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Today's special: light sabers
©Los Angeles Times HOLLYWOOD -- Movies for children and families are among Hollywood's hottest properties. But to the dismay of many studios, toys based on these movies are getting the cold shoulder from consumers. Kids, bombarded with toy pitches for just about every movie and TV show they know, haven't been buying enough of them. That has left retailers with loads of leftover Star Wars light sabers and unwanted Pocahontases. The 1990s were littered with movie toy disappointments -- some failing with the films that spawned them, others sinking on their own. Losers included toys associated with Hook, Last Action Hero, Flintstones, Casper, Congo, Dragonheart and most notably, the Star Wars prequel Episode I -- The Phantom Menace. With those and other toy fiascos fresh in their minds, retailers now are more careful in choosing movie toys. Toy makers, in turn, are making fewer film-based characters, games and mementos. Mattel Inc., the nation's biggest toy maker, cut its licensed toy lines by 25 percent over the past two years, opting to make more original toys instead of weaker film-based games and products. "We're not replicating scenes from a movie anymore," said Matt Bousquette, president of Mattel's boys/entertainment division. "When we make movie toys, we're making great toys inspired by a movie." The cutback in movie-related toys comes just when Hollywood studios need the promotional value of toys more than ever. A trend toward more family-oriented entertainment, which has been growing over the past few years, intensified after Sept. 11. And as more consumers turned to what they saw as wholesome amusements, including craft making and playing board games, the film industry saw gentle, nonviolent children's fare surge as well. By the end of the year, five of the six highest-grossing films were family fare, including Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, the year's leader with more than $300-million in domestic ticket sales, Shrek, Monsters Inc., The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and The Mummy Returns. Toy industry people say wildly popular movies with strong supporting toys will always sell. Toys based on Harry Potter, for example, were among last year's hottest sellers. But Al Ovadia, executive vice president of Sony Pictures Consumer Products, says gone are the days when he could routinely promise studio executives $15-million or $20-million in profit from consumer products licenses. The harder line from toy makers and manufacturers is also changing what toys appear on shelves. Rather than making toys inspired by the newest and most inventive children's films, movie toys are more likely to be based on sequels, TV shows and remakes. In a recent review of 2002 movie-related toy lines, the trade publication Licensing Letter found that 73 percent were based on familiar properties, such as this summer's films Spider-Man, Stuart Little 2, Scooby Doo and Birth of the Pink Panther. The Hollywood studios' power with the toy industry peaked with The Lion King, which however, went beyond any product tie-in in history. Within just more than a year of its release, Lion King generated more than $300-million in toy sales alone -- and more than $1-billion in sales of all licensed products.
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From the wire |
