Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego? Securing new product deals thanks to WildBrain CPLG!
WildBrain is further expanding across consumer categories with HarperCollins Productions’ Carmen Sandiego franchise. Carmen Sandiego is teaming up with Tonies, The Loyal Subjects, Best Damn Race, and Hunnideux for a full portfolio of new North American products.
The Carmen Sandiego Tonies figure features an audio story of Carmen’s adventures. | Source: Tonies
The new Carmen Sandiego Tonies figure includes an audio story featuring Carmen traveling the globe on a series of mysterious missions. The story aims to teach kids about geography, culture, and history. The Loyal Subjects also has plans for a line of Carmen Sandiego fashion dolls and collectible figures to launch next year.
With her signature red trench coat and exciting global adventures, Carmen Sandiego remains an instantly recognizable character who proves to be very popular with licensees keen to build on the success of the Netflix series and licensing potential of this smart, standout show.
Jasen Wright, Vice President North America at WildBrain CPLG
Beyond toys and collectibles, Best Damn Race plans to release a Carmen Sandiego virtual race in Q4 2024. Finally, cosmetics company Hunnideux is designing a new Carmen Sandiego eye shadow palette that will launch in late summer.
WildBrain is the global distributor for the Carmen Sandiego animated series. The series is produced by WildBrain, as well as Netflix and HarperCollins Productions. WildBrain will additionally represent the upcoming live-action movie in development at Netflix.
HarperCollins Productions is eager to see the brand’s continued expansion, aiming to appeal to adults and young fans. Caroline Fraser, Head of HarperCollins Productions, says the new products will give “parents who grew up with this beloved character and world new ways to share them with their kids.”
Paramount Consumer Products has a full lineup of licensing partners for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) as well as the new Paramount Pictures film IF.
TMNT Celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. Toys and collectibles partners for the brand include Playmates, CultureFly, Funko, Hasbro, Iron Studios, Mattel, Mezco, PCS Collectibles, Super 7, Tomy, and Zen Monkey.
After 40 years, the core tenets of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles remain unchanged. Our anniversary partnerships celebrate the love for this franchise spanning four strong decades of dedicated and passionate fans.
Jose Castro, Executive Vice President, Consumer Products and Experiences, Paramount
Beyond the world of toys, TMNT is also collaborating with companies specialized in footwear, publishing, food, and more. Partners include Adidas, Insight Editions, Pop Culture Coffee, and others.
Paramount Pictures’ new movieIF was released in theaters on May 17. The film, by director John Krasinski, follows a young girl who makes it her mission to help imaginary friends avoid being forgotten.
IF was released in theaters earlier this month. | Source: Paramount Pictures
Key partners for the movie brand include Build-A-Bear for exclusive merchandise and outfits, as well as Jazwares for plush characters from the film. Other licensing partners for IF include Trends International for posters; Hybrid for apparel; Centric Brand for sleepwear; Smile Makers for stickers; and more.
Paramount Consumer Products is continuing to secure new deals for its many brands. Its portfolio includes content from Paramount+, CBS, cable networks such as Nickelodeon, and Paramount Pictures.
McFarlane Toys will release a full collection of posed figures featuring Marvel characters.
McFarlane Toys already has a large portfolio of figures across various franchises, including DC, Demon Slayer, Game of Thrones, and more. The newest addition to its offerings will be a series of 1:6 and 1:10 scale figures inspired by characters from Marvel Comics.
The new figures are inspired by iconic art from Marvel Comics. | Source: Marvel
The first wave will include figures based on art from McFarlane Toys CEO and Founder Todd McFarlane’s time at Marvel Comics. One figure will re-create McFarlane’s Captain America pose from The Amazing Spider-Man No. 323 as well as a Spider-Man figure, both in 1:6 scale. The figures come with a comic reprint and diorama backdrop.
For literally decades, thousands of Marvel fans and fans of my McFarlane Toys have deluged me with requests of wanting to see a Marvel and McFarlane Toys collaboration.
Todd McFarlane, CEO and Founder, McFarlane Toys
The 1:10 scale figures celebrate iconic Marvel artists such as McFarlane, Jim Lee, Steve Ditko, John Romita Jr., and Rob Liefeld. Characters in the collection include Spider-Man, Wolverine, Iron Man, and Deadpool. The 1:10 scale posed figures will be set within an environmental base with a diorama backdrop.
The new collection is set to release this summer, with new details on the way as the date gets closer. Keep an eye on McFarlane Toys’ official website for more updates.
Spielwarenmesse will run from Jan. 28-Feb. 1, and with it comes the Game Inventors Convention.
The Game Inventors Convention will have its third iteration on Friday, Jan. 31, during the Spielwarenmesse trade show. The convention welcomes tabletop game designers of all levels into the exhibition center to network, gain insight into design practices, and more. Registration to secure one of the game tables is now open.
The convention welcomes designers from across the globe. | Source: Spielwarenmesse eG
The convention will run from 9 a.m.-6 p.m., with prototypes and other concepts presented throughout the day. The GamingHour networking party closes out the day from 6-10 p.m. This year’s Game Inventors Convention hosted 145 participants from 18 countries, and Spielwarenmesse eG expects to see similar numbers this year.
“The fact that some 90% plan to be there again next year highlights the event’s relevance,” says Christian Ulrich, Spokesperson of the Executive Board at Spielwarenmesse eG. “We are looking forward to a large number of new game ideas.”
Spielwarenmesse eG offers several packages to potential participants, including a Participation Package with access to the trade fair, a presentation table, a listing on the Spielwarenmesse website, and more. The convention will take place on Jan. 31 in Nuremberg, Germany.
Registration for the Game Inventors Convention next year is open now on the official webpage.
The 2,500-piece kidult set has two buildable options inspired by the Great Deku Tree as seen in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The set also features iconic imagery from both games.
With the Breath of the Wild version, the Great Deku Tree is covered in pink blossoms, expressive eyebrows and mouth, the Master Sword pedestal, and more. In the Ocarina of Time version, the set features lush green foliage, Link’s House, and more. The Great Deku Tree’s mouth even opens to reveal a Skulltula.
LEGO The Legend of Zelda Great Deku Tree Breath of the Wild | Source: The LEGO Group
LEGO The Legend of Zelda Great Deku Tree Ocarina of Time | Source: The LEGO Group
The set comes with four minifigures, including Princess Zelda and Link. The set also includes buildable characters and creatures including Hestu the Korok, Deku Babas, Navi the Fairy, the Deku Sprout, and more.
“The Deku Tree was the first element from The Legend of Zelda we wanted to represent using LEGO bricks,” says Eiji Aonuma, Producer of The Legend of Zelda series at Nintendo Co. “This set allows you to build two different versions of the Deku Tree from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild with unique features that are a great fit for the nature of the series.”
The Great Deku Tree set comes with four minifigures. | Source: The LEGO Group
The Great Deku Tree set comes with four minifigures. | Source: The LEGO Group
The Great Deku Tree set comes with four minifigures. | Source: The LEGO Group
“Our fans have been asking for a LEGO set based on The Legend of Zelda series for a while so we were delighted to work with Nintendo to create the Great Deku Tree in brick form,” says Wes Talbott, LEGO designer. “As a fan of the franchise, it was great to work on this set and fill it with details and references from the games. I’m also glad we managed to offer the choice to build one of two versions to appeal to many Zelda fans.”
Spin Master will distribute Punirunes, a squishy digital pet that was introduced in 2021 by Japanese toy company Takara Tomy.
Since its debut, there have been more than 700,000 pieces shipped across Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. Spin Master will expand the distribution to additional global markets.
Punirunes pets feature tactile, squishy play in addition to digital play, with 55 characters to collect and rare characters in each pod. On the outside of the toy, a full-color, backlit LCD screen displays the pet.
Users can enter the world by placing their finger inside the hole to interact with the squishy dome and watch as the characters on the screen react. The finger is also displayed on the screen, mirroring the actions as if users are actually touching the character.
“At Spin Master, we’ve often been said to have our finger on the pulse of play and in this case it’s literal,” says Doug Wadleigh, Spin Master’s President of Toys. “Punirunes is not your average toy, it adds an irresistible tactile element and physical connection to the digital pet in a fun and quirky way. With proven international success and the surge in popularity for anime-inspired toys we think Punirunes will be a hit with kids and kidults around the world.”
The Punirunes digital pet has a suggested retail price of $39.99 in the U.S. and $49.99 in Canada and will become available in August at all major retailers.
For The Toy Book‘s 2024 Licensing & Entertainment Issue, we caught up with six executives to talk toys, trends, and strategy ahead of this year’s recently wrapped Licensing Expo at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Now, we’re sharing extended editions of each Q&A here at ToyBook.com as part of our ongoing State of the Industry series.
In this installment, Russell Binder, President and Founding Partner of Striker Entertainment, talks brand-building, licensing, and entertainment.
The Toy Book: You’ve become a go-to for developing new IP into global brands. What does Striker look for in a new property?
Russell Binder: Access. Audience. Advocacy.
Access – How available is the property and how scalable is it (is it platform-specific, or platform agnostic?); Audience – Who is the core audience, the demo and psychographics, and how does IP and fandom play into their spending habits?; and Advocacy – early stage IPs in growth mode generally have very vocal audiences and fans that amplify the message.
The more powerful that collection of voices, the more Striker gravitates towards that energy. Fundamentally, we want to be passionate about the IP, we want to believe that it has the core attributes that lends itself to a wide range of products (including media), and we want to make sure that there is ideally a longer-term vision from the rights holder(s) so that our efforts aren’t truncated due to lack of additional content.
TB: Five Nights at Freddy’s (FNAF) continues to grow, and with a sequel to the film planned for next year, what can you tell us about the licensing program for the property looking ahead?
RB: I am confident in the pace at which the program is growing and with the partnerships we have in place. Our client [Scott Cawthon] has never been in a hurry and has always made creative and content decisions based on what he believes will be most respectful to the fans and on what will bring them closer to the property to enhance their enjoyment of it. We are not trying to win the “Largest Licensee List” award, rather, we are striving for the “Partnerships with Profound Passion for the Brand and the Fans” award.
We are looking forward to celebrating 10 Years of FNAF this August, introducing new games and experiences over the next 12 -18 months, expanding the international reach of the franchise, and ramping up towards what we anticipate will be an incredibly strong back half of 2025.
The brand is at a place where there is still a tremendous amount of room to add new fans but where we collectively ensure that the “Day One” fans are honored, excited, and nurtured.
TB: What are the immediate challenges facing the licensing business right now?
RB: There are a few general notes that are worthy of mentioning, with a recognition that my answers are influenced heavily by the entertainment and gaming sectors. The first is a growing abundance of IP with shorter windows to capitalize on it (that plays true more to film and TV than to games that, with LiveOps, allows for a more sustained engagement with the IP). This means that IP churn is happening at an unprecedented rate and that traditional buying and manufacturing timeliness aren’t able to capitalize on unanticipated “moments” that capture the pop cultural zeitgeist.
Another challenge is that rights holders cannot simply stand on one delivery mechanism for their content. In order to have any kind of impact or scale, owners are going to have to employ a transmedia model and meet audiences where they are. That’s tough if you are a smaller company that doesn’t own your own entertainment, digital, and experiential ecosystem.
RB: This one is EASY to answer: To network with new names, faces, and companies that we haven’t had the luxury of working with while simultaneously fortifying and fostering the existing relationships that are the engine of our business and honestly what makes a career in this business most gratifying, at least to me.
A version of this feature was originally published in The Toy Book’s 2024 Licensing & Entertainment Issue. Click here to read the full issue! Want to receive The Toy Book in print? Click here for subscription options!
For The Toy Book‘s 2024 Licensing & Entertainment Issue, we caught up with six executives to talk toys, trends, and strategy ahead of this year’s recently wrapped Licensing Expo at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Now, we’re sharing extended editions of each Q&A here at ToyBook.com as part of our ongoing State of the Industry series.
The Toy Book: How has the business changed over the past year, and what trends and opportunities do you see ahead?
Anita Castellar: In the past year, I have noticed an increase in the number of new, diverse brands being introduced into the marketplace, which is great! The challenge that persists is finding licensees who are willing to take the license and retailers who are willing to give precious shelf space to a new brand. Brands that feature diverse population and storytelling are often seen as “risky” or “niche” and so they are often passed over. I’m hopeful that this trend will continue to shift within the industry, and we will see more examples of innovative stories come to life at retail. Economic factors being what they are, it might take a while to see significant growth in this area since toy manufacturers and retailers will continue to manage risk while trying to still launch new products and brands in an uncertain economy.
Recent ODB releases from Super7 include a Wave 3 ReAction Figure and a limited edition T-shirt. | Source: Super7
TB: Music continues to be a growing focus in licensing that’s crossing over into toys and collectibles. What can you share about bringing ODB into the mix?
AC: It was not easy extending ODB’s legacy into collectibles, but we have found our groove.
In 2020, we released our first ODB ReAction figure with Super7. Since then, licensing collectible figures for musicians has really taken off, but when we started licensing ODB in 2019, there were very few musicians licensed in the action figures and collectibles categories and even fewer hip-hop artists. The biggest challenge was finding a licensee who could not only appreciate ODB’s unique personality but who could also properly interpret this larger-than-life icon into a collectible figure that maintained the authenticity the fans would love.
We found the perfect match in Super7. Brian Flynn had been leading the way in collectible figures for punk and metal musicians for years, so I reached out to him for ODB licensing. In the past four years, Super7 has released over 30,000 figures and counting!
TB: When you hear “Brands at Play,” what do you think are some of the biggest opportunities for traditional consumer products brands to make the jump into toys and collectibles?
AC: When we play, we experience several things — a sense of nostalgia, social connection with others, or even a sharpening of the mind or physical skills. Imagine a VR game where State Farm Insurance had their spokesperson, Jake from State Farm, help teach proper driving techniques to new drivers using real Google Maps? That could be hysterical as well as practical. Move over Crazy Taxi and Gran Turismo!
FanGirl Consulting & Brand Management worked with C-Life and Bioworld to develop apparel for its manga publishing client, Saturday AM. | Source: FanGirl Consulting & Brand Management
TB: What is your biggest focus this year?
AC: I’m focused on licensing opportunities in toys and collectibles for our manga publishing brand, Saturday AM; connecting with Licensors on behalf of Boss Fight Studio and Resurrection Games; and expanding ODB’s licensing program to international territories.
A version of this feature was originally published in The Toy Book’s 2024 Licensing & Entertainment Issue. Click here to read the full issue! Want to receive The Toy Book in print? Click here for subscription options!
For The Toy Book‘s 2024 Licensing & Entertainment Issue, we caught up with six executives to talk toys, trends, and strategy ahead of this year’s recently wrapped Licensing Expo at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Now, we’re sharing extended editions of each Q&A here at ToyBook.com as part of our ongoing State of the Industry series.
In this installment, Helena Perheentupa, Chief Operating Officer at Wyncor, talks licensing and launching a new company.
Magic ReClay | Source: Wyncor
The Toy Book: How has licensing shaped the launch of Wyncor?
Helena Perheentupa: As a new company, collaborating with well-known and highly successful brands was an important strategy for us during our launch phase. Retail buyers are always on the lookout for fresh and exciting products, and we received a lot of interest in what we had to offer, from the collectible Miraball, featuring three “little and legendary” surprises, to Magic ReClay, the first toy compound that transforms from solid to moldable and back again at a water temperature that’s safe for playtime. Securing the trust of industry giants like Paramount and Hasbro was a big vote of confidence.
Launching products with a variety of brands also helped us stand out in stores. Big brands usually get special sections, so featuring everything from Peppa Pig and Transformers to Miraculous, Emoji, and Monopoly helped us appeal to different kinds of customers, from little kids to grown-ups. Each brand has its own space, making our products easy to find.
TB: When you hear “Brands at Play,” what do you think are some of the biggest opportunities for traditional consumer products brands to make the jump into toys and collectibles?
HP: Almost any consumer products brand can make a jump into the toys and collectibles space, as long as there is an authentic connection between the two. It’s crucial for there to be a genuine link for it to really connect with people. Choosing licensees carefully is important to ensure that both brands have similar values, and creating a complimentary product line is key to ensuring that the products are unique to avoid dilution. I also recommend that brands keep that “treasure hunt” vibe alive and avoid flooding the market with too broad a range.
TB: What is your biggest focus this year?
HP: When Wyncor launched, we started with a heavily licensed portfolio. Having earned the trust of our retail partners, we now want to educate potential collaborators about our capabilities and methodology to bring innovative and disruptive products to market — products that really deliver on price point sensitives.
In addition to expanding our core line, we are set to launch three new products in 2025 — a mix that includes both internally developed and patented items — leveraging consumer trends combined with a distinct Wyncor flair. We look forward to sharing details on these new innovations while seeking like-minded partners who share our mission: to be fast, flexible, and fearless.
We’re also actively pursuing unconventional licenses to venture into kidult products.
A version of this feature was originally published in The Toy Book’s 2024 Licensing & Entertainment Issue. Click here to read the full issue! Want to receive The Toy Book in print? Click here for subscription options!
For The Toy Book‘s 2024 Licensing & Entertainment Issue, we caught up with six executives to talk toys, trends, and strategy ahead of this year’s recently wrapped Licensing Expo at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Now, we’re sharing extended editions of each Q&A here at ToyBook.com as part of our ongoing State of the Industry series.
In this installment, Anthony Marks, Managing Director of Fanattik, discusses licensing and entertainment brands.
Source: Fanattik
The Toy Book: How has Fanattik’s licensing strategy evolved in the past year?
Anthony Marks: We decided to take things to the next level with our existing licensing partners rather than take on additional partners. At the back end of 2023, our Hasbro, Paramount, and Universal Studios licenses were all up for renewal, and we renewed them but added additional IP to each agreement. For example, with Universal we already licensed Jurassic Park, Jaws, Back to the Future, etc., but we’ve added franchises like Fast & Furious and Shrek. Since the relationships are already there with these partners, their approvals teams understand the unique nature of our products. It’s a lot easier than starting from scratch with a new team.
TB: What are some of the key properties that you’re looking forward to working with in the months ahead?
AM: 2024 is all about anniversaries: Godzilla (70), Dungeons & Dragons (5), Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (40), SpongeBob (25), and Five Nights at Freddy’s (10). We are a licensee for all of them, so getting these anniversary ranges produced and out to the retailers is what I am looking forward to most this year.
TB: When you hear “Brands at Play,” what do you think are some of the biggest opportunities for traditional consumer products brands to make the jump into toys and collectibles?
AM: Toys are a no-brainer, roleplay has always been a big sector so I can see home/kitchen brands continuing with this but when it comes to the world of collectibles where we live, I am not so sure, it could be a bridge too far. The exception I suppose would be a brand such as Kellogg’s, with a lot of heritage they could lean into. There are already a lot of adult collectors out there for the retro packaging, so that would be nice to see.
TB: Since your focus is on retailers vs. new licensing deals, what is your approach at Licensing Expo?
AM: My Creative Director and I focus on the side meetings we have planned outside of the hall as we have just as many meetings in hotel bars and the food court as we do on actual stands. Being based in the UK we attend Brand Licensing Europe in London but the Las Vegas show is great for cementing relationships with U.S. retailers.
A version of this feature was originally published in The Toy Book’s 2024 Licensing & Entertainment Issue. Click here to read the full issue! Want to receive The Toy Book in print? Click here for subscription options!
