Movie Mania Hits the Toy Aisle in 2017

March 20, 2017 | Toys based on movie franchises, television series, and other content driven platforms are a big hit in the toy aisle. In fact, they accounted for a whopping 30% of total U.S. toy sales in 2016, according to The NPD Group. Given the spate of family-friendly movies slated to hit the big screen over the next few months, 2017 is projected to be a huge year for licensed toys.  

Companies are bringing to market just about every type of plaything– including plush, ride-ons, games, action figures, and dolls – based on popular movie characters from Beauty and the Beast, Cars 3, Smurfs: The Lost Village, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, The LEGO Batman Movie, The LEGO Ninjago Movie, and Star Wars: The Last Jedi, among many others.

This year, “will be remembered as the year of licensed toys from multiple movies, especially boys’ action,” says Juli Lennett, NPD’s senior vice president and industry analyst for the U.S. toys division. “With over two dozen family-friendly movies, and oodles of toys to support them, the competition to win the hearts of kids will be fierce.”

Movie Mania is one of six toy trends identified by the Toy Industry Association (TIA) experts as a top trend for 2017. The trends were announced at the 114th North American International Toy Fair in February, where exhibitors large and small showcased new and exciting toys and games coming to store shelves this year.

Here are a few examples of toys with movie tie-ins featured by Toy Fair exhibitors: 

Beauty and the Beast’s Belle comes to life as kids can learn how to code with Hasbro’s Disney Princess: Dance Code Belle Doll (5+). Using the dance coding app, kids can learnsimple coding techniques such as block coding and ‘connect-the-dots’ to create and choreograph unique dance sequences for their Belle doll to move before their very eyes. The doll also features three standalone modes of play: Belle can instruct kids to dance, they can hold Belle’s arm to lead her in a dance, or simply press Belle’s necklace to watch the doll dance and twirl across the floor to choreographed dance routines.

Get ready for a galactic dance party with Jakks Pacific’s Rock N’ Roll Groot (4+), modelled after Baby Groot in Marvel’s Guardians of theGalaxy Vol. 2 coming out in May. The remote-controlled toy dances, spins, talks, and lights up as kids enjoy playing with it via manual or “listen” mode. In manual mode, kids control Groot’s action with the remote, modeled after the movie’s famous “Awesome Mix” cassette tape. In “listen” mode, Groot will dance on his own to almost any song when placed near a speaker.

Lightning McQueen, Tow Mater, and Jackson Storm from the Cars 3 movie, hitting theaters in mid-June, will take the form of Pillow Pets (3+) that will rev any young fan’s imagination, fostering creative play by day and serving as a comfy pillow for sweet racing dreams all night long.

One of the most anticipated movies of the year, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, will hit theaters in December. We expect to see a variety of action figures, collectibles, plush, playsets and educational toys related to the film. Uncle Milton’s Death Star Electronics Lab (8+) allows kids to construct electronic circuits inside the series’ iconic Death Star to activate authentic light and sound effects from the Star Wars movies. The circuit lab includes more than 20 experiments and uses over 70 components to allow kids to activate a super laser, initiate the tractor beam, trigger the battle alarm, or even power Darth Vader’s breathing machine.

With the release of Paddington 2, featuring the beloved children’s book character Paddington Bear, Yottoy Productions is launching a plush Paddington for Baby collection designed to encourage infant development. The line includes a classic jack-in-the-box that has a Paddington puppet made of velour with embroidered details and a crank handle that turns to the familiar nursery rhyme, “London Bridge is Falling Down.” It also has a chime ball, a baby blankie, and stroller toy. Paddington 2 is set to be released in the U.K. in December, with a U.S. release soon after.

For more information about the hottest toy trends of 2017, visit www.ToyAssociation.org/Trends.