summer movies

COMMENTARY: This Summer’s Cinema Gets Cuddly

June 19, 2013 By Ali Mierzejewski

With the release of The Smurfs 2, Despicable Me 2, and Monsters University this summer, the movie theater will be a great destination for rainy days – and those days that are just too hot. With summer blockbusters come, of course, summer toys based on these movies to bring the movie worlds to life for fans. When it comes down to it, some of the best toys from these franchises are the simplest: plush toys. Plush toys allow kids to bring home new friends in cuddly, soft versions of their favorite characters. Bring the movie characters to life with these great plush products from your favorite summer movie:

Jakks Pacific will introduce a line of 11-inch plush based on the characters from The Smurfs 2. With 12 characters to collect, kids can bring home their favorite friends from Smurfette to Grouchy to Papa Smurf. These Smurf plush toys aren’t just for fans of the new movie, but also for Smurf fans of all ages. [Read more...]

Filed Under: 0-2, 3-5, 5-8, 6-8, 8 and up, 9 and up, Commentary, Licenses Tagged With: Despicable Me 2, JAKKS Pacific, Monsters University, plush, Spin Master, summer movies, The Smurfs 2, Thinkway Toys

New Products

FremantleMedia Signs Master Toy Deal with Jazwares for Tree Fu Tom

January 21, 2015 By Phil Guie Leave a Comment

Jazwares has signed the master toy rights for FremantleMedia Kids & Family Entertainment’s pre-school series, Tree Fu Tom. Under the terms of the deal, Jazwares will take on the role of global manufacturer and distribute a new range of toys in the UK, Asia, North America, and Latin America. A variety of distributors will manage [...]

Kids Can Be Spy Mission Heroes with Chrono Bomb from Patch Products

January 19, 2015 By Magdalene Michalik Leave a Comment

Patch Products is bringing France’s popular Chrono Bomb game to the U.S. The game is a secret spy mission, where kids use included clamps and a string to create a pretend laser field to crawl through. Kids must make it to the end of the maze to defuse the bomb, which will tick down faster [...]

Madame Alexander and NASCAR Join Forces for New Dolls

January 16, 2015 By Phil Guie Leave a Comment

The Madame Alexander Doll Company has entered a partnership with NASCAR Team Properties to design and develop new NASCAR play doll collections, including dolls featuring superstar Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

New Nintendo 3DS XL Gets a U.S. Release Date

January 14, 2015 By Phil Guie Leave a Comment

The New Nintendo 3DS XL system will launch in the U.S. on February 13, according to a Nintendo Direct presentation today. The upcoming system features a wider range of controls with the addition of a C Stick and ZL/ZR buttons, super-stable 3-D via face-tracking technology, and built-in NFC functionality that allows for communication with amiibo [...]

Release Date Announced for Fully Illustrated, Hardcover Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

January 13, 2015 By Phil Guie Leave a Comment

This October, Scholastic will publish a new, fully illustrated hardcover edition of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, marking the first time a fully illustrated Harry Potter book has been published. Published globally on October 6, the deluxe hardcover edition will be full color throughout, and will include an elegant ribbon marker and [...]