NEW YORK – Harry Potter witchcraft, endangered species, dinosaurs, and police and firefighter heroes all rate high on the toy list this Christmas.
The entrance of one New York Toys R Us store leads directly to “Animal Alley,” filled with an endless collection of merchandise linked with the television show “Animal Planet.”
“There are merchandise tie-ins between toys, popular television shows, movies, fast-food restaurants and, of course, toys,” said Toys R Us Manager Sergio Logan. “‘Animal Planet’ is just one manifestation of a multi-dimensional marketing phenomenon.”
“Animal Planet” is hawking all kinds of dinosaurs this year, says Kim Scholmeyer, a Toys R Us sales associate.
“There’s the T-Rex, 3-D Woolly Mammoth and Velociraptor, which are big sellers. People are also buying buckets of dinosaurs and small backpacks filled with dinosaurs or jungle animals, sort of ‘to-go’ packs that children can carry around with them,” Scholmeyer said, adding that “Unicorns are the most popular stuffed animal” this Christmas season.
The Harry Potter display, or what’s left of it, features merchandise flying off the shelves so fast that local Toys R Us has a hard time even keeping the items on a pallet in the loading dock – especially the Harry Potter levitation game, say store employees.
Other hot toys for Christmas include X-Box on PlayStation 2, the International Space Station and the game Cube. The Rokenbok Expandable Radio-Controlled Building System is a fast-selling item, going for $199.99. Not to be forgotten is the hard-to-find Jake the Radio-Controlled Snake, which just about every shopper is searching for in vain. With Jake unavailable, some shoppers are turning to the radio-controlled BioBugs, popularized in “The X Files” episode “War of the Coprophages.”
Equally popular are the WWF wrestling action figures.
“The popularity of these items reflects the interest and exposure even small children have to professional wrestling,” Logan said.
Logan pointed out the WWF Trash Talking Stage, which has “over 100 actual voice recordings” but “doesn’t use any four-letter words.”
Other toys being snatched up include the “Saturday Night Live” Samurai Baker – selling for $9.99 and featuring the late John Belushi in his famous skit – Shrek, Croc Hunter, and there’s even been a comeback of the E.T. action figure of Spielberg movie fame.
The “Toy Story” film-related dolls and action figures also are selling well, Logan said.
“People are going crazy for a lot of these dolls. Woody is popular. And even more popular is the Boo character from the film ‘Monsters Inc.’ ‘Star Wars’ merchandise is also making a comeback this year. Ah, that George Lucas!” exclaimed Logan.
Old-fashioned items include the popular metal Tonka products; the Mighty Dump Truck is going for $20. Tinkertoys and Lincoln Logs also are holding their own this year. The latter’s Frontier Fort, selling for $29.99, is “a big seller among grandparents and the older, World War II generation,” said Logan.
Tina Mentlik, a sales rep and vendor for Hasbro Inc., said that the popularity of the metal Tonka products “reflects the mindset and old-fashioned values of the World War II generation. They trust metal over plastic,” she said.
Toys and Sept. 11
Mentlik commented that the sale of toys related to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York City has impacted the Christmas season.
“Items related to the police and firemen are selling well,” she said. “The police and firemen have earned hero-like status, at least here in New York. This is reflected in both terms of sales of related merchandise and the ability of companies to produce and deliver new items on the shelves in the few weeks since Sept. 11.”
Mentlik said that sales of G.I. Joe and other toys related to soldiering also have been bolstered by the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.
Like Lego and Barbie, G.I. Joe has changed with the times. Mentlik pointed to G.I. Joe and his new Electra Glide Harley motorcycle. Then there are collector items like Vietnam-Wall G.I. Joe – it lights up, “but there are no real names on the wall,” says Mentlik. Operation Overlord and Battle of the Bulge G.I. Joes are also prime for the picking, as is a Korean War-era 155 mm Howitzer. The G.I. Joe aircraft carrier goes for $79.99.
G.I. Joe is getting some new competition from a similar line of products made by 21st Century Toys.
There’s America’s Finest – a policeman ready to handle a new set of terrorist attacks. A cadre of generic villains, led by the sultry blonde Jacqueline, are also longing to sit under your Christmas tree. A British Seal Commando known as the Scud-Hunter, perhaps a forerunner of a second war between the U.S./UK and Iraq, stands ready to brighten a young boy’s holiday.
Asked if customers ever complain about toys being manufactured in communist China by Christians and political dissidents working in slave-labor factories, Mentlik said, “Not one single customer has ever brought up this issue with me. As long as the customer finds what they want, they don’t think twice about where the product is made. As long as they are happy and their children are happy, they don’t care about China, slave labor and human rights.”
Added Logan, “Christmas might not seem like the proper time to talk about human slavery, human rights and slave labor in China, but you know, actually any day is a good time to speak out against such evils – perhaps Christmas is the best day of all.”