinosaur facts bring the toys to life, offering kids a personalized, immersive, and enriching play experience.
VTech Electronics North America, LLC, is partnering with Nickelodeon to bring a number of animated series to the InnoTab 2. Beginning late August, episodes of Nickelodeon’s hit animated series including Dora the Explorer, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Bubble Guppies, will be available for download from VTech’s Learning Lodge Navigator.
The InnoTab 2 learning tablet gives kids ages 3 to 9 their own 5-inch touch-screen tablet with free onboard activities to get them started, and a new rotatable digital camera and video recorder. This sleek and durable toy also comes equipped with a tilt sensor, photo viewer, video player, MP3 music player, e-reader, art studio, microphone and more. The InnoTab 2 also features 2GB of onboard memory and an expandable SD card slot for up to 32GB more storage capacity.
Nickelodeon videos will be sold in bundles of three episodes and individually. Starting in October, the videos will also be available for download on VTech’s original InnoTab. The InnoTab 2 hits store shelves in mid-August.
This post was originally written by Sierra McCleary-Harris and published by ToyBook.com. For more news, visit www.toybook.com, follow The Toy Book on Twitter, and like The Toy Book on Facebook. The Toy Book is a bimonthly trade magazine covering the toy industry, published by Adventure Publishing Group.
