They also make great gifts for your dad.

I’m taking another day off video games to go into one of my favorite things from my childhood: Die-cast cars. The term can be applied to a lot of things, such as Hot Wheels and the like, but I actually won’t be bringing Hot Wheels into this since, well, that makes for an article in of itself sometime next week. Okay, not the classic thought of what makes a car a Hot Wheels car at least. I can’t lie, I’m talking about the most popular die-cast cars right now, so Hot Wheels are going to show up in some way or another.

Hot Wheels Showing Their Stuff

How are they showing up? The highest selling die-cast cars at the moment are Hot Wheels toys based off Disney and Pixar’s movie Cars. Y’all might be familiar with that movie, but if you’re not, the whole premise is centered around a car named Lightning McQueen that wants to be the DinoCo official car by winning all sorts of races. So pretty much the whole world is populated by cars. It’s actually a really good movie with Owen Wilson playing Lightning McQueen. The odd thing here is that the most popular die-cast car isn’t Lightning McQueen; it’s Mater, the junky tow truck voiced by Larry the Cable Guy. I…I don’t make these things up. I wouldn’t make that up if I could.

I guess I can't make fun. My favorite die-cast car was a beat up old jeep.

So what else is popular these days? Star Trek. That means the USS Enterprise is getting bought by the galaxyful in the form of a 1:50 scale model on a nifty little display stand. If I had one of those as a kid, I’d have done nothing else but run around my house flying it from the kitchen to the living room and beyond. I was never into Star Trek at any point of my life, but anything that could fly was considered awesome to me. I assume the same still holds true for kids everywhere.

Something a Bit More Classic

Thus far we’ve had die-cast toys based off talking cars and space ships. There’s an actual car in the die-cast model best sellers, right? You’re dang right there is. High up on the list is the Burago-made Lamborghini 1:18 scale model, met closely by the 1957 Chevy Corvette made by Yat Ming. Kids that want these models are just classy folk and know style. If a kid walks up to his grandpa and says he wants a 1957 Chevy Corvette die-cast model for his birthday, I guarantee it’ll make that man weep tears of joy. I know it’d have that effect on my grandpa at least, and he’s awesome.

This is the USS enterprise, not a 1957 Chevy Corvette. If you can't tell the difference, I've severely over-estimated this generation.

All of these cool-sounding die-cast models must cost a fortune, right? Wrong. Everything I’ve mentioned here is priced under $30, with some, like the Mater toys from Mattel, priced under $6. Kids wanting a die-cast model of something are well within modesty when they request such an item, so treat ‘em well. Stay tuned next week for a larger article on Hot Wheels. Better go out and stock up in preparation.

UP, Pixar’s latest animated feature opened in theaters last week, and surprised everyone by grossing a hefty $68.2 million.

But you might be asking, where are the UP movie toys?   They are almost nowhere to be seen in the marketplaces around the globe.  In fact, Thinkway Toys, who manufactured a slew of great toys for Pixar’s Cars actually did not make a single toy for this movie.

You are not the only one who’s left scratching their heads.  The movie UP has been criticized by many analysts as not being commercial enough.  The film is based on the adventures of an old man, a pudgy boy and a few talking dogs, not exactly giving toy and game tie-ins much to work with.

According to the Guardian, Disney chief executive, Robert A Iger, said the company is more interested in making “great films,” not just producing movies that are tied to commercial interests.

Once Again, Pixar Prizes Art over Commercial Interests

Luckily, there’s that bit with the talking dogs.  That’s Pixar’s way of throwing the toy industry a bone.

So Disney is offering a few plush toys like this amusing Gamma dog plush as well as other members of the cute doggie cast of UP.  It’s just hard to market a plush doll of a old man, you know?

But once you see the movie, you’ll understand why the toy bling was an afterthought.  UP actually tackles the values of commercialism itself as well as other heart-felt issues as the characters embark on a bizarre journey in a floating house full of dust and antiques.

As much as I love toys, I respect Pixar for the way it continues to reframe what it means to be a maker of Blockbuster movies.  Talking dogs and all.