While we sort through our 600+ photos from Toy Fair, here’s the Toy of the Year winners, which includes both Lego’s girl-centric Friends line and Playmates’ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line, which we saw previewed yesterday. It’s huge and no doubt the Turtles are back— although now owned by Nickelodeon and not creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Still, it’s a property that has stood the test of time to become a true perennial for kids — if Michael Bay’s live-action version doesn’t somehow kill it again, that is.
Recognizing an outstanding toy that inspires creative play through various forms of activity, the Activity Toy of the Year was presented to LEGO® Friends (The LEGO Group)
Recognizing an outstanding toy developed for boys of any age, the Boy Toy of the Year was presented to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shellraiser(Playmates Toys)
Recognizing an app-cessory or other physical toy that interacts with a smartphone, tablet or gaming device the e-Connected Toy of the Year was presented to Skylanders Giants™ (Activision Publishing, Inc.)
Recognizing an outstanding toy that helps children develop special skills and knowledge through play, the Educational Toy of the Year was presented to LeapPad2™ (LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc.)
Recognizing an outstanding children’s board, card, CD-ROM or electronic game, the Game of the Year was presented to Perplexus Epic™ (PlaSmart Inc.)
Recognizing an outstanding toy developed for girls of any age, the Girl Toy of the Year was presented to LEGO® Friends (The LEGO Group)
Recognizing an outstanding toy developed for infants and toddlers up to 36 months, the Infant/Toddler Toy of the Year was presented to Tranquil Turtle™ (Cloud b)
Recognizing an outstanding toy that combines innovation and play value, the Innovative Toy of the Year was presented to Digital Light Designer (Crayola)
Recognizing an outstanding toy that is designed for outdoor play, the Outdoor Toy of the Year was presented to The Original Big Wheel™ (Kids Only, Inc., a division of JAKKS Pacific, Inc.)
Recognizing an outstanding toy developed for preschool-aged children (ages 3-5) the Preschool Toy of the Year was presented to Doc McStuffins “Time For Your Check-Up” Doll (Just Play)
Recognizing a property that has had the greatest success spreading its brand throughout the industry, Property of the Year was presented to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Nickelodeon)
Recognizing an outstanding toy that is distributed primarily through specialty toy retailers, the Specialty Toy of the Year was presented to LEGO® Architecture (The LEGO Group)
I went to the Wal-Mart on Chirstmas Eve this year and bummed around looking for stocking stuffers, and I was shocked to see that in the toy aisle, the Turtles were the only product totally sold out. Plenty of Legos. Plenty of My Little Ponies. Plenty of Marvel superheroes. Zero Turtles. They’re huge with the kiddies again.
I still can’t believe the Turtles are back. We couldn’t find them anywhere last year. I actually preferred the live action movies to the CG movie that came out. This year they have a ton of Turtle toys including collectible figures of most of the bad guys. My favorite toy is the pizza box which turns into a play set.
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