Disney-Pixar’s Toy Story 3 kicked off the American International Toy Fair in New York City today with a plethora of new toys and playthings that pay homage and celebrate the best the toy industry has to offer. In a playful, Toy Story-themed setting before an invitation-only crowd of toy industry insiders, Green Army Men descended from the ceiling in “take-over” mode as they helped John Lasseter, chief creative officer of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, Lee Unkrich, director, Toy Story 3, Darla K. Anderson, producer, Toy Story 3 and John Ratzenberger, voice of Hamm, unveil a first look at some of the more than 250 new toys releasing this Summer and into the 2010 Holidays.

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Mattel showcasing its hottest new products and licenses for 2010 during the International Toy Fair in New York. A few highlights from its entertainment portfolio include Barbie ‘I Can Be Race Car Driver’, LOOPZ, Dance Star Mickey, iXL, and Hot Wheels Stealth Ride vehicles.

“Mattel brings kids unparalleled play experiences through relevant and exciting toys because we know kids and understand what they want,” said Neil Friedman, president, Mattel Brands. “We also know that parents are choosing carefully the products they purchase and the entertainment they consume, so we have packed innovation into our product lines across a range of price points because we know that parents are willing to pay for innovation that delivers play value from brands they trust.”

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Revealing a massive toy box of play and possibilities, the 107th American International Toy Fair opened its doors moments ago for a four-day run in New York City. Owned and operated by the Toy Industry Association (TIA), the annual trade event is expected to bring to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center more than 32,000 attendees – including more than 21,000 retailers, wholesalers, importers, buying groups and trade guests from nearly 100 countries. The 16,000+ pre-registered buyers represent more than 7,900 unique retailers. Over 1,100 exhibitors – including 285 first-timers and representing more than 20 countries – fill nearly 345,500 net square feet of the facility’s exhibition space.

“Toys are keeping kids engaged whether through physical activity, entertainment and empowerment. Families will be delighted with the fresh and fun choices they will find on the retail shelves this year.”

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Senario is announcing its latest product, Zibits miniature collectible robots that come to life with remote control (R/C). Consumers can initially collect 12 Zibits in multiple unique, fun designs that will appeal to every child, tech lover and toy collector the world over. Zibits will hit Toys “R” Us store shelves in mid-March 2010 and consumers can expect to purchase the collectibles for less than $10.

“There is a rapidly growing trend in small and unique ‘robotic’-type toys right now, and we’ve developed Zibits as an affordable yet entertaining option for kids young and old at less than $10 per Zibits,” says Mike Nakamura, founder and CEO of Senario. “According to Allied Business Intelligence (ABI) Research, the personal robotics market has officially arrived with ‘bots quickly carving a place for themselves in consumer’s homes. Whereas most of the popular robots for sale today cost hundreds of dollars, consumers can start their own Zibits collections at a fraction of that cost.”

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Hasbro introduces a modern twist on classic word-building games with SCRABBLE FLASH, which features five electronic freestanding tiles that use breakthrough ‘SmartLink Technology’ to recognize tile placement and each unique word spelled during the game. Available this Fall 2010 at mass retailers nationwide, SCRABBLE FLASH is a one-player game that is recommended for ages 8 and up. SCRABBLE FLASH will be sold for the approximate retail price of $29.99.

“Since its launch, SCRABBLE has been the archetypal word game, engaging people of all ages and around the world,” says Chris Byrne, content director for TimetoPlayMag.com aka The Toy Guy®. “SCRABBLE FLASH leverages the essence of the brand, marries it with advanced technology and creates an exciting, new challenge everyone can enjoy. The game requires speed, smarts and spelling. It’s perfect for families to play together, and that technological ‘magic’ adds a contemporary twist that will keep the competition – and the fun – going for a long time.

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Press Release: EAST AURORA, N.Y. It all began a few years ago, when BIGFOOT sightings started popping up just beyond the world headquarters of Fisher-Price, Inc. (a subsidiary of Mattel, Inc. NASDAQ:MAT) in East Aurora, N.Y. Although the scientific community considers BIGFOOT to be a combination of folklore and myths, that didn’t stop toy designers from setting out to capture the legendary, elusive creature. Fisher-Price found BIGFOOT and brought him back to its world-renowned Play Laboratory where designers unfolded the complicated, misunderstood monster who, surprisingly, wooed them with his charm. After years of intense research (and a few laughs) with BIGFOOT, Fisher-Price is ready to share his engaging personality with the world by introducing Imaginext® BIGFOOT The Monster at New York Toy Fair, Feb. 14 – Feb. 17.

“BIGFOOT The Monster is completely on-trend for 2010. Fisher-Price has interpreted a classic play pattern for contemporary kids”

“BIGFOOT The Monster is completely on-trend for 2010. Fisher-Price has interpreted a classic play pattern for contemporary kids,” says Chris Byrne, content director for TimetoPlayMag.com, aka The Toy Guy®. “Inspired by the legendary ‘BIGFOOT,’ Fisher-Price scores again with a toy that effectively combines the fun and engagement of R/C robotic play with technology that’s easy and engaging for preschoolers to use. BIGFOOT is feature-rich, offers long-lasting play value and reflects a preschooler’s sense of humor, all of which deliver on the value consumers are looking for this year. ”

BIGFOOT continues to roam freely and eyewitness reports persist, generating public scrutiny and misconceived perceptions of the obscure monster. With New York Toy Fair approaching, Fisher-Price is prepared to show the world the true persona behind the myth…but it doesn’t stop there.

Rumor has it that Fisher-Price will continue to work with the friendly monster throughout the year, with special character appearances and brunches at national zoo events including San Diego Zoo, Zoo Atlanta, Brookfield Zoo, Tampa’s Lowery Park Zoo, Toledo Zoo and San Francisco Zoo. To track Big Foot sightings until then, parents and children can log onto www.fisher-price.com/bigfoottoyfair for updates.

Unlike the legendary BIGFOOT, the Imaginext® BIGFOOT The Monster from Fisher-Price is a life-like remote controlled monster friend for kids three to eight, with lots of personality, fun facial expressions and interactive phrases like “Wanna Play?” and much more. Featuring over 80 actions and phrases, BIGFOOT comes to life with a kid-friendly foot shaped remote control that has easy-to-use, icon-driven buttons. With the simple touch of the remote, preschoolers can make BIGFOOT walk forward and backwards, elicit happy or angry emotions, fall asleep, throw a ball, exercise and even do a forward somersault and a backwards roll! BIGFOOT also features interactive touch points on his belly and mouth that will make him laugh or eat a leaf that evokes fun chomping and burping sound effects. Although the legendary BIGFOOT has mainly been spotted in the Pacific Northwest region of North America, the Imaginext® BIGFOOT The Monster will be available at retailers nationwide in June for approximately $99.99.

Press Release: BOULDER, Colo. Jibbitz founders, Rich and Sheri Schmelzer and Alexandra O’Leary announce a new children’s product GeoPalz, at the American International Toy Fair, in New York, Feb. 14-17, 2010.

“To do that we’ve hired former Jibbitz teammates who are familiar with our customers, customer service philosophies and our previous distributors who understand the pace at which we do business.”

Aimed at addressing Michelle Obama’s “LetsMove.gov” initiative, GeoPalz is the first decorative activity tracker and online game that allows users to earn points through physical activity. With a simple message of “Walk to Win,” activity is converted to points that can be accumulated and redeemed at the GeoPalz.com Web site for free activity-based products, sports equipment, games and educational-based toys.

“We’ve seen too many popular children’s toys designed to keep kids plugged into their computers or glued to their TVs lately. We haven’t seen any product designed with an incentive to get them up and off their couches and outside playing, and that’s a real shame,” said Rich Schmelzer, CEO of GeoPalz, LLC. “The GeoPalz Activity Tracker was designed specifically to get kids motivated to become more physically active by converting activity into currency that can be redeemed for activity based products from our Web site. The bottom line is kids love winning free stuff!” Schmelzer stated. “The ‘Walk to Win’ message will not only resonate with the children through the free products and unique designs, but with the children’s parents who know that the ‘Walk to Win’ message translates to a healthier life.”

“Kids are not just thinking about the toys they’ll win, they want a variety of fun and stylish GeoPalz designs to accessorize with their mood or clothing,” said Sheri Schmelzer, Chief Design Officer for GeoPalz. “In our debut collection we accomplished just that. There is a design that suits every kid in the house, and every 3 months we will introduce new designs from princesses to bugs to rockets to rhinestones, whatever is trending at that time. I think it also helps that GeoPalz are produced in limited quantities, which will drive the collectability of each GeoPal caricature,” she added.

“We’ve built our infrastructure to handle the type of extreme growth we experienced at Jibbitz,” said Alexandra O’Leary COO of GeoPalz, LLC. “To do that we’ve hired former Jibbitz teammates who are familiar with our customers, customer service philosophies and our previous distributors who understand the pace at which we do business.”

GeoPalz has also teamed once again with acclaimed Parent’s Choice Award Winning Web Design firm, Slice of Lime. The team at Slice of Lime played a key role in the early success of Jibbitz by understanding how to create a fun interactive environment safe for children. Slice has been nominated for numerous Webby Awards for their creation of children’s Web sites since their work at Jibbitz, and continues to lead the way with understanding how kids want to interact online.

GeoPalz are produced in limited quantities and retail for $19.99 each. Prior to the company’s Web site launch in Q2’10, consumers can reserve their GeoPalz at www.GeoPalz.com. Retailers can also purchase the product immediately by visiting the GeoPalz Booth #5059 at the American International Toy Fair in New York, Feb. 14-17, 2010, or by visiting the company Web site and applying for a retail account.

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Fisher-Price will unveil a new collection of innovative Thomas & Friends tracksets, playsets, talking engines and preschool items that are sure to capture kids’ imaginations. The first of the new Fisher-Price products will be pulling out of the station this spring in a collection of all-new Take-n-Play™ portable playsets featuring truly innovative track that unfolds out of the playset, all in one piece – so that there are no small pieces to lose. As Thomas and his friends are now speaking in their own voices for the first time on the new Thomas & Friends DVDs, website and television series around the world, talking die-cast engines are also on track for this spring. Each features a light, and fun train sounds and phrases straight from the Island of Sodor.This fall will see the debut of some of the most innovative Thomas & Friends products to date:the Zip, Zoom & Logging Adventure™ Playset (Age: 3+/ Price: $59.99), the Rescue from Misty Island playset (Age: 3+/ Price: $39.99), and the Follow Me Thomas (Age: 2+/ Price: $44.99).

“We are thrilled to partner with HIT Entertainment to develop toys for the beloved Thomas & Friends brand,” said Gina Sirard, vice president of marketing for Fisher-Price. “It’s exciting to have this opportunity to translate the true essence and magic of one of preschoolers’ favorite characters just as the brand celebrates its 65th year. It’s an exciting time to get on board as Thomas and his friends from the Island of Sodor evolve to CG animation and speak in their own voices for very first time!”

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Enesco to develop and distribute new products featuring the award-winning VeggieTales characters and their affirming, faith-based messages. VeggieTales products from Enesco are expected to be offered to retailers by midyear 2010 and be available in stores by the fall.

“The timeless lessons in family values shared in VeggieTales shows have touched generations of consumers, making this a particularly exciting addition to Enesco’s growing portfolio of licensed brands,” said Jane Charette, general manager of Enesco’s Gregg Gift division. “We look forward to offering new VeggieTales products, with our growing audience of retailers and consumers.”

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