The headlines (including ICv2's) are screaming 'Licensing is Back,' and it's true that in the wake of a strong Q4 (see 'Toy Fair Trends') there is renewed interest in movie and television-licensed items, but the major toy companies are still leery of anything but a gilt-edged property, so some pretty big movies were snapped up by some of the more aggressive players among the small and medium-size companies in the industry.  Mezco Toys dipped into film history to produce the 6-inch Reservoir Dogs Figures last year, but this year they have landed one of the biggest potential films of the summer, the still nameless Austin Powers 3.  Equity Marketing has created all sorts of premiums for Burger King and other restaurant chain promotions for years, but the company is expanding into the creation of retail toys with its line of Scooby Doo Figures that just happen to coincide with the release of the live action Scooby Doo film.  Meanwhile Jakks Pacific, another robust toy company on the way up, has expanded from its WWF line to include a series of figures based on the Universal film, The Scorpion King, a spin-off from the popular Mummy movies that stars the WWF's The Rock.

Mezco Animal House figure

Mezco

Mezco just signed the license to create toys for the new Austin Powers film so details about this toy line were unavailable when we visited Toy Fair, though the company did have one 'prototype' on exhibit.  Look for more information on this key property as it becomes available.  Meanwhile Mezco did exhibit its figures based on the classic college comedy, Animal House, including a figure of Bluto Blutarsky with a giant beer glass.  Suffice it to say, that like the Reservoir Dogs toys from last year, the beer-swilling Animal House action figures are geared for an older audience.

Mezco's two other major initiatives for 2002 have a definite urban cast.  The 'Hoodz' figures can be posed in all sorts of break dance moves, while ur-rappers Run DMC come complete with leather fedoras and heavily braided gold chains.

Scooby Series 2

Equity Marketing

Equity Marketing is planning to get some juice from the mid-summer release of the Scooby Doo live action film (which features Sarah Michelle Geller), but all the Scooby-Do figures that Equity is producing are based on the classic cartoon series and not the live action movie.  This makes perfect sense since the cartoons are broadcast continuously on cable.  The Equity Marketing Scooby Doo toys have lots of play value and are clearly targeted at younger fans.  The line even includes Scooby Doo Bobble Head Dolls, which Equity calls 'Way-Cool Wigglers.'  A five-inch figure assortment includes Scooby and Shaggy plus three of the movie villains, Spooky Lunar Ghost, Jester, and Spooky Demon.  One of the coolest new Scooby Doo toys is a Totem Pole Construction Set that features seven heads of the Scooby Gang, each of which comes with magnets so they can be stacked in any number of ways to create a Scooby Doo Totem Pole.

Jakks Pacific