Disney Partners With Mattel to Launch New Toy Line

Executives from Disney and Mattel jointly discussed the toy product line created for Disney Pixar's Toy Story 5.

The Toy Story series will its fifth movie on June 19. Disney and Pixar are fully committed to promoting the film, including continuing their long-term collaboration with Mattel. The two companies have developed a wide range of toy product lines to mark the release of the film.

Starting with the second film, the Disney team has collaborated with Mattel (toys for the first film were produced by Thinkway Toys, which has since gone out of business). Tracy Thurman, Vice President of Disney Hardlines Product Design, stated that this new product line is better than ever before.

“Mattel has done an excellent job collaborating with Disney and Pixar, ensuring they truly capture those key cinematic moments,” said Thurman. “I believe the products are getting better and better. Of course, they have also significantly expanded their product range—offering action figures, vehicles, plush toys, role-play toys… the variety is extensive.”

Nick Karamonos, Senior Vice President of Action Figures & Entertainment Partnerships at Mattel, and his team received early access to the film’s script and assets—which frequently changed during production—to develop this new product line. However, this product line differs from previous *Toy Story* toys.

"We have collaborated with Disney for many years," Karamonos said, "and we have made toys for Toy Story for many years as well. So we have a good relationship with Disney, and our collaboration on the Toy Story project has been very symbiotic. We got a meta-concept: this movie is about toys and technology. It's a process of repeated iteration, repeatedly reading the script and materials, and our designers use this to conceptualize the toy forms, giving these characters life, sometimes using methods that are different from before."

Integrating the product line into "technology suitable for making into toys" is not an easy task, but after years of effort, they have achieved new innovative results. The stars of the product line are the Ultimate Action Edition Buzz Lightyear and Woody action figures, which come to life through electronic animation technology, with features such as clap recognition, pose recognition, and the ability to sense each other's presence and interact. The series also includes five more 7-inch scale interactive figures, aptly named "Play Scale Interactive Toys," along with additional products. Kristen Sanzari, Product Design Manager at Mattel, and Product Designer Baxter Crane stated that these toys represent the biggest technological leap in Mattel's history.

“I’m extremely happy to see them finally come to life,” said Sanzari. “Synchronizing voice with electronic animation movements is likely the most time-consuming part.”

From adjusting Woody and Buzz's blink timing to enabling the action figures to talk to each other, this ambitious product line became the highlight of their careers. Sanzari and Crane studied animation together in school before entering the product design field. The dream of working with Pixar had now become a reality.

“Now I get to work with Pixar, and it gives me goosebumps,” Crane said. “When I first came here, I was working on Barney toys. Kristen asked me if I wanted to join the Toy Story project, and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, please let me be part of it!’”

The love for the characters of the Toy Story franchise—just as the toy designers themselves feel—is at the heart of this product line's creation.

"People have incredibly cherished and fond memories of these characters," Thurman says, "and Mattel has done an outstanding job with this line because the essence of the film is about seeing old friends come together, but now with an element of technology, which is something every family can resonate with. We were very keen on ensuring that technology is integrated into these toys, and I think they've done an excellent job in bringing this innovation to life in a way that is directly connected to the film, to people's core memories, and in a new, relevant, and especially fitting way for this movie."

The other toys in the Toy Story 5 product line include the following. Unless otherwise specified, these toys will be available this spring.