Huge Surprise planned for ToyFair 2011 - What is it?

[Jatta Pake]

If I were running DST, I would be seeking a new flagship property to carry the brand after Marvel fades. Battle Beasts and MAX require years to entrench into the collecting community and likely lack enough muster to ever anchor the Minimates brand in big stores.

This one leads to thoughts of DC, Star Wars, GI Joe, He-Man, Thundercats, and Transformers properties. Unfortunately, I do not think any will get the Minimates treatment anytime soon. I pray I'm wrong.

Past experience suggests this will be similar to the HUGE announcement of Universal Minimates. This time, all signs point to the Sony and Disney movie franchises.

Pirates of the Caribbean 4 - yes

Tron - no

John Carter of Mars - yes but not shown at ToyFair

Narnia - maybe

Lone Ranger - yes

Ghost Rider 2 - yes

Spider-Man - yes

Smurfs - yes

Edited January 26, 2011 by Jatta Pake

[undeadpool]

i feel silly about my post now but still my ideas stand

[Ninja Mate]

If something similar to this is true....well, less of my money will be going to Minimates.

Pirates of the Caribbean 4 - maybe buy

Tron - Wont Buy

John Carter of Mars - Wont Buy

Narnia - Wont Buy

Lone Ranger - Wont Buy

Ghost Rider 2 - Will Buy

Spider-Man - Will Buy

Smurfs - Wont Buy

and as for Sony and Disney....Wont buy either.

Edited January 26, 2011 by Ninja Mate

[drgnrbrn316]

Pirates of the Caribbean 4 - yes

Tron - no

John Carter of Mars - yes but not shown at ToyFair

Narnia - maybe

Lone Ranger - yes

Ghost Rider 2 - yes

Spider-Man - yes

Smurfs - yes

The Marvel movies are a given, though I fail to see how they'd shift the flagship off of Marvel, seeing that they are in fact Marvel movies.

As for the rest, I have my doubts. The time for Tron has come and gone, with the same likely being said for Narnia. Lego has their hands in the Pirates license, which isn't a deal breaker, but DST is hard at work on their own generic pirate line, so I don't really see them investing a large sum of money in an official license when they can get by pretty well with their generic one. If the Spirit couldn't hit with buyers, I'm not so sure the Lone Ranger could (didn't even know there was one in the works, or are we talking the original, which likely would find even less action from buyers). Smurfs is just the latest turd in a toilet bowl filled with 3D movies, so I'm not expecting that to be the big announcement.

I don't even know what John Carter of Mars is.

As far as what the announcement could be, I doubt we'll see the revival of any of the fallen lines, so I'd rule out Street Fighter, DC, Doctor Who, Kellogg's, etc. To be honest, I think DST is just over reaching with their definition of "big". Most likely it will be either something from their generic line of Minimates, an actual plan regarding Battle Beasts, or something that we take for granted as news, like whatever the next Marvel line-up is after the various Marvel movie lines roll out. Or DST announces that they're getting out of the toy making business and are shifting focus to office supplies.

[Turtle]

John Carter of Mars would be pretty cool. I didn't even know a movie was in the works.

I imagine it will be something Huge/Big in the way that the Godfather and Universal Monsters were huge/big. I want to believe the statement is more than just puffing, but I'm skeptical. In a dream world, it would either be Star Wars or DC. (Yes, we've gotten DC Minimates, but technically it would be a new license for DST, with prior DC 'Mates being released by Play Along and DCD.)

[Aapje]

I think its the waves 41, 42 and 43 which are all wolverine, spider-man and hulk mates

No, i think Punisher is right about wave 40 but i think there will be something else too

[SlushyFrog]

Huge would be an understatement for Star Wars. The characters they could do would be endless.

If not Star Wars, I would love to see a Firefly line announced.

[MisterMiracle]

C'mon Mortal Kombat!

[hellpop]

Pirates of the Caribbean 4 - yes

Tron - no

John Carter of Mars - yes but not shown at ToyFair

Narnia - maybe

Lone Ranger - yes

Ghost Rider 2 - yes

Spider-Man - yes

Smurfs - yes

The Marvel movies are a given, though I fail to see how they'd shift the flagship off of Marvel, seeing that they are in fact Marvel movies.

As for the rest, I have my doubts. The time for Tron has come and gone, with the same likely being said for Narnia. Lego has their hands in the Pirates license, which isn't a deal breaker, but DST is hard at work on their own generic pirate line, so I don't really see them investing a large sum of money in an official license when they can get by pretty well with their generic one. If the Spirit couldn't hit with buyers, I'm not so sure the Lone Ranger could (didn't even know there was one in the works, or are we talking the original, which likely would find even less action from buyers). Smurfs is just the latest turd in a toilet bowl filled with 3D movies, so I'm not expecting that to be the big announcement.

I don't even know what John Carter of Mars is.

As far as what the announcement could be, I doubt we'll see the revival of any of the fallen lines, so I'd rule out Street Fighter, DC, Doctor Who, Kellogg's, etc. To be honest, I think DST is just over reaching with their definition of "big". Most likely it will be either something from their generic line of Minimates, an actual plan regarding Battle Beasts, or something that we take for granted as news, like whatever the next Marvel line-up is after the various Marvel movie lines roll out. Or DST announces that they're getting out of the toy making business and are shifting focus to office supplies.

John Carter of Mars is an old pulp character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. He's pretty cool. The movie's actually by Pixar, and I'm hoping that they do it straight. I think there's an audience for PG-13 animated features that's going untapped.

[TM2 Dinobot]

What's with all the guesses for DC? Is this just wishful thinking? Or *I decided to play nice today*

Here's a thought. What if it's Big? You know, the Tom Hanks movie.

Edited January 27, 2011 by TM2 Dinobot

[Twisted Two-Face]

I'm gonna change my guess to "There was no surprise!! THAT's the big surprise!!!"

Anyone suddenly hope it's Capcom?? Wishful thinking, but ya know...Marvel vs. Capcom 3...(and i want Resident Evil). I REALLY want Bond though...still. God, James Bond would be amazing.

[AllStarMatt]

I think Thundercats and James Bond are great guesses, just knowing about DST's past interest in both licenses.

MOTU, GI Joe, Disney would be phenomenal - but so far at least two of the three have balked at Minimates in the past so I don't know what would have changed their minds.

Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Transformers are IMO least likely due to the $$$ required for licensing anything from Lucas (same goes for Harry Potter) and concerns about Transformers and Minimates meshing stylistically.

DC would be ideal, but unless their LA move has seriously changed their licensing options I just don't see it happening.

[Romeo]

maybe they're finally going to make World of Warcraft minimates

[AdyCarter]

I'd buy WoW mates in a heartbeat... but the only way they'd properly work would be if people could get their actual characters, which as discussed in the past around CoH mates would be a logistical nightmare.

Aside from my earlier comment on possible future Max lines I'd be inclined to guess:

James Bond

New/Old Thundercats

A foray into Disney, perhaps Kingdom Hearts as part of a Sony/Disney water testing thing.

Although Im still waiting for my Kelloggs mates!!!

[buttheadsmate]

Medicom have had some truly 'huge' licenses lately with the kubrick line ....examples -Tron,Daft Punk,DC,Alice,Toy Story ,Disney,Iron Man 2,Harry Potter & Star Wars..... yet interest generally appears to be waning in them. That is purely my opinion but Kubrick licenses in no way affect a prospective license becoming a Minimate property.......at least that's the way it was until Diamond started officially distributing kubricks in the US

The hype around this huge surprise is all good fun & obviously stimulates interest here & feedback for DST who at least will get to know what we would like ....whether we get it or not

'Huge' for me? DC,Star Wars & Who.

Reality? Probably some obscure (to me) video game license.

[murderofcrows]

Medicom have had some truly 'huge' licenses lately with the kubrick line ....examples -Tron,Daft Punk,DC,Alice,Toy Story ,Disney,Iron Man 2,Harry Potter & Star Wars..... yet interest generally appears to be waning in them. That is purely my opinion but Kubrick licenses in no way affect a prospective license becoming a Minimate property.......at least that's the way it was until Diamond started officially distributing kubricks in the US

The hype around this huge surprise is all good fun & obviously stimulates interest here & feedback for DST who at least will get to know what we would like ....whether we get it or not

'Huge' for me? DC,Star Wars & Who.

Reality? Probably some obscure (to me) video game license.

obscure to you video game? so. pong?

[buttheadsmate]

Pong sucks .....I've moved on to Space Intruders & the one where the munching guy chases you. Awesome.

I'm not knocking games BTW... it's just that I know me & if I went anywhere near a videogame I would become obsessed .......it's the way with me .

It's a long time since I've had some crow-banter ....good to hear it

[TM2 Dinobot]

Pong sucks .....I've moved on to Space Intruders & the one where the munching guy chases you. Awesome.

Ski Fri?

[hellpop]

I think Thundercats and James Bond are great guesses, just knowing about DST's past interest in both licenses.

MOTU, GI Joe, Disney would be phenomenal - but so far at least two of the three have balked at Minimates in the past so I don't know what would have changed their minds.

Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Transformers are IMO least likely due to the $$$ required for licensing anything from Lucas (same goes for Harry Potter) and concerns about Transformers and Minimates meshing stylistically.

DC would be ideal, but unless their LA move has seriously changed their licensing options I just don't see it happening.

Well, the LA move did seriously change at least one obstacle to Minimates returning: Georg Brewer's gone. So perhaps whomever replaced them wants to give Minimates another shot. Not that I think that's what it's going to be, but hope springs eternal....

The problem with a lot of the suggestions we've made is that they don't have a huge shelf life. Hasbro's Indiana Jones figure line proved, to me at least, that the property doesn't have the reach one might expect. I think James Bond would be similar; everybody might want Bond, but would they want anyone else, in enough quantity to justify a whole line of figures? I dunno.

Thanks, Matt, for your (former) insider's insight. All this speculation has been fun, even though I don't honestly believe the reality will live up to the hype.

[karamazov80]

Medicom have had some truly 'huge' licenses lately with the kubrick line ....examples -Tron,Daft Punk,DC,Alice,Toy Story ,Disney,Iron Man 2,Harry Potter & Star Wars..... yet interest generally appears to be waning in them.

I wonder though, if that's not just interest in "the West." I have no idea what is going on in Asia, but Medicom seems to keep cranking stuff out--both RAH figures and Kubricks (and other things that boggle the mind of the Western collector).

The problem with a lot of the suggestions we've made is that they don't have a huge shelf life. Hasbro's Indiana Jones figure line proved, to me at least, that the property doesn't have the reach one might expect.

Yeah, Indy just doesn't seem to work as collectibles, despite the popularity of the films. I think it comes down to him having a pretty drab design. Toys (even collectible ones) usually have a better chance of succeeding if they can "pop" off of one's shelf. . .particularly Minimates, to beat a dead horse

[captain_cbecker]

This one leads to thoughts of DC, Star Wars, GI Joe, He-Man, Thundercats, and Transformers properties. Unfortunately, I do not think any will get the Minimates treatment anytime soon. I pray I'm wrong.

As we know - He-Man, Thundercats, Transformers & modern GI Joe (1980's on) were properties that were conceived exclusively to sell a (mainly action figure) toy line. I don't see too many other companies being allowed to develop action figures outside of the license owner.

As for DC... they may come back... but I wouldn't hold my breath, especially since I'm sure they have so many other wonderful concepts (like Blammoids) that they need to fail in the market.

[youbastards]

Someone else mentioned it, and I'm now thinking that it could very well be Green Lantern movie 'mates. We know DST loves milking movie franchises as much as they can, and what better way to convince DC to give them back the standard DC Universe?

While they are not my favorite 'mates, DST has proven that they can successfully market comic book movie-based Minimates.

This is the only "BIG ANNOUNCEMENT" that makes sense, timing wise. Showing them at NYCC would be the right release window for the movie's release in June.

Edited January 27, 2011 by youbastards

[luke314pi]

I predict that this will be an odd license that none of us predicted.

[winkerbean]

I predict that this will be an odd license that none of us predicted.

minimates based on the films by the popular film company Vivid Entertainment!!!!

[luke314pi]

I predict that this will be an odd license that none of us predicted.

minimates based on the films by the popular film company Vivid Entertainment!!!!

You have no idea how many people tell me that I should make customs based on these... "films"... and sell them in the toy store.