tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post3309882727760111661..comments2024-01-01T21:31:27.654-08:00Comments on UNCLE EDDIE'S THEORY CORNER: WHERE WERE THE HARRY POTTER TOYS?Eddie Fitzgeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07729949238666234774noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post-55937902208028585552010-12-31T03:13:42.164-08:002010-12-31T03:13:42.164-08:00She doesn't owe you toys :)
J.K. Rowling keep...She doesn't owe you toys :)<br /><br />J.K. Rowling keeps very tight control of her brand. She does not sign off on reams of junk. She is why the HP movies are British everyone productions, with no US actors even though the studio howled endlessly about it. <br /><br />I just watched all 6 on dvd and the 7th on IMAX. The DVDs I watched in my Harry Potter bathrobe: 10 years old, beautiful Gryffindor heraldry, polarweight and warm as hell.<br /><br />I know someone who worked at the marketing company that designed harrypotter.com. At a big meeting for some part of it, she noticed this oddly familiar middle-aged blond sitting in the back of the room. George Lucas does not show up at Star Wars marketing meetings.<br /><br />I have great respect for her in keeping control of the HP universe.epileptikittyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08292310265859705099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post-47980699301317678392010-12-17T23:08:22.669-08:002010-12-17T23:08:22.669-08:00Anon, Severin: Thanks again for the interesting po...Anon, Severin: Thanks again for the interesting points about selling HP toys. It sounds like I was too hasty when I blamed Warner executives for everything. Severin still made a good point, though. It took seven successful films before a Potter Park was able to open its doors. That's way too slow!<br /><br />Is there anything we can learn from the Japanese here? They seem to get movie related toys into the stores at a more brisk pace than we do. Or do they?Eddie Fitzgeraldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07729949238666234774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post-9486971917873157932010-12-17T22:25:03.833-08:002010-12-17T22:25:03.833-08:00I'm sad to hear that toy makers had cold feet ...I'm sad to hear that toy makers had cold feet when the first Harry Potter movie came out... but we've had SEVEN movies already!! How long does this franchise have to stay at the top for toy making to be considered a safe venture? It's no wonder I see a proliferation of fan-made merchandise floating around.<br /><br />I guess that's some consolation: even if the toy companies are going to sit around, the fans will fill the world with their own brand of merchandise.Severinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02650750220287980350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post-401529912060536072010-12-17T12:56:43.679-08:002010-12-17T12:56:43.679-08:00P.S. Have to tell you though that the actual HP to...P.S. Have to tell you though that the actual HP toys are repulsive.She-Thinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12712250230880307812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post-1296470299807413772010-12-17T12:54:21.985-08:002010-12-17T12:54:21.985-08:00Sigh, sigh! The possibilities... X( I'd give a...Sigh, sigh! The possibilities... X( I'd give anything for HP "cute" stuff. Those little toys such as minimates or simply some good "Hellboyish" like toys (imagine Harry Potter toys with Mike's style bladgh brlagh bdlagh yum)<br /><br />Completely true Eddie. Unfair, unfair.She-Thinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12712250230880307812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post-17897511174308412802010-12-17T12:01:16.437-08:002010-12-17T12:01:16.437-08:00Anon: Many thanks for the interesting comment! I&#...Anon: Many thanks for the interesting comment! I'll add it to the bottom of the article!Eddie Fitzgeraldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07729949238666234774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post-85697973873145552082010-12-17T12:01:10.629-08:002010-12-17T12:01:10.629-08:00That's "no sure BET," not "but&...That's "no sure BET," not "but"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post-72019715670142290492010-12-17T11:58:10.937-08:002010-12-17T11:58:10.937-08:00It wasn't Warner Brothers---they wanted to lic...It wasn't Warner Brothers---they wanted to license and tried like crazy. There were more toys licensed for the very first film than people might remember, but they didn't sell.<br /><br />it was the distributors and stores. They were spooked by the new Star Wars films debacle. Although Lucas got paid up front, a majority of the toys were unsold, and the distributors had to eat the cost. Lots of cost.<br /><br />The window for selling these toys/shelf space is also very, VERY short. <br /><br />I don't agree with all the short term thinking a company like WalMart (the largest distributor in the word) has, but it's their business.<br /><br />Movie toys mostly just don't sell very well. The lead time is long, and films are no sure but. Remember The Simpsons? When it first came out...no toys. Same with Toy Story. Few toys (until later)<br /><br />While specialty toy makers make wonderful stuff, they're often expensive, and have a very limited market.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post-82776784695941027672010-12-17T06:18:31.525-08:002010-12-17T06:18:31.525-08:00Eddie, Ron saving Harry in the flying car was in &...Eddie, Ron saving Harry in the flying car was in "Chamber of Secrets," not "Goblet of Fire."<br /><br />But I think your right, Warner Bros. needs to get their butts moving with the merchandise.Steven M.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17284662120928553055noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post-17711933600708016812010-12-17T05:48:36.369-08:002010-12-17T05:48:36.369-08:00I think perhaps toy manufacturers got spooked afte...I think perhaps toy manufacturers got spooked after that whole vibrating broom debacle. It does seem odd that there aren't at least more toys/action figures. It seems like the HP world has enough of a bestiary and friendly ghosts and such to warrant it. I would say that perhaps Rowling didn't want too much HP merchandise and commercialization, and wanted to some extent to limit the world to the books and movies, but there's a ton of licensed video games so I'm not sure.<br /><br />Personally I think an awesome toy would be something like the Hulk Hands from a while back, a Hagrid beard. A solid foam beard styled after the Hagrid of the movies that kids strap to their face. They will be able to feel the awesome grown-up power of facial hair well before their time, and can run around being the giant gentle guardian and mentor of their friends. The beard will make their friends instinctively recognize the appropriateness of this division of roles.Ben Whttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09784037183594650534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post-81375079665931601012010-12-17T03:20:57.805-08:002010-12-17T03:20:57.805-08:00Eddie, you are completely right. I've never ha...Eddie, you are completely right. I've never hardly noticed any, if at all, Harry Potter toys prominently on the market, except if you go somewhere like Wal-Mart and see the same gloomy looking, kid-unfriendly merchandise.<br /><br />By the way, now I actually want to read the last two Harry Potter books because of this post. I read them all the time when I was younger and liked the stories really much, and how much depth each character had.<br /><br />Can you please do something on SpongeBob SquarePants, in terms of toy marketing? IMO, those toys could look a lot better with your input on them, because you clearly love cartoons more than most people in the world, even though there are already a billion toys of the little sponge all over the globe.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com