Last week leaders of the toy industry converged in New York City for the annual Toy Fair convention featuring the latest and greatest new products from companies big and small. The show isn’t open to the public, instead intended for toy makers and distributors to make deals with stores for their upcoming product lines.
Throughout its four days, we scoured hundreds of booths to pick out the best new Disney products being shown off. Some exhibitors reveal their wares freely in open booths while others tuck them away behind closed doors, granting access only by appointment or invitation.
Disney is certainly one of the licensors at the show, offering up its familiar characters to many companies at Toy Fair to create a variety of unique, interesting, and fun products. Let’s take a look at some of the best…
Mattel
One of the biggest toy companies in the world, Mattel took over the fourth floor of the Javits Center with their private showroom. Only those approved to enter got a chance to look at what they’ll be releasing throughout 2013. We found our way in, spending a few hours exploring their upcoming products, Disney and otherwise.
(Today we focus only on Disney but check back soon for a wrap-up of non-Disney products including popular franchises like Ghostbusters, He-Man, the Wizard of Oz, Batman, and Monster High.)
Mattel offered us a private, thorough, and quite entertaining demonstration of all of the products they were debuting at Toy Fair. Take 15 minutes to watch it in the video below, followed by a few photos highlighting the toys from Sofia the First, Planes, Cars, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and impressive new interactive Disney Princess castle.
Video: Disney toy showcase from Mattel at Toy Fair 2013
These weren’t the only new products Mattel unveiled at Toy Fair – but they are the only ones we can show you. Within the highly secretive walls of their buyer showcase, additional products from “Planes” were on display along with plenty of prototypes from other properties. But those were for our eyes only. Rest assured, there are some fun things hitting store shelves from Mattel this year.
Hasbro
One of the other major players in Disney licenses is Hasbro, this year more than ever before. At Toy Fair they unveiled Play-Doh+ in their off-site Times Square showroom. This new Play-Doh compound is softer and more malleable, allowing kids of all ages to create more intricate designs.
Accompanying the new Play-Doh product is a series of Disney Princess play sets. Play-Doh+ makes it possible to create an intricate princess dress for Belle, for example, or give Rapunzel realistic long flowing hair, one strand at a time.
Two of Disney’s biggest-ever acquisitions are Marvel and Lucasfilm, both of which Hasbro holds the license for producing incredibly large arrays of toys, the newest of which were unveiled at Toy Fair, many already hitting store shelves since the event wrapped up.
In the world of Marvel, “Iron Man 3,” “Wolverine,” and “Thor 2” are the big product lines supporting the upcoming films, including quite a few role playing accessories that make noise, light up, and/or shoot tiny plastic projectiles, all demonstrated in the video below.
Video: Marvel toy showcase from Hasbro at Toy Fair 2013
The Titan Hero Series takes its look from classic Marvel with large-scale action figures that will surely appeal to nostalgic collectors.
And then there’s Spider-Man, which has seen movies on top of movies over the last 10 years or so. Though Sony, not Marvel Studios, is responsible for creating those films, the toys are no less exciting with this year’s line relying on plenty of high-flying movement including stretchy tongues and webs.
But the big change this year is in the world of Star Wars, now owned by Disney. Hasbro has been cranking out Star Wars products since purchasing Kenner in 1991. There have been thousands. Watch as Hasbro demonstrates all the latest Star Wars toys coming soon to a toy store near you.
Video: Star Wars toy showcase from Hasbro at Toy Fair 2013
This year’s line is particularly exciting for collectors with the new Black Series figures offering a larger scale and more detail on Star Wars characters than ever before.
Up close, the likenesses on these 6″ scale figures are striking, far better than the 3.75″ scale Star Wars figures have traditionally been released at. Luke Skywalker, Darth Maul, Darth Vader, R2-D2, and many more will be released at this new scale in sleek packaging just begging to be displayed.
Other fun new additions to the Star Wars line includes color-changing light sabers, from blue to red as Anakin transitions to Darth Vader.
Spin Master
Spin Master has been producing toys for Disney for a number of years, this year showing off their upcoming “Monsters University” products in a huge special event featuring filmmakers and voice star John Goodman. A few highlights are included below, including a toy demonstration from Spin Master, but be sure to click over to our full report from the event for more details and photos.
Video: Tour of “Monsters University” toys at Toy Fair 2013
Spin Master also showed a few coloring products featuring Disney characters.
Other Disney
Beyond these major players, many more exciting Disney products were revealed at Toy Fair this year, big and small. Much of what is seen at the show is in various stages of development. Some are final products. Some are prototypes. Some are early sculpts and packaging. Below is an assortment of the most interesting Disney products throughout the rest of the convention.
Not Quite Disney
That’s a look at some of the best Disney-related products that debuted at Toy Fair 2013. But there’s much more to come, so check back soon for another “best of” wrap-up of everything else seen at the show, including more product demos and, of course, plenty more photos of new and exciting toys.
More photos of Disney products at Toy Fair 2013:
(Photos by Michelle Moss and Ricky Brigante)