Bearing in mind Sarah Gomes (of Sarah and Duck fame)'s advice that children's characters have to be designed with toy merchandise in mind, and that children should be able to recognize the characters from across the toy shop, I have paid a visit to a local toy shop to see what toys they have based on animated series.
Of course, the first character I see is our omnipresent heroine Peppa Pig. There are some playsets based on locations from the show, such as Peppa's home and classroom, and also some things that are based around making, such as Lego-style sets and a Play Dough-style set. On the other hand, some toys are just generic with Peppa Pig slapped on them, such as a toy drum, guitar, and pram for dolls. With the exception of the pram, these toys seem to be marketed equally at boys and girls.
Notably there were no cuddly toys for this show. I wonder if this is because the strange, Picasso-style character designs (two eyes on the same side of the head, stick arms and legs) don't translate well into cuddly toys?
However, an even larger section of the shop was dedicated to Paw Patrol, a show which I haven't watched yet as I don't have Nick Jr at home. However I understand that the show is about emergency services, and many of the toys were therefore vehicles, with a selection of characters to fit into the vehicles, and also some dog houses / pet carriers for them to live in. There was also a large selection of cuddly toys, some of which were officially licensed Beanie Babies, and others which worked as night lights.
I therefore felt that these toys were suitable for a wider age range than the Peppa Pig ones, which were more for toddlers. However, I felt that the Paw Patrol toys were more aimed at boys, except for the token girl character.
There was a section dedicated to PJ Masks, a French / British show on Disney Junior about a trio of child superheroes. I don't know what kids think, but these seemed kind of bland and generic to me. Aimed at an older age range, and more for boys than girls, they included some action figures, some "blind bag" mini-figures, a couple of vehicles, masks to dress up as the characters, and some cuddly toys. Nothing very thrilling.
A small section for a Disney Junior show called Miles From Tomorrowland, a programme about space, science and technology. A few action figures and vehicle playsets, which is kind of disappointing for a science show; there could be some learning-based toys, maybe telescopes or model solar system or something like that? Again, this is aimed totally at boys.
And finally, a miscellaneous section, containing some My Little Pony toys (technically they were a toy first, but these characters are from the animated series), a Clangers vehicle, and rather strangely, a few toys from a Russian series called Masha and the Bear, which looks incredibly creepy.
This visit has given me a few ideas of shows to check out, and I will report back at some point!
Notably there were no cuddly toys for this show. I wonder if this is because the strange, Picasso-style character designs (two eyes on the same side of the head, stick arms and legs) don't translate well into cuddly toys?
I therefore felt that these toys were suitable for a wider age range than the Peppa Pig ones, which were more for toddlers. However, I felt that the Paw Patrol toys were more aimed at boys, except for the token girl character.
There was a section dedicated to PJ Masks, a French / British show on Disney Junior about a trio of child superheroes. I don't know what kids think, but these seemed kind of bland and generic to me. Aimed at an older age range, and more for boys than girls, they included some action figures, some "blind bag" mini-figures, a couple of vehicles, masks to dress up as the characters, and some cuddly toys. Nothing very thrilling.
A small section for a Disney Junior show called Miles From Tomorrowland, a programme about space, science and technology. A few action figures and vehicle playsets, which is kind of disappointing for a science show; there could be some learning-based toys, maybe telescopes or model solar system or something like that? Again, this is aimed totally at boys.
And finally, a miscellaneous section, containing some My Little Pony toys (technically they were a toy first, but these characters are from the animated series), a Clangers vehicle, and rather strangely, a few toys from a Russian series called Masha and the Bear, which looks incredibly creepy.
This visit has given me a few ideas of shows to check out, and I will report back at some point!
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