Disney Brands, Marvel And Star Wars, Dominate TTPM
By Brian Thomer
Disney Brands, Marvel, and Star Wars, dominated the displays at the TTPM Holiday Showcase, thanks to upcoming film releases.
In addition to traditional Disney fare, like the upcoming Moana, the entertainment juggernaut had a significant presence for its acquired Marvel and Star Wars brands at the Toys, Tots, Pets & More Holiday Showcase. The event was held late last week and featured all the most wanted toys for the upcoming holiday season.
Vision Is Not the Only Robotic Avenger
Ozobot is releasing Evo Marvel Action Skins for use with its smart and social Evo robots. The Evo bots on their own have a number of distinct features. They allow kids to develop their STEAM knowledge. Kids can build programs using simple commands. The commands can then be displayed with their corresponding JavaScript code, helping kids understand the programming concepts behind them.
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The bots can also “see” color, so commands can also be built by drawing color patterns on paper. Evos also have social capabilities, as friends can link up their robots and share and customize emoticons between them.
The Marvel Action Skins provide a whole new level of programming when attached to the Evos. The character skin overrides the programming of the bot while connected, and takes on the voice and actions of the character. Characters available in this first release are Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Black Widow and their nemesis, Ultron. Hopefully, attaching Ultron does not activate his artificial intelligence and attempts to take over the planet.
The Evo and Marvel Action Skin master packs also come with a game board. The board provides the bot with missions that are uploaded daily. Completion of the missions unlocks new features. Among the types of missions is the daily timed challenges to unlock hidden Easter egg features. The Iron Man and Captain America Action Skins will be available in November, in time for Thanksgiving, while the others will follow in 2017. They can be pre-ordered at the company’s website.
Hasbro Doubles down on Marvel and Star Wars
Hasbro, the longtime producer of both Marvel and Star Wars-related action figures, made its presence known at the Disney Brands booth. The toy maker is capitalizing on both the Doctor Strange and Rogue One feature films. Disney showcased the latest in Hasbro’s Marvel Legends Build-A-Figure line of 6-inch figures, featuring Dr. Strange-related characters. The new series includes both comic and movie versions of Strange, as well as Brother Voodoo and Iron Fist. The large buildable figure is Dormammu.
Hasbro played double duty last week, also hosting a booth at the New York Comic Con. At NYCC, they revealed some of the characters in an upcoming Marvel Legends series. The announced characters were Shatterstar in his classic costume, Spider-Man villain Shocker, Wolverine as Old Man Logan, and Sandman. It was unclear which, if any, would be a buildable figure. From the images, Sandman was the clear contender. A release date for this series was not yet revealed.
The toy giant always has a plethora of offerings for its various Star Wars tie-ins. For Rogue One, they displayed, perhaps, the biggest of them all in the Rapid Fire Imperial AT-ACT playset. This giant of an imperial walker includes launchable projectiles and three action figures. The film’s star, Jyn Erso is among them.
Jakks Reps Toys Both Big and Small
Speaking of size, Jakks Pacific ran the gamut as far as that goes for their Marvel and Star Wars products. They continue to offer their Marvel line of Tsum Tsum collectibles, available in multi-packs of various sizes. The larger of which include hidden figures that increase one’s chances of getting one of the line’s chase figures. Marvel recently produced a line of variant comic book covers featuring the Tsum Tsum figures.
For Star Wars, Jakks went in the opposite direction. They revealed a line of Rogue One Big-Figs action figures, which stand 18 or 20 inches tall. Figures included are Jyn Erso, K-2SO, Death Trooper and Storm Trooper. A large BB-8 figure, from The Force Awakens, was also on display. The droid had features including lights and an extendable arm for giving a “thumbs up.” No worries, though, this feature does not include a blowtorch. This writer asked.
Culture up Your House
Toys are not the only way to express one’s love for these pop culture icons. There are a number of consumer products for use around the house featuring these Disney brands. Among them are an Iron Man helmet mini fridge from Robefactory and available on ThinkGeek. Or how about a Stormtrooper helmet toaster from Underground Toys, sold through Amazon? eKids offers various pop culture-inspired Bluetooth speakers, including Captain America’s shield, Iron Man’s helmet, and BB-8.
But That’s Not All, Folks
There were a number of other Marvel and Star Wars featured products at TTPM. LEGO had both a Doctor Strange Sanctum Sanctorum and a Rogue One U-Wing Fighter building block sets. The Disney Store exclusive Rogue One Elite Series die-cast action figures made it onto the TTPM Most Wanted Toy List. Disney also showcased Funko‘s line of Rogue One POP! vinyl figures. And, finally, Mattel’s Hot Wheels brand continued their line of character-inspired die-cast cars with one featuring Doctor Strange.
Unless otherwise noted, all items discussed above are available now. Since age appropriateness, price points and store availability vary, be sure to consult before heading out to purchase.