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Inside Out

Seen and heard...

By Tina Benitez -- Gifts and Dec, 3/1/2007 12:00:00 AM

Fashion designer Jason Wu (pictured center, flanked by FAO Schwarz president David Niggli, left, and CEO Ed Schmults) launched his latest Fashion Royalty doll collection, which retails from $45 to $250, during an exclusive preview held at FAO's New York flagship store last month. New to the Fashion Royalty main collection, which first launched at FAO back in 2001, are doll characters Eugenia Frost, Ayumi D. and Collette D., as well as male doll Darius Reed … New York-based 4Kids Entertainment's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) action figures will accompany Happy Meals at McDonald's restaurants beginning this month, in time for the March 23 release of the Turtles feature film. Hot Topic, Wal-Mart, Kmart and Toys “R” Us are among the other retailers who will have promotional campaigns tied the movie. To date, the TMNT property has generated more than $5 billion in retail sales since its inception … Also on the food front, Burger King last month began featuring City of Industry, Calif.-based Jada Toys' Chub City cars in its own kids meals, along with soft or bendy versions of Manhattan Toy's Groovy Girls ... Dreyer's, Oakland, Calif. will launch new ice cream flavors inspired by American Idol, including Choc 'n' Roll Caramel, Hollywood Cheesecake, Soulful Sundae, Triple Talent and Take the Cake, and is urging fans to vote for their favorite flavors online. The winning flavor will earn a permanent spot in Dreyer's ice cream line ... Manga publisher TokyoPop, Los Angeles, will launch a new ratings system this fall featuring content indicators on the cover of each new series giving consumers more than just an age rating ... Bandai, Morning Star Games, WizKids Games and Talicor are a handful of the more than 100 hobby and game manufacturers who will be on hand at the Games Expo 2007 this month in Las Vegas. The goal for this year's show is to showcase games that can reach a wide variety of retail channels.

Sex and violence are not part of the message one expects to be passed on from play. But these days that message is coming across to children online, in music, in films, in the schoolyard and in play. During the Is There a Need for More Socially Responsible Toys? panel during last month's Toy Fair, Peter Adkinson, CEO of Hidden City Games and founder of Wizards of the Coast; Ali Goldstein, a licensed marriage and family therapist; Dave Polter of AG Properties; and Len Simonian, president and CEO of Only Hearts Club, discussed some of the challenges of developing toys that get a "good" message across to kids.

One challenge in choosing product that's age- and play-appropriate, according to Goldstein, is finding a balance between a desire to buy appropriate toys and buying what their child's wants. "Moms ask for socially responsible toys, but they don't always have the time to stop and look for them," she says.

Dave Polter of AG Properties, which owns Strawberry Shortcake, Care Bears and other "wholesome" properties, added that MGA Entertainment's Bratz are edgy, which made them successful, "but at the core, it must be a good toy." He said that the message alone will not always drive play. "It has to be a good toy, not just a good message."

For Only Hearts, its approach is to show girls through storylines how to deal with real life issues and make the right choices. "If we went out with dolls that are two goody-goody, it wouldn't sell," said Simonian.

Adkinson—who experienced his own product backlash when he launched Magic: The Gathering, which was accused of being satanic—said that there will always be a debate over play and what is or isn't appropriate. "We're always going to be fighting this fight. These different issues won't go away until we as a society address them."

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