Last year Mattel's chief competitor Hasbro had the number one movie toy property in Star Wars, but in 2006 Mattel has a leg up on its chief rival thanks to licenses based on Warner Brothers' Superman Returns and Pixar's Cars. In addition Mattel has four key anime licenses including Naruto, Zatch Bell, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and One Piece.
Superman Returns
Although they weren't as popular as Star Wars toys in 2005, Mattel's Batman Begins offerings did very well and basically resuscitated the Batman property as a key toy license. Mattel hopes that Superman Returns will do the same for toys based on the Man of Steel. Mattel is preparing to unleash three different assortments of Superman Returns Action Figures including a basic 5.5' Superman Figures Assortment, a 7' Superman Ultra Figure Assortment, and 7' Superman Select Sculpts Assortment. There will be 13 basic figures including three villains from the movie and ten different Superman figures each demonstrating one of the Man of Steel's key powers.
The 12' Superman Returns Ultimate Power Figure features a talking chip plus several button-activated sound effects including take-offs and landings, plus a special 'heat vision' effect. One of Superman's most distinctive powers is his ability to fly and Mattel has developed the first radio-controlled Superman Returns Flying Superman Figure, which will fly for two minutes on a battery charge (and needs only 3 minutes to recharge). Mattel plans a major TV push for the Ultimate Power Figure and R/C Flying Superman Figure along with a couple of role-playing toys, the Superman Punch n' Crush Gloves and the Superman Inflato Suit, which provides kids with instant muscles.
The Batman
In December of 2005 Mattel unleashed a formidable array of toys based on the latest Batman animated series known as The Batman. Unlike the dark world of Batman Begins, the new Batman animated series provided plenty of color, especially in the extensive rogue's gallery of villains. Mattel's The Batman Action Figure line, which debuted in December, included some 35 different figures. The key release for 2006 will be the Batman Power Key Playset (July), which ties in directly with the cartoon series and will enable kids to make full use of the power keys that come with every Batman Action Figure.
Cars
Pixar's Cars is quite likely to be one of the big hits of 2006 and Mattel has a plethora of Cars-related toys, which will be in stores a full six weeks before the film opens on June 9. With its experience in creating Hot Wheels, Mattel is perfectly positioned to take advantage of a movie in which all the characters are cars. Mattel has Cars Characters Assortments, Cars Movie Moments Assortments, three different race sets as well as a Pullback Vehicle Assortment, a Zip Stick Racers Assortment, and a Cars Smack & Yak Assortment.
Naruto
The first Mattel Naruto toys, the Eight-Inch Fury Figure Assortment, will debut in May followed by three additional assortments in June, the Naruto Training Deluxe Figure Assortment, the Naruto Battling Basic Figure Assortment, and the Naruto 12' EXT Battle Assortment, which will receive TV support as will the Naruto Chakra Challenge.
The Naruto anime series has done exceptionally well on the Cartoon Network, and with the help of TV advertising, this property appears to be Mattel's best chance to make a splash both in the mass market and with independent retailers.
Zatch Bell
Mattel's other major anime-based initiative for 2006 is a line of toys based on Zatch Bell, another series that has had exposure on the Cartoon Network (and is also supported by a highly successful manga series as well as a CCG and video games). Mattel's 2' Zatch Bell Figure Assortment should debut in June along with a Zatch Bell Basic Figures Assortment.
Yu-Gi-Oh!
Mattel's major Yu-Gi-Oh! releases for 2006 are the Yu-Gi-Oh! Battle Armor Figure Assortment, which debuts in May and the Yu-Gi-Oh! Power Monster Assortment, which should ship to retail in June, along with the elaborate electronic Yu-Gi-Oh! E-Hero Thunder Giant, which will be featured in TV ads.
One Piece
All of the key elements of Mattel's first wave of One Piece toys shipped to retail in December, but two role-playing items, the One Piece Luffy Head and the One Piece Luffy Hand are due out in June.