Sesame Street for Military Families is launching new digital resources in English and Spanish, highlighting simple strategies for self-care and emotional well-being in military families. These new resources have been made possible by the generous support of Amazon Web Services (AWS), which shares Sesame Workshop’s deep commitment to military families.
The Rubik’s Cube just got a new look: a greener, eco-friendly one, that is! It’s the same iconic puzzle readers know and love, created with sustainability in mind. Rubik’s Re-Cube is the first 100% recycled Rubik’s 3×3 Cube, made from 100% recycled ABS plastic and packaged in 100% recycled cardboard. It is FSC certified, meeting the top criteria for sustainability standards. The Rubik’s Re-Cube is an example of Spin Master’s Playsponsible initiative. The company is committed to creating magical play experiences for children and their families while also being responsible custodians of the world these children will one day inherit.
The Insights Family, the global leader in kids, teens, parents, and family market intelligence, has launched the third edition of their latest Industry Voice Survey. The 5-10-minute survey (click here) looks to uncover how industry professionals feel working within the family space today, and how their confidence levels for 2023 and the years ahead. Their last Industry Voice report highlighted that only 94% of industry professionals felt that they did not know enough about their audiences and 80% of professionals who work in the kids, teens, parents, and family space did not feel that they had access to reliable market intelligence.
Award-winning global independent animation studio ZAG announced the appointment of Gaye Dean, a thirty-plus year veteran of Target Corporation, as Vice President, North America Retail Development. The announcement was made by Jeremy Zag, Founder and CEO, ZAG. Reporting to Lisa K. Foster, Sr. Vice President, Licensing, North America, Dean will manage strategic relationships across all tiers of retail throughout North America for the roster of properties under the ZAG Heroez label—an umbrella brand franchise that brings together the superheroes from ZAG’s animated properties
CoComelon, the world’s most popular kids entertainment brand, is poised to support even more little ones in their foundational years as the franchise continues to expand. Moonbug Entertainment, a subsidiary of Candle Media, has announced significant momentum across the entire franchise, including an additional beloved character getting their own show in 2023 – Nina! The launch of Nina builds on the successful roll out of Cody Time and JJ’s Animal Time. Through these spin-offs and the strength of the original CoComelon show, the franchise continues to connect with new audiences: global YouTube subscribers grew 33% and viewership increased by nearly one third (29%) last year. Additionally, JJ and his friends reached a new milestone – more than 50 billion views on YouTube in one year – and CoComelon continued its weekly reign throughout 2022 in the Netflix Top 10 list.
Barbie has officially announced the launch of the Bessie Coleman Inspiring Women doll, recognizing the first Black and Native American female pilot with a doll made in her likeness, in advance of her birthday, January 26th, and in celebration of Black History Month. To ensure Bessie’s legacy is truly represented, Barbie teamed up with Gigi Coleman, Bessie’s great-niece and President of The Bessie Coleman Aviation All-Stars, to celebrate this Inspiring Women Doll.
Funko Games has announced the latest assortment of its fandom-inspired Pop! Puzzles featuring beloved pop-culture favorites including SpongeBob SquarePants, Ted Lasso, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic Park. Since the debut of Pop! Puzzles Avatar: The Last Airbender, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Elf, Funko Games has contributed to the growing popularity of jigsaw puzzles. Featuring Funko’s signature Pop! Figures, the newest assortment brings fans an immersive pastime experience as they piece together original illustrations inspired by popular films and hit TV shows in pop culture, including Ted Lasso, everyone’s favorite square yellow sponge named SpongeBob, Groot and Gamora from Guardians of the Galaxy, and the heroic Alan Grant from Jurassic Park.
Award-winning global independent animation studio ZAG has launched Miraculous Secrets, its first trading card game for the billion-dollar Miraculous franchise at retail in Germany and Austria and will roll-out to other European countries in the coming months. The announcement was made today by Jeremy Zag, Founder and CEO, ZAG. Miraculous Secrets, from the ZAG Play Toy Division, was developed in partnership with Epopia, the creator of the groundbreaking, multiple award-winning interactive platform that encourages children to read and write who first partnered with ZAG in April 2021, acquiring global licensing rights to ZAG’s brands to create personalized and interactive storytelling. Miraculous Secrets is distributed by Amigo, the well-established European game maker.
In December NPD Groups released a report showing that “kidults” are responsible for one-fourth of all toy sales annually, around $9 billion worth, and are the biggest driver of growth throughout the industry. While this may be shocking news to some, it’s common knowledge in the halls of Paragon FX Group, as is evidenced by their latest offering, the 89 Batman: Modular Utility Grapnel Set. The multi-purpose, hand-held unit allowed for Batman to store numerous items on his utility belt yet deploy them all from a single device. The Paragon FX Group team spent a full twelve months recreating the device out of cnc machined aluminum.