Sambro International has announced a new SpongeBob SquarePants collection in partnership with Paramount Consumer Products.

Sambro‘s new contract partnership with long-standing licensor, Paramount Consumer Products, will deliver a range of plush and novelty collectibles for Nickelodeon’s pop culture phenomenon SpongeBob SquarePants.

Product will be released in time for the 25th anniversary of the franchise, and Sambro will launch an initial portfolio of seven product lines across key UK and EU retailers such as B&M, AS Watson, Very and Forbidden Planet. These include: Puzzle Palz collectible 3D erasers, Squelchums novelty toys, 8cm and 30cm collectible plush characters (including a 25-year celebration plush), Paint your Own characters and a Pop Up game.

The celebratory range will include a selection of 30cm plush characters from the animated series, including SpongeBob himself, Squidward, Patrick and Gary, with further SpongeBob glitter plush completing the collection.

As part of Sambro’s sustainability commitments, all filling in its plush products is from 100% recycled polyester stuffing, allowing it to gain full accreditation with global recycling standards. The packaging labels will also be FSC certified, further meeting Sambro’s ESG goals.

Sambro’s own IP Puzzle Palz range encourages kids to build, play and erase by collecting fun character themed puzzle erasers. With eight SpongeBob SquarePants character styles to collect, the 3D erasers are available in capsule and card packaging options in a CDU with an RRP of £1.99 and further, larger pack formats. In the squishy, spongy textured Squelchums collection, each of the four collectible characters containins different fun textures.

Clare Rix, Brand and Licensing director at Sambro, commented: “SpongeBob SquarePants is loved by so many, and we’re thrilled to be launching a brand-new range of products just in time for its 25th anniversary, for children and adult superfans alike. We’re confident that the products will be a success, not only further expanding but complementing our plush and own-brand novelty categories.”

Rebecca Jenkins, VP, Consumer Products, Paramount, added: “Sambro has done a fantastic job in bringing our beloved SpongeBob to life through on-trend product ranges that will be sure to surprise and delight fans. Product will land at retailers across the UK and Europe from September in time to join our wider, exciting 25th anniversary celebrations.”

To find out more about Sambro’s SpongeBob SquarePants range with Paramount visit www.sambro.com

Hasbro has partnered with Warner Bros. Discovery and Disney to release two new versions of the Monopoly board game, including a Disney Stitch edition and a House of the Dragon edition.

Hasbro has announced two brand-new versions of the Monopoly board game. House of the Dragon Edition, in partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products and Disney Stitch Edition – on the heels of the forthcoming second season of the HBO Original drama series House of the Dragon, set to premiere Sunday, 16th June, and the highly-anticipated Disney movie release.

Monopoly players and fans can choose their unique tokens and be fully immersed in the world of House of the Dragon and Lilo & Stitch. They can then travel around the themed boards, trying to claim as many properties as possible.

In the Monopoly: Disney Stitch Edition, properties are replaced by Stitch’s favorite activities, such as Hula Show and Chillax, and beach rentals. Each player chooses a unique Stitch token, then they move around the board, trying to claim as many activities and beach rentals as possible. The more players claim, the more thrilling their day with Stitch will be, and the more rent they’ll be able to collect from other players. Players can get a colour set to add beach huts and lighthouses and charge even more rent. They can also draw 626 and Ohana cards for game-changing actions. This strategy board game is great for family time, and makes an ideal gift for kids aged 8+.

In the Monopoly: House of the Dragon Edition game, a civil war is raging to claim the most powerful seat in the Seven Kingdoms. Players can pledge loyalty to a house by choosing one of six themed golden tokens, then move around the board to travel through Westeros and across the Narrow Sea to Essos and take control of strongholds, lands and bays. The more the player owns, the more rent they can collect from opponents. The last player with coins when all others have lost theirs wins. This strategy board game’s board, packaging, tokens, money, cards and game pieces are all inspired by the popular TV series. The game is designed for consumers aged 17+ and makes a perfect gift for fans of Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon.

The collaboration will feature a range of samurai-inspired Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles vinyl collectibles featuring unique colour schemes, banners, weapons and maedate.

CultureFly has teamed up with Nickelodeon and toy designer Scott Tolleson to create a series of samurai-inspired Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles vinyl collectibles. Standing at approximately 11” tall, each of the four soft vinyl TMNT figures features unique colour schemes, banners, weapons and maedate. Each will be available for pre-order for a limited time and in limited quantities.

When designing and creating toys, Scott draws inspiration from many areas, including pop culture, comic books, his family and toys from his childhood. Scott says he aims to elicit a sense of childlike wonder and nostalgia in his artwork and enjoys working in both digital and traditional mediums.

Scott has self-produced numerous designer toys, including Otis and Otto, Tricycle Terror, Doc Von Block and Big Rollin’ Rascal. Since 1998, he has worked for the Walt Disney Company in the Entertainment Productions department where he has designed pieces for various parades, venues and merchandise.

CultureFly create exclusive collectibles, subscription boxes, apparel and accessories for pop-culture fans, aiming to bring together the best parts of pop-culture into a single curated shopping experience.

Random House Children’s Books is releasing an Inside Out collection of titles, including Step into Reading books, ahead of the Inside Out 2 movie release this summer.

Random House Children’s Books is releasing a series of Inside Out books in May, ahead of the Inside Out 2 movie set for release on 14th June. As audiences prepare for the long-awaited sequel to the blockbuster hit, the publishing company is introducing two early readers for children just learning to read, a Little Golden Book and two storybooks following Riley’s adventures.

Changes for Riley is a 24 pages Step 2 Step into Reading book designed for young children aged 4-6.

Riley’s New World is a 32 pages Step 2 Step Reading book designed for children aged 6-8.

Inside Out 2: The Junior Novelization is a 144 pages paperback junior novelisation featuring an 8-page full-colour inserts and is designed for children aged 6-9.

Inside Out 2 Little Golden Book contains 24 pages and is designed for young readers aged 2-5.

Meet the Emotions is a 22 pages board book based on the animated feature film and is designed for Babies and toddlers aged 0-3.

Team Riley is a 24 pages paperback storybook based on the animated feature film and is designed for children aged 3-7.

All six titles will be available on the Random House Children’s Books official website from the 28th May.

Toikido and Cloudco Entertainment have announced the launch of a crossover event introducing Care Bears Adventure Island into the Piñata Smashlings Universe on Roblox.

Toikido, in partnership with Cloudco Entertainment, has announced a crossover event that brings the Care Bears into the expansive world of Piñata Smashlings on Roblox. This event, running from 14th September through 15th November, introduces Care Bears Adventure Island, a specially designed level that creatively transforms beloved Care Bears characters into playful Smashlings forms, providing fans with a unique and interactive experience.

Event highlights include:

• Exclusive Digital Rewards: Players can collect special Care Bears-themed Smashlings and accessories, enhancing their adventures across Roblox.
• Interactive Mini-Games: Themed mini-games that reflect the compassionate spirit of the Care Bears will engage and entertain players.
• Community Engagement: Fans will be given the opportunity to connect in a dedicated game area, fostering a deeper sense of community and shared appreciation for the Care Bears.

The crossover event not only reimagines Care Bears characters in the vibrant aesthetic of Piñata Smashlings but also intertwines their narratives.

This event will craft a unique storyline where the values of caring and sharing are central, enabling both Care Bears and Smashlings characters to work together to overcome challenges and spread joy throughout the Piñataverse. This collaborative approach aims to create a rich, layered experience that resonates with players and honours the heritage of both brands.

Ian Lambur, EVP, Content Strategy, Co-Productions, Global Distribution & Digital at Cloudco Entertainment, commented: “Partnering with Toikido and the Piñata Smashlings universe offers an exciting new dimension for the Care Bears. Piñata Smashlings’ vibrant and playful world is a perfect match for the joyful and caring ethos of the Care Bears. This collaboration allows us to bridge the cherished memories of longtime fans with the dynamic possibilities of modern digital play, introducing these beloved characters to a new generation in a fresh and engaging way.”

Darran Garnham, CEO of Toikido, said: “We are delighted to partner with Cloudco Entertainment to introduce Care Bears to a new generation through Roblox. This collaboration represents a significant evolution in how heritage brands can engage digitally, offering an innovative platform for fans to interact with their favorite characters in new, meaningful ways.”

The Copyrights Group has launched an official Paddington brand channel on TikTok to engage with fans and update users about upcoming movie releases.

The Copyrights Group has officially launched a Paddington brand channel on TikTok to communicate with its audience and share more about upcoming launches such as the anticipated third movie Paddington in Peru, to be released on 8th November 2024, and The Paddington Bear Experience opening at County Hall, London on 31st May 2024.

For 65 years, British-born writer Michael Bond has delighted readers all over the world with his stories about Paddington, the bear from Peru, famous for his love of marmalade. The kindness and humour in the stories appeal to children and adults alike, ensuring Paddington’s enduring popularity from one generation to the next.

HarperCollins Children’s books has published Paddington’s adventures continuously since 13th October 1958 when, as William Collins, it first introduced A Bear Called Paddington to the world.

Since then, Paddington’s adventures have been adapted several times for television and at the end of 2014 Paddington made his debut onto the big screen, a further film, Paddington 2, followed in 2017 with a third in the works. The movies were produced by Studio Canal. In 2020, a brand-new Paddington TV series designed for a pre-school audience, The Adventures of Paddington, launched on Nickelodeon, introducing him to a whole new set of fans.

Readers can access the official Paddington TikTok channel here.

Under the renewed agreement with Sega, Heathside will produce Sonic the Hedgehog toys, collectibles and gifts, introducing additional products to the range.

The company has renewed an existing established agreement with Sega and has added additional products into the Sonic the Hedgehog collection. Heathside has announced that Sonic products will include board games, slime, 2D keychains, chess sets, surprise eggs, resin figures, collector chocolate with collector cards, stick ons, pull backs, head on high bounce balls and more.

The agreement was brokered by Kirsty Guthrie (KJG) for Heathside. The additional Sonic licensed lines will launch in Q4 2024 through selected retail partners.

Darren Epstein from Heathside commented: ‘’We are over the moon to be continuing our relationship and licence with Sega and Sonic. We have long experience working on the brand and are so happy to continue and expand the categories we have.”

Heathside Trading is a leading manufacturer and wholesaler of pop culture consumer products based in the United Kingdom, offering ranges to customers globally in various formats. The company has recently relaunched MasterReplicas.com to enhance its ability to target a direct-to-consumer customer going forward. The company’s Khadou brand acquires IP for development of product across, TV, manga, anime, film, gaming and associated entertainment platforms.

Earlier this year, Heathside reinforced its commitment to Master Replicas and Khadou through two key appointments to support the company’s growth.

To find out more about the company’s ranges, visit www.heathside.biz or get in touch at 01282 775 778 or sales@heathside.biz.

Wow! Stuff is launching a number of new additions and updates to its Harry Potter collection of toys and gifts this year.

Officially licensed by Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products, the collection is aimed at kids, adult fans and collectors.

Headlining the collection are the Lumos wands, made from resin for realism and incorporating Wow! Stuff’s eponymous app technology. This year, all new and existing Lumos wands will work with the free and newly updated Wow! Stuff Light Painting bonus app for day and night light painting features.

Wow! Stuff’s head of Technology, Dr. Graeme Taylor, said: “We wanted to create a new way of being able to draw a line or shape, by recognising the location of an LED wand tip – and to be able to do this in daylight as well as in low light. The Lumos wands now work seamlessly to map the user’s wand movements in real time, and overlay the detected path with a digital pen or brush effect. The advantages of this, particularly for the younger user, is that the camera does not need to be kept still and even in daylight it will produce fabulous and magical results. Additionally, for the Harry Potter section of the Wow! Stuff Light Painting app, templates include the official symbols for various spells, as well as templates of various Patronuses.”

Wow! Stuff also developed the Wow! Stuff Invisibility app which now includes updates and new features for the TOTY (Toy Of The Year) winning Harry Potter Invisibility Cloak, a No. 1 best-seller across all Toys & Games on Amazon at launch in 2020 and now an evergreen staple and much loved fan and collector piece. Users choose an official backdrop scene from the Harry Potter movies by pressing record on their phones and draping themselves in the infamous Invisibility Cloak.

Joining Wow! Stuff’s current range, which covers SRP price points from £4.99 to £49.99, are heat reveal mugs, bag tags and notebooks which are re-recordable. There is also the Howler Card; Marauders Map, with hidden secrets revealed by the UV wand; Mini and Mystery Lumos wands and upgrades to the magical Mystery Flying Stitch, which never fails to surprise and delight onlookers as it appears to fly around their body unaided by human touch.

For availability, contact emma.prendaglia@wowstuff.com for UK, and tony.white@wowstuff.com for Europe and ANZ.

The new Tonie joins the best-selling Peppa Pig collection and is the latest addition to Hasbro’s Learn with Peppa franchise, which launched in January 2023.

Tonies and Hasbro have unveiled the Learn with Peppa Tonie, which will further Hasbro’s mission to support early years learning and development for Peppa Pig fans around the world.

The Learn with Peppa offering currently includes the www.learnwithpeppa.com website (with free downloadable learning resources), 45 dedicated YouTube episodes on the official Peppa Pig YouTube channel, and a series of educational books developed in conjunction with Penguin Books and other publishers around the world. Every product in the Learn with Peppa range has been developed in conjunction with educators or experts from the world of early years learning, to ensure that they authentically support pre-school learning.

The new Tonie delivers a welcome extension to the Learn with Peppa offering for pre-reading Peppa Pig fans, to help support their early years learning journey in an easily accessible audio format. Paired with the Toniebox’s intuitive ‘tap, tilt and squeeze’ controls, young learners can independently play and learn with their favourite pig.

Working closely with Hasbro, the Tonies team has created a compelling track list which aligns with Learn with Peppa’s core areas of educational focus, while also building on Tonies’ values of encouraging a lifelong love of learning through engaging audio. The new Tonie takes inquisitive little listeners on an educational adventure, exploring five key areas of learning:

Track 1: All About Our World

• Listeners can join Peppa Pig, Suzy Sheep and Madame Gazelle as they learn all about the natural world, from weather and seasons to living things such plants and animals, in a wonderful exploration of our beautiful planet.

Track 2: All About Emotions

• Peppa Pig and her friends are taught all about emotions and empathy at playgroup.

Track 3. All About Community

• In this chapter, Peppa Pig and her friends learn about different types of community, from school, family or local groups, while also exploring the importance of the police, doctors and teachers who help look after their communities.

Track 4: All About Being Creative

• Peppa Pig and Suzy Sheep learn all about the joys of creativity and self-expression, from artwork or writing to singing and dancing.

Track 5: All About My Body

• Kids will learn about the importance of looking after their bodies, from bathing to brushing their teeth to exercise and movement.

The new Learn with Peppa Tonie retails for £14.99 and is available at www.tonies.com and selected retailers.

The Australian High Commission in London has hosted a celebratory event organised by BBC Studios which transformed the iconic Australia House into Bluey House for 24 hours.

Bluey flags adorned the Australian Embassy, as members of the public lining the streets for the London marathon were treated to a musical marching band playing the Bluey title music, alongside a surprise visit from Bluey herself.

The activation coincides with the brand-new, unexpected Bluey episode, called ‘Surprise’, that landed globally on ABC Kids and ABC Iview in Australia and Disney+, Disney Channel and Disney Junior in the rest of the world.

The award from the High Commissioner is the first of its kind and celebrates the spectacular growth of the show. BBC Studios, which manages the Bluey brand and global rollout, shared that the brand has had a huge impact on children and families, with new 2023 figures revealing:

•  British children aged 3-6 spent 110m hours playing with Bluey toys.
• Over 1m hours enjoyed by families playing Bluey video games.
• Globally, over 700,000 hours have been spent by families attending live events ranging from Bluey’s Big Play through to events at CBeebies Land at Alton Towers and Camp in the US.
• The online Bluey Book Reads series read by an all-star celebrity line up including Kylie and Dannii Minogue has been viewed over 20m times since its launch.

The award comes just one week after a star-studded blue carpet screening event was held at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square to celebrate the global premiere of the supersized special episode ‘The Sign’, and Bluey appeared on the green carpet of the prestigious Olivier Awards where Bluey’s Big Play received a nomination for Best Family Show.

Australian high commissioner Stephen Smith, said: “Bluey’s phenomenal success in the UK and globally is testament to the ingenuity and artistry of Australia’s creative industries. Bluey highlights the power of Australian stories to resonate with children and parents the world over.”

Nicki Sheard, president of BBC Studios Brands and licensing, said: “What an incredible accolade for an Australian-born show that has truly become part of the world’s cultural zeitgeist. We are thrilled to have created experiences that have unlocked family time and opened the magical world of Bluey for fans across the world of all ages.”

Joe Brumm, the show’s creator added: “It is an honour to receive this award on behalf of everyone who helped bring Bluey to life. Our beautiful country is a character in the show just as much as any of the dogs, so to have brought it into the living rooms of the whole world, encouraging people to come and visit is something I’ll always be proud of.”