The Toy of the Film, Or the Film of the Toy?

The Toy of the Film, Or the Film of the Toy?

LONDON, November 29/PRNewswire/ --

- How Movies and TV Shows Have Come to Dominate the Toy Market - by
Richard Bewley of www.thetoyshop.com

It's impossible to ignore how today's toy market has come to be ruled by
films and television programmes. You only need to look at a site like
thetoyshop.com to see how TV and cinema have infiltrated the world of toys.
From action figures to bicycles, soft toys to dressing-up clothes, the vast
majority of kids' toys and games these days are tied in with the likes of
Darth Vader, Jack Sparrow, or Dora the Explorer. And if existing toy ranges
want to compete, there's only one thing for it - make their own movie!
Transformers, Bratz and Masters of the Universe are all lines of toys that
have received the movie-star treatment, with more to come. But when did this
relationship between toys and films begin, and how did it get so big?

A brief history of movie merchandising

The first notable production of a toy based on a film is still popular,
and instantly recognisable around the world, today. In 1928, Walt Disney
created the character of Mickey Mouse, who was an instant hit on the silver
screen. Two years later, the first stuffed Mickey Mouse dolls were on sale,
beginning a successful tie-in that has lasted almost eighty years. From Snow
White onwards, successful toy ranges were produced to accompany Disney's
feature films. Other popular cartoon producers followed suit, licensing toys
and other merchandise to cash in on the popularity of their characters.

In 1952, Mr Potato Head became the first toy to be advertised on
television, netting over four million dollars in his first year on the
market. Mr Potato Head would later experience a revival after his appearances
in Disney's Toy Story movies, which rejuvenated sales for several classic toy
ranges. These days, Mr Potato Head continues to follow movie trends, and can
be purchased with Darth Vader and Spiderman outfits, amongst others.

In the 1960s, a line of dolls were manufactured, based on US TV show The
Lieutenant. Called GI Joe, this range of figures were instantly successful in
the US, and are still popular to this day. Other television and film series,
including Batman and James Bond, had great success with merchandising
spin-offs aimed at children.

The explosion in toy and movie tie-ins

But the relationship between film and toy was taken to a whole new level
in 1977, with the release of the movie Star Wars. The film's creator and
director, George Lucas, shrewdly realised that the heroes, villains, monsters
and spaceships that populate the movie lent themselves effortlessly to the
toy market. Kenner's range of Star Wars figure and toys came to dominate the
toy industry for years to come, and original items of Star Wars merchandise
are now highly sought after collectibles.

Toys start starring in their own movies

The massive success of Star Wars toys showed toy manufacturers just how
important television and the cinema could be in marketing toys to children
(and their parents). The 1980s saw an explosion in this style of toy
merchandising, especially in the world of TV. In the early '80s, He-Man and
the Masters of the Universe became the first cartoon series to be based on a
range of toys, rather than the other way around. This technique led to huge
sales of the toys, and led to a spate of toy-related TV shows and movies
based on toy ranges, including Care Bears, My Little Pony and Thundercats. In
1987, He-Man got his own movie, called Masters of the Universe, with Dolph
Lundgren portraying the plastic action figure.

This was the start of a trend which would lead to the blockbuster movie
Transformers in 2007, the biggest film so far to be entirely based on a range
of toys. Another Masters of the Universe movie is in production, with a
bigger budget than the original and the benefit of modern special effects
techniques. The advent of CGI makes it much easier for filmmakers to recreate
the world of toys on the big screen, and much loved toy ranges like
Thundercats and GI Joe have films in the early stages of development.

Film and toy tie-ins are here to stay

Some may argue that such collaborations are cynically exploiting the "I
want that" syndrome in the modern child. But it can also be said that the
relationship between films and toys encourages imagination, story-telling,
and creative development in children. After all, once the movie is over,
children can continue the adventure at home, deciding for themselves how the
story continues.

A wide range of action figures, toys and games based on popular TV shows
and movies, including Transformers, Bratz, Star Wars, Ben 10 and Doctor Who
are available from thetoyshop.com, the online toy store for The Entertainer,
one of the UK's biggest toy retailers.

Article by Richard Bewley of The Entertainer http://www.thetoyshop.com

Contact Richard Bewley on +44(0)1494-737024,
richard.bewley@thetoyshop.com

Source: www.thetoyshop.com

Contact Richard Bewley on +44(0)1494-737024, richard.bewley@thetoyshop.com

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