Licensing Show features mix of new, retro

Entertainment Rights plans to deliver Postman Pat to its first Licensing Show this month as the British property makes its U.S. debut.

"Postman Pat," a television show featuring the animated mail carrier, airs on HBO Family.

"We are thrilled to introduce Postman Pat to the licensing community for this year's Licensing Show," said Kathleen Hricik, an executive with Entertainment Rights. "We look forward to working with new licensing partners in the U.S. to bring Postman Pat's charm, wit and wisdom to even more children across the country and reinforce the popular series' positive messages of community, sharing and helping others."

Initially, Entertainment Rights is looking for licensees in the plush, toy and publishing categories. To help kick off Postman Pat's debut, Entertainment Rights partnered with the United States Postal Service for an event scheduled at the end of May that included educational outreach programs and appearances by a Postman Pat costume character.

4Kids Entertainment is unveiling Viva Piñata, a multi-platform property developed with Microsoft. The property stars an assortment of living piñata animals and is scheduled to premier this fall on the Fox network. Microsoft also has created a video game for Xbox 360 that allows the user to customize his or her own piñata world. 4Kids is looking for licensees in several core categories, including apparel, home furnishings, accessories, footwear, food and beverage, health and beauty, publishing, toy and games, with plans to have merchandise on retail shelves by spring 2007.

4Kids also is launching licensing programs for Kappa Mikey, an animated series on the Nicktoons network and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The turtles get a new look this fall in a series that will air on Fox on Saturday mornings. "TMNT Fast Forward" takes the turtles into the future where they no longer have to hide in the sewer. The turtles have a new look and will battle new enemies. 4Kids plans to expand the retail presence of both the current and new-look turtles with an emphasis on toys, apparel and publishing.

The Joester Loria Group has ramped up its licensing program for the Care Bears property. The Grumpy Bear collection has been expanded and includes toys, apparel, home textiles and publishing categories, and the Care Bears Baby line includes nursery, layette, diapers, baby gifts and food.

Joester Loria also is launching its licensing program for the brand Baby Genuis, an educational line of musical CDs and DVDs for infants and toddlers. The agency is seeking licensees in developmental toys and other infant products.

In addition, Joester Loria has signed several licensees for the Little Robots, Peppa Pig, Animal Soup and Bad Alice properties.

Al Ovadia & Associates returns to the Licensing Show this year with several new and continuing properties.

TWF, or Thumb Wrestling Federation, is a live-action series of shorts that will debut on U.S. television this spring. The first season features bouts between two sets of masked wrestlers — The Mighty Dexteras and The Evil Sinistras — that will culminate with a championship match set for the end of the summer. The property's licensing program includes a range of categories such as apparel, toy and games, back to school, domestics, gifts and more.

The other new juvenile property, Zixx, combines live action with CGI, and tells the story of an alien investigator, Zixx, and her reptilian friend, Flanngo, who have crashed on Earth. The pair joins forces with two humans to save the planet from the evil Oncallon.

In addition to these properties, the Ovadia firm also will bring its current properties, including The Annoying Thing aka Crazy Frog, Bernard and Huevocartoon.

SupperTime Entertainment plans to showcase ToddWorld an animated preschool property in its expanded booth this month. The property, which airs on Discovery Kids, features a quirky art style in bold colors based on a series of books by Todd Parr.

Ty's Toy Box, an online retailer of licensed brands, has debuted an area on its Web site devoted to the property. Consumers can order a variety of ToddWorld product from the site such as character plush, books, games, puzzles, stickers and play sets.

In partnership with Suppertime, Ty's Toy Box is looking to expand the merchandising program and will be seeking manufacturers at the Licensing Show. The retailer is looking for suppliers that are suited to ToddWorld's unusual look and companies that want to take advantage of online opportunities.

Big Tent Entertainment will showcase several new and returning properties at this year's show.

Domo, a recent addition to Big Tent's lineup, is an animated character that got its start as the mascot for a Japanese television station. The fuzzy character is a popular brand in Japan, with a successful licensing campaign and more than 600 products worldwide. Domo will debut on U.S. television later this year on Nickelodeon's Nicktoons network. Big Tent is targeting Domo to the tween and teen market and is looking to secure licensees in categories such as plush, video, interactive games, collectibles, stationary, publishing, accessories, greeting cards and room décor.

Big Tent also has recently signed a licensing deal with children's photographer Kim Anderson, who is known for the colored accents added to otherwise black and white or sepia photos. Big Tent will represent Anderson in North America and is focusing on categories such as bedding, bath décor, dolls, gifts, arts and crafts, puzzles, framed art and paper party goods.

Also new this year to Big Tent is The Star Girls, an Australia-based female group whose members — Angel, Dream, Cheeky and Smiley, all hail from Planet Groove. The group, whose target audience is children between the ages of 4 and 12, plays music designed to inspire and empower kids. Big Tent's licensing program initially will focus on home and room décor, television, home video, apparel, publishing, gifts and accessories.

Two current Big Tent properties will return to the Licensing Show this month as well — Habbo Hotel and the Koala Brothers. Habbo Hotel is an interactive Internet site designed for teens that allows them to create online characters called Habbos. Big Tent already has inked licensing deals with The Betesh Group's Funhouse division, which is making furniture, storage and home décor items that are due out this summer. Worldwide Dreams is manufacturing a line of fashion bags and accessories that will launch at retail in the fall. At this year's show, Big Tent is looking to complete deals in these categories: apparel, accessories, publishing, stationery, back to school, gifts, home entertainment and more.

The Koala Brothers property will appear on products from American Greetings, including stickers and Heirloom Collection ornaments. The line debuts this summer.

Marvel Entertainment is showcasing three upcoming films as well as its stable of superhero brands during the Licensing Show.

"Ghost Rider," due out in February, stars Nicolas Cage as motorcycle stunt rider Johnny Blaze, who strikes a deal with Mephistopheles to save a loved one. Marvel is focusing the licensing program on the interactive, toy, collectibles and apparel categories. The company already has lined up several licensees including Take 2 (interactive entertainment), Hasbro (master toy), Mad Engine (apparel), Disguise (costumes), Sideshow Toys, Diamond, Master Replicas (collectibles) and K2 (sports equipment).

"Spider-Man 3" is scheduled for release in May and already has several licensees on board, including Hasbro and Mega Bloks (toys), Jay Franco (textiles) and Harper Collins (publishing). The sequel to last year's "Fantastic 4" also is scheduled for release next year, and Marvel has launched an integrated licensing campaign across all categories. In addition, an animated series based on the brand will debut this fall on the Cartoon Network. Marvel is launching a full toy line with Toy Biz and will round out the campaign with products in the apparel and interactive entertainment categories.

Marvel also continues to expand the licensing programs for its key brands, which include Marvel Babies; Marvel Juniors, geared toward tweens and teens; the preschool-themed Spider-Man & Friends; and Marvel Heroes.

Sony Pictures Consumer Products will feature upcoming movies and a new television show.

"Surf's Up" is an animated feature from Sony Pictures Animation that follows the story of Cody Maverick as he enters the world of competitive penguin surfing. The movie is scheduled for release in June 2007. Sony Pictures Consumer Products is seeking licensees across all key product categories.

Sony Pictures also will showcase "Open Season," an animated film set for release in September that follows the adventures of Boog, a grizzly bear, and Elliot, a one-horned mule deer, and "Spider-Man 3," a Marvel Studios/Laura Ziskin Production.

The preschool series "It's a Big, Big World" debuted on PBS Kids in January and uses a patented technique that combines real-time virtual sets and puppetry. The show focuses on Snook, a tree sloth that lives in the tallest tree in the world with a group of distinct animals. The show is designed to expose kids to geography, ecology, geology and diversity.

The initial licensing campaign will focus on interactive, toys and publishing.

Postman Pat

Zixx

Domo

Marvel Babies