The decade that started it all

Growing up the 1980s, mine was one of the first generations to have near unlimited options when it came to franchise toys, games and cartoons. That decade lays claim to some of the most iconic toy franchises in history, including Transformers, GI Joe, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and, of course, He-Man and his little sister, She-Ra. Being surrounded by so many choices, all you could do as a kid was pick the one that had the coolest toys and the best cartoon, and that formula didn’t prove fruitful for He-Man. However, Masters of the Universe deserves some credit from a historical stand point.

He-Man and Skeletor in their prime.

Thank you, He-Man

We all owe the He-Man a lot when it comes to toys and cartoons. Masters of the Universe was one of the first cartoons that was produced pretty much for the sole purpose of selling toys to children. Some parental organizations took exception and called foul but we all know how that debate ended. Surprisingly enough, the reason many cartoons from that era had have the now famous PSAs was as a compromise with those groups. In the end, however, without the He-Man cartoon we wouldn’t have been blessed with the likes of Transformers or GI Joe or any of the countless other cartoons from that time…and without the cartoons there would be no toys.

See this kid. That's not me. It's Screech showing off his He-Man love.

Why He-Man failed as an action figure

I was not a fan of He-Man as a kid and that’s because neither the toys, nor the cartoon, were that appealing. I surrounded myself with GI Joes and Transfomers while my best friend next door had a toy chest full of He-Man stuff. I had a few He-Man figures that I received as gifts but they never got much play time because they just weren’t that cool. More often than not, my He-Man figures were portrayed as the evil giants in GI Joe land, partially due to their formidable size in comparison, but also due to their fantasy theme. I’m sorry but in a cage match between giant robots and a barbarian, the robots win hands down. And let’s say that if He-Man managed to survive a chair shot from Optimus Prime, Duke and the rest of the GI Joes would have swooped in and cleaned up the pieces left behind.

But He-Man did corner the market on well-sculpted mustaches.

Lets look at some of the obvious reasons why He-Man was a less than impressive action figure. First off, He-Man doesn’t have many joints and thus couldn’t really be put in many poses. Prince Adam and his buddies could only move their arms in one direction and only at the shoulder. They also didn’t have any knees to speak off, and they could only twist at the waist. So if you wanted Skeletor to kneel or even sit at the table like a good evil lord, he couldn’t do it. He-Man figures just weren’t as versatile as say, GI Joe figures, nor were they as well sculpted. With such limited movement, your own adventures in Eternia were stuck being wrestling matches. Of course, wrestling matches made sense because the figures were pretty big, so it was hard to have them play well with other action figures.

The zoo that was Masters of the Universe

Masters of the Universe also featured some of the weirdest characters that looked as good as they also confused. It seems that unless you were He-Man or Man-At-Arms, you were some crazy, hideous mutant with bizarre powers that weren’t really useful, even in fantasy land. For example, Mekaneck, whose awesome superpower was…a long neck. Yeah, that’s who I want in a fight, giraffe man. And who can forget Mantenna? His ability to make his eyes bug out most certainly struck fear into the hearts of men all around the universe. Even though He-Man’s cronies were ridiculous and unfun, several of them do deserve credit playing with our senses in ways that other figures did not. Figures like Moss Man and Stinkor not only gave our fingers something new to touch, but they also attacked our sense of smell…and Stinkor was a character that really earned his name, PU!

Man-E-Faces was one of the better figures but still big and inflexible.

Masters of the Universe did have some interesting vehicles, albeit few, but they were also quite ugly and otherwise unusable. Especially when you look at what GI Joe offered in terms of accessories and playsets, He-Man just doesn’t stand a chance. The Transformers had little in the way of accessories and vehicles…but wait…oh yeah, they were the accessories and vehicles! You could probably argue that Prince Adam “transformed” into He-Man, but to make that happen you had to buy both figures, so when it comes to bang for your buck, Transformers are the clear winner.

Important does not always mean better

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was incredibly popular and important for millions of children around the world. The series deserves the utmost respect for ushering in the era of toy-shilling cartoons that is still chugging along today. However, just because you’re the first to do something doesn’t mean you’re the best, and when it came to the action figures and toys, He-Man just couldn’t keep up. I want to thank He-Man for everything he did for us, but  when I go into battle, I’ll be teaming up with Transformers and GI Joe.

The poor man’s bobblehead

I usually explain Mighty Muggs as bobbleheads without the bobble. They’re vinyl desktop statues portraying some of your favorite franchises like GI Joe, Transformers and Star Wars, complete with accessories. They don’t do much, frankly, except maybe hold your pencil in a most threatening manner, but they’re a little more classy than just having some straight up action figures on your desk. Mighty Muggs are just fun, plus, according to the box, they’re made from “100% recycled awesome.”

I don't think Storm Shadow has ever looked happy

Mighty Muggs are owned by Hasbro and as such come in a very limited range of flavors, namely all the top franchises Hasbro has licenses with. Yes, you can get your hands on Cobra Commander, Optimus Prime, Spider-Man, Indiana Jones, and even Lando, but since Mighty Muggs are squarely aimed at the nostalgia crowd, why not keep going into the depths of pop culture?

Mighty Muggs are probably a bit past their prime (you can now find them on clearance at Target) but here’s a short list of Mighty Muggs I’d pay top dollar for.

The Mighty Muggs wish list

Masters of the Universe. He-Man and his friends seems like a no-brainer, if you ask me. In particular I’d want Man-E-Faces as he was one of my favorite characters. I’m not a big He-Man fan but anyone born prior to 1987 can certainly appreciate Teela standing next to your mousepad.

Metal Gear. With more than 10 titles spanning 20 years, there are plenty of characters in the Metal Gear game world that would lend themselves to these bobble-less statues. Solid Snake is easy but how about Otacon or Revolver Ocelot? Even one of the nameless soldiers would be pretty cool…just make sure he has a giant exclamation point above his head.

Pro wrestling superstars. I’m not ashamed to admit I’m a pro wrestling fan. What kid in 1985 wasn’t saying their prayers and eating their vitamins along with Hulk Hogan? And if only for that reason alone, the classic stars of the WWF deserve some Mighty Muggs. I’d shell out more than a few bucks to have a Macho Man Randy Savage Mighty Mugg or Bam Bam Bigelow.

Arnold and Stallone. Between these two actors there are plenty of memorable characters to turn into these tiny plastic figures. Rocky, Terminator, Total Recall, Rambo…the list can go on. Heck, in Rocky alone you have a few great characters. You’re telling me you wouldn’t want Apollo Creed or Clubber Lang? Just don’t ask for a Kindergarten Cop figure.

Tron. Since the new movie came out last year, Tron is cool again and that’s fine by me. A few Mighty Mugg Tron figures of both classic and new characters would look pretty sweet. Plus they could have some glow-in-the-dark paint on them for the ultimate Tron experience.

How can you say no to that smile?

The possibilities are endless

Those are just a few of the top picks from my wish list. Mighty Muggs doesn’t cover DC Comics, so there’s a whole universe of characters that I’d like to see standing next to my Marvel favorites. Robocop and Star Trek comes to mind too as good candidates, and I think you could get away with some top name rock band Mighty Muggs too. Think about a set of U2, KISS or Guns N Roses Mighty Muggs and tell me that wouldn’t get you some serious cred when your co-workers notice them on your desk at work. Of course, before we start inventing new franchises to tap into, there are a few characters missing from the existing line…like where’s my Lobot?!

We’ll probably never see any of these wonderful characters as Mighty Muggs in the toy aisle any time soon, but thankfully Hasbro has helped us out a bit because if you look in the right places you’ll find they sell blank Mighty Muggs. They come in black or white and are ready for you to paint and create your own Mighty Muggs figure. So in the end I guess there’s really nothing stopping you (or me) from filling in the gaping holes that Hasbro will never be able to fill themselves.

What characters do you think would make good Mighty Muggs figures?

There's something for everyone

Check out more Mighty Muggs photos over on Flickr along with other toys and games.

Brian is a freelance writer that blogs and tweets about toys, video games and other retro fun.

Want more articles where we give our wishlists for toys? Check these out:

-5 Toys of 2010 I Wish I Had When I Was a Kid

-My Top 10 Most Unattainable Toys

-Top 5 Franchises That Should Get An SSB Spinoff

"That's LEGO Captain Jack Sparrow to you"

Anyway, it got me thinking: since this craze is still rolling in numbers, why stop now? There are tons of franchises with universes that could be Legoized incredibly well. Therefore, allow me to state the first five that come to my mind. And much like my article on Wanted Smash Bros. Spinoffs, I will end each franchise with my professional opinion of what I believe to be the odds of said game actually coming about.

5. Avatar The Last Airbender

Hmm... yup. The Finale still looks awesome.

Before anyone asks, yes, I’m probably going to put Avatar on every Top 5 Franchise list simply on principal alone. But if you all could please give me a minute before you label me biased and move on (fun fact: All of us here at Toy-tma are biased), I believe I have some valid points to why I think this would work as well as I believe. Avatar was one of those series where all the adventures were in groups (even the main antagonists Zuko and Uncle), so it’s perfect for 2 player co-op. Previous LEGO games, specifically the Star Wars games and the Harry Potter one, used Force Powers and Magic Powers to manipulate the environment, and I can very easily see how bending the elements in Avatar can be applied in the same way, and seeing how each of the characters either bends a different element or uses a special tool, it provides ample opportunity to create environmental puzzles. Plus, I think it would be really funny to see a cutscene of LEGO Aang bend an air scooter, ride it, then crash into a statue and have all his pieces fly in different directions.

Odds: Moderately Low

As to be expected, THQ pretty much has a tight grip on the Avatar franchise, so Traveller’s Tales would have to do serious haggling to get the rights, and that’s even if they wanted too. Unfortunately Avatar still isn’t popular enough to get its foot in the door. Maybe it would be if the movie had been any good, but unfortunately that turned out not to work in our favor. As it stands, there’s probably a better chance of ol’ Jimmy boy’s Avatar being made into a LEGO game than this. Sad but true.

But, to quote the actress who played Katara in the Ember Island production, “hope is all we have, and we must never relinquish it, even to our dying breath.” Maybe next year if Legend of Korra is successful and the buzz is good, Travelers Tales just might consider it.

4. Transformers

Hasbro's war. LEGO's world.

I’m sure War for Cybertron had it’s fans, but in all honesty, I feel this would be the best way to approach making a video game based on Transformers. Seeing as they started off as toys, why not make a game that places them in their toy forms, and place the humans and the world in LEGO form. This way, it accentuates the massive size and destructive power of the Autobots and Decepticons and how easily they can make buildings and landmarks crumble into tiny LEGO pieces. And this is one franchise where it doesn’t necessarily have to be based on the movies or the TV show; it could just go crazy and do whatever it wants as long as we get transformations, some exploration, and large scale battles with lots of LEGO-esque destruction.

Odds: Moderate

A premise like this literally sells itself. The big question would be if Hasbro and LEGO, two of the biggest rivaling companies in the toy industry, would be willing work cohesively on this one project. But hey, if Nintendo and Sega can do it with their recent party games, I’d say anything is possible.

3. Men in Black

The Bricks are Back... In Black

How do you beat a LEGO Johnny Depp? How about both a LEGO Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith? Eh… maybe not quite, but pretty darn close. Men in Black (the first one) was one of my favorite classic sci-fi films growing up. The effects were authentic, the aliens were unique and creative, and likewise for the weapons. In a LEGO Game, this would be perfect for co-op, as the buddy relationship between Agent K and J would indeed bring some charming cutscenes. Seeing as they are essentially detectives, the focus on exploration can easily be implemented. One change they can make is instead of swapping characters with different abilities, have K and J obtain new gadgets and weapons throughout the game like we’ve seen in the movie and the old Kids WB cartoon series.

Odds: Very Low

I could see a game like this being a real hit back in the late 90’s when this movie came out, but now, I’m not sure if enough kids (the target audience for these games) would be into it so much. I could see something similar with a much larger niche audience being made, (the big one that comes to mind being Ghostbusters), but the MIB seem a little too obscure now. Maybe they shouldn’t have nuralized so many people.

2. Spider-Man

LEGO Octavious commands you build this game at once!

I love Spider-Man. I loved the Spider-Man cartoon series from the 90’s, I enjoyed most of the Spider-Man video games I’ve played, and I also really like Sam Raimi’s trilogy of Spider-Man movies in the last decade. All of them. Yeah that’s right, even the third one. (I know, that essentially just includes me, the Nostalgia Critic and the Angry Video Game Nerd [Pranger's note: Also Pranger!], but whatever, screw all the haters out there ). And if there was a LEGO Spider-Man video game, I’m sure I would like that too. It would be cool if they made it like the Spider-Man movie games and kept the open sandbox style of mission play. There’s something about the idea of swinging through an entire LEGO-built version of Manhattan that sounds really appealing to me. Plus, I have always had the idea of a cutscene where LEGO Spider-Man punched LEGO Sandman in the stomach and a bunch of tiny LEGO bits scatter on the floor, then a bunch of other LEGO bits build up around Sandman’s hand to create a giant fist. Admit it. That would look really sweet.

Odds: Moderately High

If there was one thing holding back this premise, it’s that it doesn’t bring itself to create a decent co-op experience, which is what the LEGO games have specialized in for quite some time. I for one wouldn’t mind at all having a single player LEGO Spider-Man game based on the trilogy, but I know a lot of people like the multiplayer in those games. If they wanted to rework it to have the Black Cat be Spidy’s co-op partner, that could work really well.

I mean seriously, what could possibly work better than Spider-Man? 

1. The Avengers

Curses! I had to remind myself how badass this is, didn't I?

Do I really need to explain why this is a good idea? All the best heroes Marvel Studios has to offer- a weapons/tech genius, a gamma radiated monster, a Viking god, and a World War 2 super soldier all in one movie- now in brick form? Easily made into four player co-op? If they pull this off properly, it could quite possibly become the most epic combination of cute and badass in video games since the debut of Little Big Planet.

Odds: Very High

How could they possibly pass this up? HOW?!

So there you have it. A few more fresh ideas for Traveller’s Tales to wrap their heads around. However, I’m sure there are dozens of other franchises out there that would work just as well, so if you have any, please leave a comment. Until the next one comes out, look out for LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean, with content based on all four movies (yup, even on the newest one, On Stranger Tides) set to release May 10^th of this year.

Want more video game ideas? Check out these:

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-Becoming One With the Triforce: Speculations on the New Zelda 2010

It turns out there are a lot of them. A whole lot, especially if you go looking for ‘tin toy robots’. So I figured I’d just pick a handful of the more unusual ones I came across in my browsing to show today.

Remco 1969 Wizard of Oz Tin Man Robot

As soon as I saw him, I fell in love- and not just because he walks like a man! This toy is just all kinds of adorable, even if he’s more Tik-Tok than Tin Man, and not terribly accurate to either film or original illustrations. He radiates charm with his cute pink cheeks, inviting smile and wry eyes, and the detailing of the three rivets on his head is quite nice. His body clashes with his head, although the arms are also well designed, and if I had to guess, I’d say that manufacturer Remco may have taken another toy robot sculpt and added this Oz head to it.

Remco’s most notorious and sought after robot figure these days is their version of Robbie the Robot from Lost in Space; collectors have come to find that figure particularly desirable, and the value of an original Remco Robbie has jumped to almost $900 at some auctions. Remco hasn’t produced anything under their own imprint since Swat Kats in 1994; Jakks Pacific currently owns the company.

Gabriel 1978 Mickey Mouse Wind Up Robot

Mickey was manufactured by Gabriel in 1978. Gabriel Toys has an interesting history; they were purchased by CBS, the television network, and mutated into CBS Toys, a video game manufacturer, which distributed ColecoVision. Later the company was sold to ViewMaster, ultimately to become part of what is currently Mattel when ViewMaster was sold in turn.

This robot toy is interesting because by today’s standards it’d be considered “off model”- the eyes are too close together and too small in size, giving it an inauthentic feel. This seems unusual when Disney has been so notoriously obsessed with quality control of their merchandising and the maintenance of their mascot’s good appearance. The windup mechanism being inside a clear jacket is a cool touch, though.

Ideal Mr. Machine 1978 version

There’ve been several releases of Mr. Machine. The original dates back to the 60’s and rang a bell in addition to just walking. The original toy could be taken apart and reassembled, like a primitive K’Nex or a motorized LEGO set. At one time Mr. Machine was even Ideal’s company mascot! In an interesting and curious coincidence, Ideal was also sold to Viewmaster in 1987.

The 1978 reissue, of which this auction is one piece, was retooled heavily. Critical changes for child safety reasons were made, including making it so that the toy couldn’t be dismantled. Rather than ringing a bell and ‘sighing’, the 1978 release whistled “This Old Man” when wound up.

Cheng Ching 1970’s Space Warrior Robot

Ah, the delicious taste of hilariously obvious bootlegs. As this sort of thing goes, though, this one’s pretty entertaining, a combination of Darth Vader and an Imperial Stormtrooper that walks, rotates and presumably does not use Force powers to choke people. “Space Warrior” was manufactured in 1985 by Cheng Ching (also known as C. C. Huang), a Taiwanese company well known for thinly veiled knockoffs of figures from other lines.

For example, their Nebular Warlords line was blatantly “inspired by” Masters of the Universe – although I do quite like the fact that their He-Man figure, “Iron Man”, rides a rhino rather than an armored cat. They also created a strange hybrid of Dairugger and Voltron in 1985 and released three robots under the group name of The Botix Warriors.

Unknown 1970’s Diecast Japanese Transforming Robot Figure

And last, dear readers, I leave you with a mystery item. Just what the heck is this? I’ve done quite a bit of googling attempting to identify this strange pre-Transformers figure. I can’t even tell what the heck it’s supposed to be in its disguised mode – some kind of speaker? A cigarette case? The world’s oddest paperweight? Sadly, the images for the auction don’t reveal very much, giving no maker mark or model, and the robot itself is almost featureless.

All we know is that the toy is Japanese, originates around the same time as the first transformable toy figures and may either immediately date to or follow shortly after the same time period as Daiclone and Microman – though without the technical and artistic innovation of either. It’s years too early for Machine Robo as well, since that series began production in 1982. This rather more reminds me of the watch-transformables or the novelty Coke-can transformer – it’s got zero points of articulation to speak of, just a bendy neck and solid arms that go in and out of its sides. And why was it diecast? Not all toys get the diecast treatment after all, although it was much more common back then.

Have we found a Mesozoic changer, some lost and forgotten relic from the prehistory of transforming toys? Drop a comment if you can identify any aspect of this odd little changer.

Cassandra writes about media and randomness at her blog, cassandrapoe.com, and dreams of having her very own mysterious robot companion someday…

Want to read more articles about classic toys? Check these out:

-Forget-Me-Nots: My Lone Ranger Action Figure

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On the Disney/Pixar front, we have two potentially huge releases that are going to impact the market in 2011- the first is the release of Pixar’s Cars 2, currently slated for a summer release in June. It’s coming double-packed with a new Toy Story short feature that director Lee Unkrich says will be the beginning of a potential series of new shorts. That’ll keep everything Toy Story-related fresh and hot for 2011, and if the rumors about the first short being Barbie and Ken-centric is true, Mattel is going to get another shot in the arm as well.

In July, Disney is also relaunching Winnie the Pooh with a new theatrical film release and a major tie–in campaign. Disney plans to connect a new consumer line for infants with the film.

Cars, Pooh and Toy Story are three of the six major lines of Disney merchandise (Mickey Mouse, the Disney Princesses and the Disney Fairies being the other three). Cars alone is worth $2 billion in annual sales- and that’s before we factor in that Disney now owns the entirety of Marvel’s vast array of character licenses. Marvel characters began appearing in Disney retail and online stores when Iron Man 2 came out – so you can bet they’ll run support for Thor (May 2011) and Captain America (July 2011), too.

Mattel is jumping on the Cars 2 action as well, but a lot of their energies may be tied up for the beginning of 2011 with the ongoing battle with MGA Entertainment over the ginourmously popular Bratz line. A federal decision in July threw out the entire previous court case- a suit which had cost both sides a whopping combined figure of about two billion dollars – and called for a retrial. The Bratz empire of dolls, cartoons, and peripheral items, a line in direct competition with Mattel’s Barbie for the pre-and-tween girl market, is now back in dispute. The winner takes away a merchandising goldmine estimated at a worth of 500 million dollars during peak sales. New custody battle proceedings begin January 11, 2011.

While Mattel fights over the Bratz, it will also be hooking up with Warner Brothers to promote the upcoming Green Lantern film, and some discussion is on the table about providing support for Universal’s Monster High live action musical.

Two dark-horse contenders for your dollars are also coming: a massive Voltron relaunch, with Mattel putting toy power behind World Entertainment Production’s new “Voltron Force” animated series, currently aiming to launch on Nicktoons in the summer of 2011, and a new wave of four figures based on DIC/Saban’s classic The Real Ghostbusters, with MEGO-style packaging and sculpts based on the animated series designs rather than the live-action characters. Sorry, no Slimer or Janine, though.

Hasbro will continue its incredibly successful association with Star Wars. Some figures already announced for the first two waves of 2011 are Han Solo and Luke Skywalker, two droids, a classic Storm Trooper and Clone Trooper, Clone Wars Obi-Wan Kenobi and Cad Bane. They’ve also announced a new The Force Unleashed character pack for Spring 2011. Word is that Star Wars Episode 1 will hit sometime in 2011 in a new 3D IMAX version, so Hasbro is holding some figures back from their packs to support this release as well.

Hasbro has inked a ten-year deal with the Sesame Workshop to produce toys and games based on the iconic children’s education series Sesame Street. (We hope they will be as cool as sadly defunct Palisades Toys’ Muppet figures.) Elmo, Big Bird, Cookie Monster and other classic favorite characters are set to begin appearing next year. The line is estimated to pop another $100-150 million dollars into Hasbro’s coffers. Who says it’s not easy (making) green?

Transformers is of course a perennial in the market and is currently in the midst of a massive reconstruction/unification effort as Hasbro is devoting itself for the next couple of years to operating the Transformers Prime “universe”. A new animated series launches on The Hub in February 2011, following the well-received Prime miniseries. Toys supporting both this series and the third live-action movie from Michael Bay, Dark of the Moon, are on the way and should keep the franchise white-hot throughout all of 2011.

G.I. Joe is undergoing a very similar revival/retooling, and figures are expected for the first three months of 2011 including Duke, Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow, Low-Light, Destro, Skydive, and Shadow Tracker. There will also be a line in support of the new animated series, “G.I. Joe: Renegades”, beginning its run now and airing in 2011. There will also be a sequel to G. I. Joe’s live action film, but it’s currently projected for 2012.

Bandai hopes to bring back some of that 90’s flavor with a new wave of Power Rangers merch February in support of their new series, Power Rangers Samurai (Nicktoons and Nickelodeon). The original line was massive, crushing all competition beneath its multicolored feet in 1994; can it get back some of its previous momentum with a new approach?

And still more 80’s retro action: Bandai is also acting as the master licensor of toys for Thundercats, which returns to US airwaves in 2011 in a new series on Cartoon Network.

Pokemon Black and White arrives in the US translated in Spring 2011. While hardcore devotees of the game have probably already pirated and played it through entirely (it’s been out in Japan since September) and toy versions exist as spendy imports, there’s a hungry kid market that’s ready and waiting- it’d be a surprise if Jakks Pacific, current holder of the US toy license, doesn’t take advantage of the official US release to unveil official toys around the same time. Jakks Pacific has also partnered with Microsoft to prepare interactive plush animals for Microsoft’s “Kinectimals” and will release a standard non-scannable plushie line for the same in fall.

There’s no way to know for sure, of course, what’s going to hit and miss – but even if our crystal ball might be a little cracked and chipped, it doesn’t take a gypsy genius to predict that 2011 will be a great year for toys.

Want more toy news? Check these articles out:

-Easy Come, Easy Go: A Year in Review of Sony 2010

-No Freaking Way: A Duke Nukem Forever Preview

-Yet Another Pokemon Black & White Preview

Okay, fair enough. We had a lot of great toys. But what we had were basically action figures; largely immobile sculpted hunks of plastic that could move their bricky, solid-molded arms and legs and maybe turn their heads. Sometimes you could pose them a little if you were careful.

G1 Starscream envies Classics Starscream’s ability to bend his knees.

20 years later, the widespread availability of cheap computer processing power, 3D design programs, microchip technologies and robot factories have made it possible for the kinds of toys we only dreamed about as kids to come into being.

Case in point:

1: The 30th Anniversary The Empire Strikes Back Hasbro AT-AT Walker

Not shown: Wedge Antilles.

The 1981 Kenner AT-AT had a disproportionate head to its body with a distinct ‘droop’ factor, housed ten figures (two more in the head) and stood at about 17 inches high. Its legs were stiff snap-together affairs. In 1981 it was the holy grail of toys at a then-massive asking price of $50.

But for around $99, the 2010 AT-AT from Hasbro is nearly double that size and quadruple the awesome: it dominates at 24″x28″ with capacity for 20 figures, multiple openable panels, improved and corrected body proportions, fully articulated legs, and a cockpit for 6. This toy is a monstrosity of epic. Amazon reviews warn that it is literally larger than some adult dogs and may be difficult to find a permanent place for since it can’t be easily taken apart, but there isn’t a kid alive that wouldn’t instantly become the envy of grownups and adults alike who got one of these under the tree. (I bet some parents might want to play with it even more than the kids!)

2: Paper Jamz from WowWee

Paper Groupiez sold separately.

Absolute madness apparently made by insane wizards, Paper Jamz are two-foot-long miniature guitars. They use circuit embed touch technology installed on the surface instead of strings, so you play them with your fingertips, and you can play chords on it. It’s got four different play modes (Freestyle is best- play it your way!), requires no cords or cables -just three AAA batteries – and has an onboard line out jack for headphones plus a built-in speaker and knobs for mode and volume control. Oh, and there’s three songs embedded in each guitar.

All for about $25 US retail. Insanity.

The Toy Industry Association has nominated Paper Jamz for two Toy of the Year awards for 2011, and it’s not hard to see why with a package like that. They also sell a separate amp, although you don’t need one for the guitar to work, and a “drum” kit, which honestly doesn’t look or sound as impressive as the guitar. This would be a crazy awesome gift for any kid that isn’t quite ready for Rock Band or Guitar Hero, or who you want to gradually wean toward picking up a real one.

3: Back to the Future II DeLorean from Diamond Select

Plutonium not included.

There really wasn’t a ton of merchandising from Back to the Future in its day- a few books, a couple of t-shirts and some video games- but for the phenomenon that these films were at the time it really took a while for toys to start filtering out. A lot of handmade stuff filled the gap over the years as replica companies and devoted individual fans made their own versions of the Flux Capacitor, or the hoverboard, or garagekitted Deloreans into working 1/1 scale models of Doc Brown’s time machine. Diecast Delorean models at smaller scales have been around for quite a while, but a mid-range toy version kitted out with bells and whistles has had been a bit of time coming, and Diamond Select is now moved in to fill that gap.

This version of Doc’s masterpiece features 10 sound effects, spinnable wheels that pop down for hover mode (in the Entertainment Earth Exclusive Edition only, buyer beware), and it’s over a foot in length at 13 inches long. The doors open, allowing for any 3 3/4-inch figure to ride in the car, and it also has onboard, dashboard and sideboard lighting. Sound effects are controlled by a button at the back of the car just behind the passenger bay. There are tons of great details, like the Mr. Fusion visible on the back of the car, and the trunk even pops! Although this is more in the collector toy range at $45, it’d definitely be a great present for any 80′s kid or movie nut in the house.

4: Disney / Pixar Toy Story 3 Exclusive UCommand Buzz Lightyear with Remote Control

Maxx vs. Buzz.

In 1984, Ideal’s Maxx Steele retailed for $350-400. He knew 140 words, could tell time, ran off a 9 volt and could move back and forth. He could also (maybe) grasp an object if the stars were aligned correctly. Articulation was limited to one 360-degree pivot at the wrist. He also weighed 34 pounds.

Almost nobody could actually own one then, because of the incredible expense.

Disney’s U-Command Buzz Lightyear figure retails for about $75-85 US, has 70 distinct phrases, some in English and Spanish. He can speak, dance, spin around in place, glide back and forth, move his arms and activate his laser- all while weighing under 5 pounds.

The manufacturer says a total of over 1000 action combinations are possible using the preprogrammable remote control. He requires 7 AA batteries, so not cheap in this department. He does not walk, but rolls. As toy robots go, this is an incredible bargain. And who doesn’t want to have their very own Buzz Lightyear? There are plenty of versions of the figure out there, some automated, some semi-automated and some not, but this new version looks fairly easy to control- the larger and noisier “Ultimate Buzz” does not appear to be as fluid as the U-Command figure, although it’s more sophisticated internally.

5: Star Wars: The Clone Wars Spinning Electronic Lightsaber

Awesome.

Yeah, I know. Prequel trilogy, terrible, blasphemy, Red Letter Media, I got it. But look at this toy. Just shut off your adult brain and look at it with a kid’s heart. It’s two lightsabers in one, in green and blue, and it spins. Right there, my ten year old brain just melted into a big pile of glee – not just because of the cool factor but because I love the idea of getting two toys to break for the price of a single. Thrifty and awesome! I like the detachable component option, which leaves some room for my imagination and for two-handed wielding, too. What Star Wars kid wouldn’t love this? Around $30-35 retail.

And just think, in another 20 years we’ll be looking at these and complaining about how boring, slow, bricky and primitive they are, too. See you then.

Want more toy articles?  Check these out:

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Over the last ten years we’ve seen monumental growth in American animated series on all fronts. Writing, staging, direction and voice acting have all matured exponentially, encouraged by the WB, Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, and Nickelodeon, all offering a wide range of solid creator-driven series since the early 90’s. But this explosion of artistic innovation largely bypassed the Transformers franchise, which for too many years was only concerned with selling the newest line of figures.

That’s not to say every Transformers series has been bad. The evolution of Transformers has basically been a slow upward climb with a lot of missteps and backsliding along the way.

Beast Wars was the series that changed everything. It offered incredibly strong characterizations and clever plotting even as it divided the fan base by changing the primary characters from vehicle-based robots to animal-based robots. Beast Machines, its successor series, took a lot of storytelling risks, but ultimately was perceived as taking the Transformers so far from their source, from what fans wanted to see, that it just didn’t work. Armada definitely had its moments, mostly in the way that it revived Starscream as a breakout character. Then Transformers: Animated went even further, returning the franchise back to its basic core: Autobots versus Decepticons, epic space battles, robots disguised as vehicles hiding on Earth in plain sight.

And then there were the movies. Whether you loved or hated Michael Bay’s two films, they brought an unprecedented level of public attention to the franchise. It’s very likely their monstrous financial success was what made it possible for Transformers Prime to exist at all.

Where Prime differs from all previous series is in direction, dialogue and subtlety. The show isn’t afraid to take risks. The biggest risk it takes is in trusting the audience. Its little moments- a breath, a silent tilt of the head, a knowing glance- are given center stage in creating Prime’s story. What’s left unsaid, for the first time, is as important as what’s said.

The staff has said they approached creating the first mini-series as if they were movies, and that mentality shows through in every shot. Great care is taken to make the shots feel like live-action compositions with a wide range of camera angles and motions. It uses film language rather than flat 3/4s and 1/2s and side scrolling views, and takes full advantage of the opportunities 3D modeling represent. But the technical work would be meaningless without direction. Prime’s shots are carefully composed. Characters communicate physically as well as verbally; human Jack strokes transformed Arcee’s spine and we feel his longing for the things he thinks he can never have.

The writing is crisp, too. Every line spoken is important; there’s no time for drawn out speeches and monologues.

“Friend of yours?" "Family."

The Autobots are outnumbered, scattered, on the run. Only 5 remain on Earth, trapped by inadequate technology and threatened by useless human bureaucracy. For three years they’ve quietly haunted the roads of Earth, dogged by a liaison to the U.S. government, a rather brusque character named Fowler, voiced by Ernie Hudson. The Decepticons are a palpable threat: real menaces, feral under Starscream’s temporary leadership, willing to stalk, hunt and kill. Megatron has been wandering space for three years, presumably to find and rebuild the Decepticon army, but has made a more intriguing discovery, instead bringing back to earth a fragment of something legendary- the blood of Unicron, capable of reviving the dead.

Three kids get sucked into the fight: Jack, a latchkey kid, Raf, a pintsize hacker, and Miko, a Japanese exchange student. The kids are all right; of the three, Raf is actually the most tactically useful, aiding the Autobots with his laptop while Jack forms an immediate emotional connection to Arcee. Miko has yet to earn her keep.

Optimus remains as expected: cautious and calm and wise. He’s not the hotblooded space-axe wielder from TF:Animated; he and Megatron are old in this universe, maybe even the oldest surviving Transformers now. An undercurrent of respect and regret underlies their interactions – in Prime, they were once allies and even friends. Peter Cullen continues to portray the character with Voice of God authority; every line is effused with the depth of Prime’s battle-worn wisdom. The only downside is that there’s no real surprise to the character. Because he’s Optimus Prime, there’s nowhere left for him to go.

Frank Welker returns as Megatron.

Legendary voice actor and fan favorite Frank Welker returns as Megatron. Welker never gets as shrieky or shrill as he did for Galvatron. Instead, his Megatron is played low and cool, almost serene in his drive to power. The old sniping between him and Starscream is present, but now played more subtly. The show also exploits some of the energy between Welker and Cullen, who have been close friends in real life for many years now.

Steve Blum is Starscream, straddling the line between snide and toadying without ever crossing too far to either side and really stepping up into what a second-in-command should be while still maintaining his own agenda. He doesn’t try to emulate the irreplaceable Chris Latta, who still remains the character’s defining voice, but rather brings a silky, sophisticated quality to the role.

"There's no us, kid."

Sumalee Montano’s Arcee is the second-in-command for the Autobot side. Her character is clearly the breakaway role of this series, and the scripts give her a lot of heavy lifting to do emotionally and in combat. She comes off as maternal and ferocious without being grating or brittle. It’s refreshing to see a female character given such high prominence in an Autobot cast, which has traditionally skewed very top-heavy with male characters, and her relationship with Jack is going to be interesting to watch when the series picks up full time in February.

If Prime gets just a little predictable toward the end it’s still greatly satisfying. If it leaves some plot points unfinished and sidelines some characters that still need to be deepened, that’s what the series in February is for. It honors the original and all that’s come since then, and everything about it calls back to that glorious time when many of us sat breathlessly awaiting each new chapter of “More Than Meets the Eye”. It brings back that sense of something special, something amazing, something worth breaking appointments and rushing to the screen for.

It feels so good to see the series grown up at last. Some of us have waited a very long time for this.

Want more articles about cartoons? Check these out:

-Twenty Years And Still Going: A Simpsons Retrospective

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-Rock The Dragon: A Look Back on Dragonball Z

Someday I'm going to run this world while atop a noble steed and then we'll see who's laughing!

I am not very good at Risk. Ever lost Risk in two turns? I have.  I’ve seen friendships nearly break up as a result of Risk games going bad. It’s even worse than Monopoly with the amount of hate you seen thrown about. Regardless, never let your friends dissuade you from utter conquest of Asia or Europe, as you can’t take over the world without them. They’re impossible to hold onto, but still.

Risky Business

Risk was the brainchild of one French film director Albert Lamorisse who created the game in 1957 and called it something in French (or “La Conquête du Monde,” which means, naturally, “The Conquest of the World”). Why would someone decide to make a game that revolves around world domination? If you have to ask that question then you’re probably not a man. Every man hopes to someday rule the world with an iron fist and a glorious hat.

A standard game of Risk begins with a group of friends deciding their friendship has reached its limit. A few tears are shed and players are given their share of armies depending on how many total players there are. For instance, a two-player game has each player start with 40 armies, a three-player game has 35, a four-player game has 30, and so on. Each army is represented by a piece that looks like a solider. Cavalry pieces count as five armies and Artillery pieces are 10 armies.

Get used to seeing this because it's gonna be a long night.

Once everyone has their armies they take turns claiming territories to place an army on, just like in real life. Once the world is divided up, players place their remaining armies on their territories as they see fit to fortify them for the inevitable attacks from their former friends. Thus begins the bloodshed.

Like The History Channel Come Alive

The first player decides where he wishes to attack by looking at where his territory touches another and saying he’d like to attack for possession. It never sounds this formal though as most of the time they just scream, “Prepare for battle!” and toss dice in your face. Each turn you are given at least three additional armies to do what you will with, so when he means to tackle a territory, he’ll have some extra firepower to do so with.

These attacks are conducted as follows: The attacker gets up to three dice depending on how many armies he has in a territory. He can only attack with as many dice as one less than the number of armies that he has. The defender gets a die for however many armies he has, up to two. The once-friends roll their dice and compare the highest dice together. One army is lost when you lose a roll. The same goes for the second highest dice rolled. You can keep attacking as many times as you want even if your army is getting destroyed, but you have to stop when all your men are dead (unless you have necromancer powers or something, but I don’t think that applies to most games of Risk).

The rest of your turn can be spent fortifying your troops, getting Risk cards that can be turned in at the beginning of your next turn should you make a set (they give you more armies), and then apologizing to your friends. The game just keeps going until someone controls every territory in the world or someone thinks of something better to do with their time.

Maybe You Prefer Orcs

One Ring to Rule Them All!

Not everyone likes the idea of world conquest. Some people may prefer conquering a fictitious land, like Middle Earth or the Star Wars galaxies. Luckily there’s an edition for each of you as Risk has a few Lord of the Rings editions, a few Star Wars editions, a Transformers edition, and even a Halo edition. There are just too many worlds out there to be conquered, aren’t there? Better get to it.

Before you depart, let’s talk about what you’ll hear from your friends when you play. Don’t forget, they aren’t your friends anymore. So whatever they say is a dirty rotten lie. When someone says “Are you crazy? You can’t hold Asia,” make the attempt anyway. You’ll get seven additional armies at the beginning of every turn when you hold all of Asia, so you can fortify like nuts and stomp any that oppose you. But yeah, it’s easier to hole up in Australia and build a massive army to unleash during the best Blitzkrieg ever seen this side of WWII. I’ve seen it happen, and it is amazing when it does.

– Transformers Movie Deluxe Figures—These action figures, based on the recent blockbuster hit, transform from Autobots and Decepticons into extreme cars and trucks. The most popular figure is Bumblebee, the star transformer of the movie, who transforms into a yellow 1974 Camaro.

– Rubik’s Revolution—This electronic update of the classic Rubik’s Cube features six games that can be played individually or in groups. The game features lights and sound, and allows the player to unlock new levels and games.

– Ripstik—The Ripstik is a totally new wheeled vehicle, that combines the carving motion of surfing or snowboarding with the wheels and deck of a skateboard. The deck is split in the middle and pivots, so that the rider can handle better and accelerate without pushing off the ground.

- Hannah Montana—Hannah Montana is a Disney character who is an ordinary schoolgirl by day and pop superstar by night. Her show and movie have been extremely popular, leading to the release of dolls and accessories, tooy guitars, lunch boxes, bags, and even her own version of UNO.

- Indiana Jones—This summer’s release of the latest Indiana Jones movie has spawned a whole new generation of toys. Most popular are Indiana Jones LEGO sets, ranging from the River Chase set to the Jungle Duel set. Hasbro’s Electronic Sound FX Whip is also popular.

– U Command Wall-e—Based on the animated movie, this 8” x 13.8” x 11” robot has realistic expressions, light-up eyes, and convincing sound effects. The programmable remote control can execute over 1000 action combinations, and the robot has real tread motion.

Click here for information on the most popular toys in the world.