WASHINGTON, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- Robot dogs that recognize their master's voice? Baby dolls that really really cry? Cookies on which kids can play tic-tac-toe? It's all at the American International Toy Fair this week in New York, and it'll be on shelves no later than Christmas season 2005.
This year's toy selection mixes old and new, classic and trendy, as icons like Star Wars are reintroduced, Barbie auditions for American Idol, toys "learn" from their owners, and games address topics as diverse as space exploration and the monster under the bed.
To combat scary nighttime monsters, The Magical Monster Trap comes with a magic wand, a book and other tools to guide parents and kids through getting rid of a monster, including food coloring so parents can show kids that whatever the color of their monster, it has been trapped in the box and can be poured harmlessly down the drain. (monstertrap.com)
Doublestar's new game Cogno: Deep Worlds is set in an alien ocean and designed to teach kids about space exploration and the universe by having players answer science questions, with content reviewed by NASA and SETI institute scientists. (cogno.com)
Some of the new interactive toys develop new responses as they interact with their owners. Others toys draw people more deeply into play by encouraging them to get physical, such as Hasbro's ION education toy that captures a kid's image and puts it right into the video game they are playing, or the no-push Pumgo skateboard (pumgo.com) that moves as you pump each end up and down (see "Toys that get you up and at 'em," UPI, Feb. 22). And yet others offer an affordable alternative to expensive grownup toys like mobile phones.
Hasbro's new interactive line of FurReal friends includes tiny, squishy-faced Newborns -- kittens, bunnies, and puppies that make tentative little movements and sounds like real newborns when they are petted -- as well as Scamps the Playful Pup, who responds to his owner's voice more and more as dog and master interact, and can learn to count, whine (when he doesn't understand a question), bark, wave, sing, and other tricks. (hasbro.com)
Parents who cringe at the thought of paying preteens' mobile phone bills can get them Hasbro's Chat Now, which allows kids to communicate within a two-mile range. The devices also allow kids to take digital pictures and send text messages.
"Today's tweens ask for cell phones but many parents don't feel they are ready for the responsibility and won't make the financial obligation," said Duncan Billing, chief marketing officer for Hasbro, Inc. With Chat Now, "Unlike a cell phone, parents won't incur airtime charges or have to commit to a calling plan."
The baby doll has been around forever, but Zapf Creations is bringing out new dolls that cry real tears, burp, wake up after loud noises, and need their diapers changed for the same reasons that real babies do. If startled by a loud noise, Baby Annabell cries real tears, moves her mouth as she really drinks her bottle and burps after she finishes it. Seat Baby Born on the potty and depending on her dinner she will go pee-pee or poo-poo, all without batteries. (zapf-creation.com)
Zapf is also providing a whole new line of furniture, clothing and accessories for these active little dolls, including a working bathtub and wardrobe. Little mommies can buy their swimming-friendly Baby Born dolls bathing suits, sunglasses and snorkel gear for beach adventures, a princess costume for dress-up, a bike helmet, a baby-sized karaoke machine with CDs, a snowboard, and more.
"Zapf Creation has always produced higher-end dolls and accessories. It's just that now, the consumer trend toward purchasing higher-end goods is especially swinging in our favor," Justin Kuperberg, president and general manager of Zapf Creation U.S., Inc., told UPI. "If it's made for a real baby, chances are, we make it for BABY born."
Not only toys but also candy is going interactive this year, with character licensing making such treats into more than just candy. Boston America has licensed several brands such as Emily Strange, Hello Kitty and Nightmare Before Christmas for collectible candy tins (bostonamerica.com). Color-a-Cookie has also licensed many characters like Arthur, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Elmo for its cookie coloring kits where kids use the accompanying food color markers to color the cookie just like they would a page in a coloring book. The company's Tic Tac Dough marker-and-cookie combo allows kids to play tic-tac-toe on the cookie before eating it. (coloracookie.com has some cookies, but an Internet search will bring up more choices.)
Speaking of interactive, what could be more interactive than helpful creatures teaching tots how to go potty? With tank, bowl and seat art that attaches to toilets with Velcro tabs, Jedicka turns toilets into friendly characters like Gatago ("gotta go") Giraffe and Poo P. Bunny (jeckida.com).
The Star Wars toy line is particularly hot this year with the impending release of the third and final movie, "Revenge of the Sith," in which Anakin Skywalker turns to the Dark Side and becomes Darth Vader. New Star Wars toy releases include Attacktix, a game played with Star Wars figures.
Hasbro has also released a Darth Vader, or "Darth Tater" Mr. Potato Head, accessorized with a Darth helmet, cape and light saber, as well as the usual big, googly eyes and so forth.
"Falling to the temptations of the evil Emperor, Mr. Potato Head is adopting a new look and heading over to the dark side of the Force!" Hasbro said. A life-size version of Darth Tater, accompanied by his taller more menacing namesake, waddled around the Hasbro showroom greeting journalists.
One brand, Orange County Choppers, a New York custom motorcycle company with its own reality show on Discovery Channel, seemed to be popping up all over the fair, on everything from energy drinks to mints (by Boston America) to interchangeable toy motorcycle parts with which kids can customize their own choppers (by Geospace, geospace.com).
For those who yearn for classic toys whose history goes back farther than 30 years or so, Channel Craft makes great puzzles including metal "tavern puzzles" and geographic puzzles of America that map such things as baseball stadiums, raceways, gamefish, lighthouses, riverboats, the Lewis and Clark expedition, American Indian chieftains, and more. (channelcraft.com). U.S. Games Systems has several historical card games such as The People's Choice, about U.S. presidents, and a Black History playing card deck (usgamesinc.com)
One product that could prove more of a lifesaver than a toy is the Pocket Get off the Phone Excuse Machine which gives people six different sounds that will help them get off the phone -- including static, a crying baby, a police siren, door bell, lunch deliveryman at the door, and a car crash.
"Perfect for bill collectors," said the manufacturing company, Big Mouth Toys (www.bigmouthtoys.com).
