AMERICAN GREETINGS ENTERTAINMENT American Greetings Entertainment’s Care Bears franchise will celebrate its 35th anniversary next year, and will introduce nostalgic lifestyle products with its partners. Land of Nod will launch a direct-to-retail program with artist-designed bedding and plush. Nordstrom will feature a plush, apparel, and accessories program for infant girls to tweens. Additional collaboration partners include Boy Meets Girl, Wildfox, Freshly Picked, and Ironfist for Dolls Kill. California Donuts will create an exclusive Care Bears donut at its flagship Koreatown location in Los Angeles. Supported with entertainment distributed to more than 450 million households and 50 languages worldwide, the Care Bears can now be seen on the Netflix original series Care Bears & Cousins. In addition to Care Bears, American Greetings’ Kooky comeback kid Madballs will gross-out a new generation with more crack-up, wacky fun. The Netflix original series Buddy Thunderstruck is a modern-day action-comedy. This stop-motion extravaganza follows the ridiculous adventures of a semi-truck driving dog named Buddy and his ferret mechanic, Darnell.
DISCOVERY KIDS Discovery Kids will continue to expand in North America through licensing deals in toys, games, apps, and apparel for kids ages 6 to 12. New science kits, arts and crafts, publishing, and toys will hit retail this year through licensees including Horizon Group, MerchSource, Sakar, Journey North, Parragon, and The Bridge Direct. Animal Planet Kids is part of one of the top animal brands on the planet that encourages consumers to celebrate and explore connections with the animal world. A 15-year partnership with Toys “R” Us in North America drives an Animal Planet toy line that features a 20-foot space at Toys “R” Us stores, which includes a space in the future flagship store in New Jersey. The line includes a full range of toys, including Big Foot, Yeti, and Animal Transport Helicopter.
82 THE TOY BOOK | MAY/JUNE 2016 | TOYBOOK.COM