Tag Archives: pixar

Hasbro unveils Buzz Lightyear Monopoly board

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Hasbro has revealed the new Disney and Pixar’s Lightyear Edition Monopoly board game, giving another sneak peek into the highly anticipated Disney and Pixar movie Lightyear, which hits UK cinemas on 17 June.

The board takes players on a journey with Buzz Lightyear and an adventurous band of misfits on a hostile planet. As players race around the board to build Towers and Bases, they must take actions shown on the Hyperspeed and Crystallic Fusion cards – all while avoiding meeting Zurg.

Monopoly: Disney and Pixar’s Lightyear Edition Game is suitable for 2-6 players aged 8 and above. Retailing at £29.99, it will be available shortly to pre-order at Amazon.

Mattel announces licensing agreement for Disney and Pixar’s upcoming feature ‘Lightyear’

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Mattel has announced that it has entered into a licensing agreement for Disney and Pixar’s Lightyear, the origin story of Toy Story’s Buzz Lightyear. Through the agreement, Mattel has global (excluding Japan) licensing rights to develop a line of toys for the Lightyear franchise, including action figures, playsets, role play, vehicles, preschool, games, plush, value figures, novelty, and more. The collection is expected to launch at retailers across the globe beginning June 2022.

The new licensing agreement builds on Mattel and Disney’s existing licensing relationships for Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story and Cars franchises, among others.

“At Mattel, we treat our licensors’ properties as if they were our own,” says Richard Dickson, President and Chief Operating Officer, Mattel. “For more than 15 years, Mattel has collaborated with Disney and Pixar to bring their amazing content to life with our innovative products and marketing initiatives. We are excited to further that collaboration by introducing a line of toys and play experiences for fans of all ages to enjoy, to infinity and beyond.”

Lightyear is a sci-fi action-adventure and the definitive origin story of Buzz Lightyear (voice of Chris Evans) – the hero who inspired the toy. The film reveals how a young test pilot became the Space Ranger that we all know him to be today. Lightyear, directed by Angus MacLane (co-director of Finding Dory), will be released in cinemas on June 17, 2022.

Genius Brands appoints Kerry Phelan to role of EVP and GM of global franchise management

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Genius Brand International has appointed the 30 year consumer branding executive, Kerry Phelan to the newly created role of executive vice president and general manager of global franchise management.

In her new role, the former DreamWorks and Pixar executive will report to both Andy Heyward, chairman and CEO, and Harold Chizick, president of global content sales, marketing, and consumer products.

Phelan boasts an illustrious career in the entertainment space. After she successfully launched the Star Wars brand at LEGO Systems Inc, Phelan was recruited directly to Lucasfilm Ltd where she led the global consumer products and promotional licensing business for the multi-billion dollar Star Wars franchise in over 60 countries worldwide.

From there, she joined Pixar Animation Studios, reporting to Steve Jobs where she launched, in concert with Disney Consumer Products, the original Cars consumer products programme. Following Pixar, Phelan spent seven years at DreamWorks Animation as head of consumer products and licensing, driving the development of franchise management plans for the studio’s film and television properties, including Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon, and more.

At DreamWorks, she managed the retail consumer products business and doubled the consumer products revenue in just three years. Most recently, she served as President of Global Franchise Management at Lionsgate Entertainment, where under her leadership, the studio created brand extensions spanning location-based and live entertainment venues, consumer products, licensed merchandise, brand partnerships and an array of promotional ventures for such blockbuster franchises as The Hunger Games and Twilight.

In her new role at Genius Brands, Phelan will be responsible for global management of the Company’s existing IP across licensing, merchandising, retail and promotions, including Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten, Shaq’s Garage, Stan Lee Universe, and Rainbow Rangers, as well as properties currently in development.

“Kerry’s pedigree and reputation in entertainment branding is unparalleled as she has driven the global revenue streams of some of the most lucrative franchises in history,” said Chizick.

“In the coming year, we have multiple properties launching into the global retail marketplace, including Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten, which just premiered on Kartoon Channel!, as well as Shaq’s Garage and Stan Lee Universe plus more categories coming to market around Rainbow Rangers.

“Kerry’s leadership and strategic guidance will be instrumental in driving the growth of our brands around the world.  She is a dream executive to have on board to help us achieve our long-term goals.”

Phelan said: “The majority of my career has been spent building properties into global franchises, specifically in the children’s space. Having had a peek at the coming pipeline, I am excited about the future at Genius Brands and the opportunity to build bigger brand ecosystems around their properties.”

Kids’ audio platform Yoto welcomes Frozen, Mickey Mouse and more in Disney and Pixar partnership

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The children’s audio platform, Yoto – the team behind the Yoto Player – has detailed a new partnership with Disney and Pixar to release a collection of childhood classics and fantasy favourites, including Frozen, Mickey Mouse, Moana, and more across its library of content.

The new line-up will launch this May and throughout the year. Alongside licensing existing audio, the studio will also release new, original content created by Yoto.

The first collection of five-minute stories will be released in May and will feature much loved Disney characters such as Anna and Elsa from Disney’s Frozen, Mickey Mouse, Moana and more. These will be followed by classics such as Disney’s 101 Dalmatians and Aladdin, and Disney and Pixar’s Finding Nemo and Cars. Throughout the year, recent blockbusters including Onward and Soulwill also be released.

Ben Drury, CEO and co-founder of Yoto, said: “We’re thrilled that the Yoto platform will now feature beloved childhood classics from Disney and Pixar. Helping children to explore their creativity and imagination through storytelling is incredibly important for us and this will be amplified even further with these new Disney cards featuring some of our favourite childhood characters that will be released throughout the year.”

The Disney cards will be available from Yoto in the UK, Ireland, USA and Canada from 20th May 2021.For more information please visit www.yotoplay.com.

Asmodee to launch PAW Patrol, Pixar, Marvel, and Minions licensed Dobble

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Asmodee is launching four new licensed editions of its hit speed observation game Dobble this year thanks to a slew of partnerships with PAW Patrol, Pixar, Marvel, and Minions.

Dobble, a game in which players must spot a single matching image between two cards, has grown into a national phenomenon in recent years, becoming the UK’s best-selling game of 2018 and 2019 per NPD Group data.

The game has made a success of previously launched licensed editions through partnerships with The Gruffalo, LOL Surprise, and Harry Potter. In fact, it’s according to Asmodee that the Harry Potter edition practically flew off the shelves throughout 2019.

Beginning with Dobble Pixar, the four new games will be released across 2021, offering new opportunities for fans of each property to find a new way to enjoy the fast-playing game of Dobble.

“Dobble is a game whose format lends itself very well to great licensing crossovers, which we’ve already seen with the phenomenal success of the likes of Harry Potter Dobble,” said Anil Boodhoo, Asmodee UK’s national channel director.

“We’re excited to be partnering with four iconic brands on an ambitious release schedule as we continue to take Dobble from strength to strength.”

Retailers will be able to get an up-close look at these new editions, as well as find out what else is next for the Dobble brand and discover other major new additions to the Asmodee catalogue, at the third edition of AsmoFair – Asmodee’s own virtual trade show.

Running from January 17 to 23rd 2021, the event now features a 360-degree virtual tour of a fully built show stand that brings attendees even closer to the feel of an in-person show. With weekend and evening meeting slots available, retailers can head to asmofair.co.uk for more information or to book a meeting.

Wow! Stuff’s collectables range Wow! Pods tops the Amazon Best Seller Charts

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Wow! Stuff’s recently-launched and hit collectable range, Wow! Pods has risen to in the sales ranking to top the charts on Amazon’s Best Seller list in two categories, a result that the company cites as ‘all the more impressive,’ given that the brand’s TV ads haven’t even aired yet.

“We have some super TV commercials waiting in the wings which were due to air across the usual TV channels in the UK,” said Richard North, Wow! Stuff CEO. “We had seen the sell-through success in other territories and now at UK retail without any promotions at all, so decided to launch with our social media campaign from the KidsKnowBest team.

“The sales at our retail partners has beaten everyone’s forecasts and we’ve now sold out several times and are ranked number one in two categories across Amazon: Kids’ Play Action figures and Collectables Figures and Memorabilia.

“Facebook comments are extraordinary, fans just love them and 2021 will reveal loads of new great brands and rare models for fans to add to their collections.”

Marvel, DC, Harry Potter, and Pixar brands are among the leading licenses within the Wow! Pods collection, while Facebook comments indicate that the Wow! Pods collection has already picked up a broad age range of fans and collectors.

One social media comment read: “See, you’re advertising with young kids which means I’m gonna feel stupid buying em… I’m still gonna. I’m 52 and a nerd so the hell with it.”

Disney invests heavily into streaming as it details new Star Wars, Marvel, and Pixar content slate

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UK Disney fans could be forgiven for thinking it was Christmas morning as they woke up to the news that the entertainment studio had detailed a raft of some 35 new television series, including ten from Marvel, ten based in the Star Wars universe, new Pixar animations, as well as 15 new movies to be released on Disney Plus in the next few years.

It was possibly the spoonful of sugar needed to help the digestion of the concurrent update that over in the US, the Disney streaming service was to up its prices, while forecasting that the platform will attract between 230m and 260m subscribers by 2024. The surge will, no doubt, be fuelled by the latest scheduling of releases.

Amid the announcement, Lucasfilm confirmed that multiple new Star Wars shows are coming to Disney Plus, including two spin-offs of its The Mandalorian series with Star Wars: Rangers of the New Republic and Star Wars: Ahsoka, with Rosario Dawson – who having just appeared in The Mandalorian in the role of Ahsoka Tano – taking on the lead role.

The biggest news to emerge from the Star Wars universe, however, is that Darth Vader is returning. Hayden Christensen will be reprising his role, alongside Ewan McGregor for the long-awaited Obi-Wan Kenobi standalone series. Production on the series is set to start in March 2021, and will be set after the events of Revenge of The Sith, meaning that Christensen will be playing the role of Darth Vader, rather than that of Anakin Skywalker.

Disney also confirmed a standalone show based on Lando Calrissian, as well as Star wars Visions, a series of short films from Japanese anime creators. Meanwhile, The Acolyte will be a ‘mystery-thriller that will take viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era’, while A Droid Story ‘will introduce us to a new hero guided by R2D2 and C3PO’

On top of that, two new Star Wars films will be on the way, with Taika Waititi and Patti Jenkins attached to each.

Yet, despite the barrage of announcements to come from the studio, not forgetting the further 10 series from the Marvel franchise, the slate of Pixar films, and 15 movies to be released on Disney Plus, the firm still warns that the unit would lose money until 2024, underscoring, some have commented on the punishing economics of online entertainment.

The Financial Times reports that Disney plans to double its annual content investment to about $15bn by 2024, at which point its streaming business will turn a profit, the company predicted.

Kids’ audio system Tonies adds Disney and Pixar hits to growing licensed line-up

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The children’s audio system Tonies has added a slate of Disney and Pixar characters to its line up of licensed character Tonies, welcoming children’s favourites Frozen, Cinderella, Toy Story and Finding Nemo to the fold. The new characters will join the portfolio in October and November this year ahead of what the firm’s believes will be a ‘bumper Christmas for the brand.’

The Toy Story Tonie will be available from October 22nd this year and will feature a 17-minute re-telling of the modenr classic, as well as timeless tunes such as You’ve Got a Friend in Me, performed by Randy Newman.

The Frozen Tonie, meanwhile, includes four iconic songs from the hit film, such as Let It Go and For the First Time in Forever, before transporting listeners to Arendelle and telling the story of Elsa and Anna’s magical journey.

Next up, children will be transported to an underwater world with the Finding Nemo Tonie, which tells the aquatic tale along with songs like Sea Cruise and Under the Waves.

Lastly, one of the original Disney princesses will also be gracing the Toniebox; the Cinderella Tonie will tell this enchanting story and play four songs including the iconic Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo.

The Frozen, Finding Nemo and Cinderella Tonies will be available from November 12th.

Tonies UK, general manager, Manon Sel, said: “We are excited to announce four fantastic additions to our Disney and Pixar collection, all of which are sure to fill bedrooms across the country with audio magic this Christmas. The perfect stocking filler, these family favourites join an already stellar line-up and enhance our expanding range of stories and songs.”

Launched in the UK in 2018 by Patric Faßbender and his friend and co-founder Marcus Stahl, the Toniebox is an intuitive speaker system that is revolutionising story time for children. An interactive way for three to eight-year-olds to play their favourite stories and songs, they can simply place a Tonie on top of the box and the audio content related to that Tonie will begin to play.

Over 14 million Tonies and 1.5 million Tonieboxes have been sold across Europe since the launch and 2020 started with the exciting announcement of the brands’ expansion to the USA – expected towards the end of this year.

Loot Crate to launch 60th anniversary Sanrio crate as the subscription box specialist details raft of partnerships

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The pop culture subscription box service, Loot Crate, is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the world-famous Sanrio with the launch of a special October Anniversary themed Sanrio Crate. The limited edition crate will feature new and exclusive Hello Kitty and Friends collectables and gear.

To celebrate a successful six decades of the company and its portfolio of globally revered characters, including the likes of Hello Kitty, Mr Men, and more, the October Anniversary crate includes a Loot Crate exclusive Hello Kitty Cake Figure, a Loot Crate exclusive Jewellery Pouch and a host of other items each showcasing 60 years of Hello Kitty and Friends.

Sanrio Crates start at $39.99 plus shipping and handling.

The partnership with Sanrio is the latest in a surge of new and classic properties to extend their relationship with the subscription box specialist. This November will see the firm launch its Elder Scrolls crate, featuring officially licensed collectables, gear, apparel, and more all based on the hit gaming franchise Elder Scrolls.

Meanwhile, earlier this month, Loot Crate detailed its latest partnership with Disney to launch a limited edition Pixar crate, featuring wares from the likes of Toy Story, The Incredibles, Up and more. The run of three limited edition crates will enable fans to unbox the new Disney and Pixar goods while celebrating the magic of Pixar’s films and characters.

Disney celebrates 25 years of Disney Pixar’s Toy Story with virtual Pixar Fest launch

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Disney has launched a new virtual family festival celebrating the 25th anniversary of Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story, and its 20 years of support of the charity, MediCinema.

Called Pixar Fest, the event will premiere on Sunday, August 9th with a collection of Pixar movies on Disney+, weekly watchalongs, animator masterclasses, quizzes, arts and crafts for kids, and new product releases.

Tasia Filippatos, SVP Disney EMEA, said: “Pixar revolutionised the art of animation 25 years ago with the release of Toy Story and since then has brought us some of the most iconic and unique moments in filmmaking history. Pixar Fest will give fans of all ages the chance to celebrate their favourites through a host of activities and even cast their vote in ‘The Golden Lamp Awards’. We hope the line-up brings some summer holiday fun and movie magic to homes across the UK.”

As part of its ongoing worldwide commitment to provide comfort and inspiration through movie moments and help reduce isolation for seriously ill children in hospitals, Disney has also pledged £750,000 to MediCinema to help reach more children by developing and building additional state of the art hospital cinemas in UK and Italy.

Visits to these cinemas help improve wellbeing, and combat isolation and the anxiety of spending time on the wards.

Kat Mason, chief executive of MediCinema, added: “In our 20th anniversary year and 20 years of working with Disney, we are incredibly happy to be the recipient of this donation that will help ensure our cinema services can impact so many more children and their families.

“In addition, all money raised from the prize draws will help to make sure we can keep our current services running, which is more important now than ever for children and their families facing time spent in hospital.”

Disney has marked the launch of Pixar Fest with the release of never-seen-before Toy Story artwork, which showcases the early designs and evolution of Buzz Lightyear. It features early character sketches including a variety of different faces, suit colours and wing designs, before he was transformed into the Buzz we know today.

Pixar historian, Christine Freeman, said: “Buzz is one of our most popular characters, and it’s fascinating to see the different ways that Pixar’s artists imagined him during the evolution of his design. Even his name changed over time – from Tempus of Morph to Lunar Larry, to Buzz Lightyear. You can see the LL belt buckle (for Lunar Larry) in a few of these early designs.”

Ever since Woody and Buzz landed at movie theatres in 1995 in the first fully computer-animated feature film, Pixar movies have become favourites of fans across the globe.

To date, there have been 23 full-length Pixar films and 21 shorts, collecting 37 Academy Awards with Disney Store’s top-selling Pixar merchandise of all time including its Buzz Lightyear talking action figure.

The line up of virtual activity taking place throughout Pixar Fest, includes Sunday watchalongs on Disney’s social channels with streamed movies on Disney+ such as Toy Story, Cars, Inside Out, and The Incredibles, as well as Pixar quizzes hosted by Edith Bowman.

Patients in MediCinema hospitals will be able to watch along on bedside screens at the same time.

On top of this, talent including Tony Hale, animators and celebrities including Katie Piper, Danny Jones, Myleene Klass and Aston Merrygold will be unveiling their favourite Pixar moments over the last 25 years as part of ‘The Golden Lamp Awards’- with MediCinema nurses and volunteers shortlisting a special Moments that Matter category for fans to vote for their top Pixar moment.

Meanwhile, shopDisney’s Pixar Fest Party At Home packs, which include everything fans need to host their own Pixar party will also be up for grabs via weekly competitions, while an online masterclass with a Pixar animator, hosted by film aficionado Mark Kermode, to teach fans how to draw Pixar characters and learn some of the secrets behind the animations, hosted on Disney’s social channels on 12th August.

BAFTA Kids will put on a virtual animation masterclass on 15th August where children submitted their questions to discover everything that they need to know about how to become a top animator.

Fans can also help to raise funds for MediCinema through Pixar Fest’s Charity Tuesdays to win money-can’t-buy Pixar prizes, including a drawing lesson with a Pixar artist and an exclusive piece of Pixar artwork through prize draws run by MediCinema.

Fans around the globe will be able to celebrate their favourite Pixar characters with new products from Mattel and Funko. Also launching is a new range of merchandise honouring the heritage of Pixar at shopDisney, including a new line of Aliens products that feature the Toy Story favourites as different characters from Pixar movies, including WALL•E and Up’s Russell.  Other “Pixar Alien Remix” toys will see Toy Story’s Aliens dressed as other Pixar characters including Carl from Up, Dot from A Bug’s Life, Dory from Finding Nemo, Edna from The Incredibles, Sulley from Monsters, Inc. and Princess Merida from Brave.

Pixar Fest will run from August 9th to September 6th this year.