Hasbro and Mattel merge iconic brands

Toy titans Hasbro and Mattel are joining forces to create co-branded toys and games beginning with Barbie and Transformers (via The Toy Book).

“We are excited to pair some of the most popular brands together for the first time,” says Nick Karamanos, Senior Vice President of Entertainment Partnerships at Mattel. “This collaboration features world-class intellectual property (IP), celebrates the timeless appeal of these brands, and creates unique play opportunities for fans.”

This summer sees highly-anticipated movies for Barbie and Transformers brands.

“With the major theatrical releases of the Transformers and Barbie movies this summer, we’re excited to bring brand-new play experiences to fans, families, and movie and toy lovers all around the world,” says Casey Collins, President, Global Licensed Consumer Products & Business Development at Hasbro. “Working with iconic brands in pop culture truly showcases our strategy in action, as we continue to expand our product experiences for audiences everywhere.”

Is it too soon for a Masters of the Universe/Transformers crossover?

Are you looking forward to Transformers Hot Wheels? Let me know in the comments below.

Barbie in a galaxy far, far away...

In the run-up to the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Mattel and Disney have joined forces for a new Star Wars-inspired Barbie collection based on Darth Vader, R2-D2 and, my personal favourite and childhood crush, Princess Leia.

Star Wars x Barbie is an homage to Star Wars: A New Hope. This eponymous collection, inspired by the film’s original concept art, re-imagines iconic characters through a distinctive Barbie high-fashion filter. Darth Vader Barbie reminds me of a female Kylo Ren cosplayer I saw at Star Wars Celebration Europe, which is very cool.

Barbie is no stranger to sci-fi. Kirk, Spock and Uhura dolls were released to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Star Trek.

The new Star Wars x Barbie figures retail for $100 dollars and are available for pre-order from Amazon.com (affiliate link) and Amazon.co.uk (affiliate link). No doubt these will prove to be very popular with Barbie and Star Wars collectors alike.

Which is your favourite Barbie from the collection? Let me know in the comments below.

Netflix is rebooting She-Ra in 2018

For the honour of Grayskull: The Princess of Power is back!

During the holiday season, Netflix exclusively streamed the first half of The Toys That Made Us, an unmissable documentary series looking at Star Wars, Barbie, G.I. Joe and Masters of the Universe, and announced a reboot of She-Ra: The Princess of Power for 2018.

She-Ra: The Princess of Power was a Masters of the Universe spin-off in the mid-1980s when He-Man and friends outsold stablemate Barbie to become the world's number one toy. The She-Ra reboot will be made by DreamWorks with Noelle Stevenson, best known for Nimona and Lumberjanes, serving as executive producer.

The new She-Ra series will stream on Netflix later this year.

Reluctant Spice World

When I began my tenure at Reuters in 1996, the Spice Girls appeared on the pop scene and, mentored by their manager Simon Fuller, sold the ideological premise of "Girl Power!" wholesale to the masses.

This equated to a license to print money and, whatever you may think of the Spice Girls musical oeuvre, there's no denying Fuller's conquest of the retail aisles! From CDs to posters and toys to sweets, the Spice Girls foreshadowed the arrival of Bratz and the brand dilution of Barbie!

Incidentally, Victoria Beckham (then Adams) AKA Posh Spice, allegedly auditioned for a Bournemouth University BAMP production prior to the Spice Girls! Please don't ask me for details as I don't have any further information!

In anticipation of their upcoming tour...

I’M RELUCTANT SPICE, MEL C TELLS GRAHAM NORTON THE GRAHAM NORTON SHOW

10.00 pm, Thursday 25 October 2007 (repeated Sunday), BBC TWO

MELANIE ‘Sporty Spice’ CHISHOLM confirms she was slow to sign up for the Spice Girls’ forthcoming world tour when she joins GRAHAM NORTON this week.

‘I was Reluctant Spice’ she says, ‘I was the last to make my decision because it was a hard decision to make .. I was scared we couldn’t do it again. It was a weird time of my life, I had a lot of personal s**t to get over after the Spice Girls.’ But she denies press rumours that she was bullied; ‘I never said that. How can they quote you? I wasn’t bullied at all. .. I just love the British tabloids, they’re so imaginative! In America they’re more of a joke.’

About the forthcoming single she says they all share the singing honours; ‘We all sing the chorus, we all have an equal part in the song .. it’s a very ‘Spicey’ ballad, it’s lovely to hear all our voices again, I love doing that kind of stuff.’

Mel also comes out in support of troubled Britney Spears. ‘Poor Britney, I feel bad for her. She used to be looked after. Obviously she’s not happy, she really needs someone to step in.’

And she also reveals she’s been round to the Princes’ for tea; ‘I met them a while ago. We [the Spice Girls] were invited to Highgrove for high tea. Some of us didn’t like cucumber sandwiches and we made this known to our hosts, and we were made peanut-butter on toast by Prince William (but) the kitchen was rubbish, like MFI!’ she said.

Graham is also joined by Hollywood royalty JOSH HARTNETT whose latest blockbuster 30 Days of Night is released in the UK next week; and RUFUS WAINWRIGHT performs his new single Tiergarten live in the studio.

Watch the interview clip (iTunes required).

The Graham Norton Show is a So Television production for BBC TWO.

Passion for Fashion!

As I've noted previously. A lot of you are buying products from both my Amazon and Amazon.co.uk associate links. Thank you once again for supporting my passion for blogging in this way. Please don't underestimate its significance.

Because Bratz are an ever-popular holiday gift with readers, I've decided to add another aStore.

Bratz Shop

David Rowan, editor of the Jewish Chronicle and a Times columnist, wrote this compelling article; The Times Magazine: How Bratz beat Barbie.

There are lots of bargains available online, but please note that the last day to place orders for delivery before Christmas is December 22nd (by Express Delivery).

The Entertainer

In time for the holiday season, let me introduce The Entertainer.

The Entertainer is the largest independent retailer of toys in the UK, with over 25 years offline and 8 years online experience. The brand ‘The Entertainer’ has been well established amongst parents through its network of 41 stores.

The Entertainer’s target audience is young children to late teens together with a small adult market (via board games). The product range includes many brand names such as Bratz, Doctor Who, Pixel Chix, Tamigotchi, Playmobil, Thomas & Friends, Hasbro, Mattel, Lego, Hornby, Star Wars, TP Activity Toys , MB Games, Barbie, Fisher Price, TOMY, Play-Doh, Heelys and many more.