Disney Princess Ultimate Celebration | Source: Disney

A royal shakeup in the toys and licensing industry has entered a new chapter.

After losing the rights to produce Disney Princess and Frozen dolls to Hasbro in 2014, Mattel has regained the license.

Beginning in 2023, Mattel will release a full range of fashion dolls, small dolls, and figures inspired by Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Brave, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, Mulan, Pocahontas, The Princess and the Frog, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Tangled, Disney Frozen, the upcoming Moana and Tiana Disney+ series, and the live-action versions of Aladdin, Beauty & the Beast, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, and Mulan.

“We are incredibly proud to welcome back the Disney Princess and Frozen lines to Mattel,” says Mattel President and Chief Operating Officer Richard Dickson. “As the worldwide leader in dolls, we look forward to bringing our unique Mattel Playbook approach to brand management, product and marketing expertise, and unrelenting attention to detail and quality to create innovative and inspiring lines for these iconic stories and characters.”

Related: Mattel, WWE Extend Licensing Tag Team Partnership

In 2014, industry rumblings pegged Mattel’s internal focus on its Monster High and Ever After High brands as the reasoning behind Disney’s decision to award the license to the company’s East Coast rival. Under the terms of the agreement, Hasbro began producing Disney Princess and Frozen toys beginning in 2016.

Mattel’s relationship with Disney dates back to the 1950s and has continued in recent years through extensive licensing collaborations across multiple brands and categories.

About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book, a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more. James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more. Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.

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