New York Toy Fair 2019—Pixar News Roundup!

Hi everyone! This past weekend was one of my favorite annual events, something I look forward to every February...New York Toy Fair! While I'm usually at home getting the updates from my computer, constantly refreshing toy news sites/social media for the latest reveals, this time (for the first time) I actually got to attend! I've been following along with Toy Fair since I was a kid, so it was surreal to be there as part of the press covering the event. Instead of searching the internet for all the Pixar toy updates, I could finally provide the news myself! And that's exactly what I've compiled here.

This event is held each year at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and is only open to the toy trade– meaning toy industry professionals, retailers and press representatives. The 2019 NYTF began last Saturday (Feb. 16th) and ran through yesterday (Feb. 19th). It was a last minute idea of mine to attend and I honestly can't believe I was able to make it happen. I literally had the thought to go on Friday morning when I woke up and then took it from there. I quickly made a business card before leaving for work, applied for press with my credentials and emailed a contact I had to help fast-track my application. Late that night I received my approval email! I took off for the convention early Saturday morning, arrived on time, picked up my badge and began my fun—I mean work. ;) What a whirlwind! 

A big shout out to my friends over at Tubey Toys for sharing their knowledge with me about applying for Toy Fair and for the support/encouragement.   

Below is a summary (by company) of all the latest and greatest Pixar merch I discovered while walking the show floor, some available now and some coming soon/later this year! If you missed my updates on Instagram, you can check out my NYTF2019 saved story (which includes some video updates not seen here).

Enjoy! 

UNIVERSITY GAMES

The company University Games showed off their popular "BePuzzled" line of 3D Crystal Puzzles! Buzz and the trio of aliens are back (rebranded Toy Story 4) and Nemo was on display too. I haven't collected any of these, but I might have to now! Very cool to see in person.

 MONOGRAM INTERNATIONAL

From Monogram, Toy Story figural key ring characters are coming this spring! How adorable is this series? You can definitely expect a review of these as soon as I can get my hands on them. Oh and how awesome is this booth with all their key chains on display?

Golly-bob howdy! Also by Monogram, check out this these outstanding Toy Story Slinky bookends. These are a must, releasing this spring at Box Lunch Gifts!

GOOD SMILE COMPANY

Good Smile showed off their amazing new Mike and Sulley Nendoroid figures (released last fall) as well as their upcoming Buzz and Woody figures (which will be released a little later this year)! These things are absolutely incredible.

MARSHMALLOW

Spotted this cute & soft foam Buzz spaceship/alien Toy Story chair by Marshmallow Kids Furniture. It will be released this fall and retails for $49.99.

JAKKS PACIFIC

My friends over at Jakks Pacific revealed their Toy Story 4 Buzz Lightyear Star Command Center (this was just a prototype though, this product isn't set to "launch" until fall). They were still working out the kinks, but I think it will end up being pretty neat for kids ages 2-4!

MATTEL

Check out the latest and upcoming from Mattel featuring Cars and Toy Story 4!  

Pixar Cars

Not too much was shown for Cars, but we did get a peek at a new "Drag Racing" line which includes a track set and six singles to start. Two other playsets were shown as well, the "Race Around Radiator Springs" motorized track set and the "XRS Mud Racing Crash Challenge."

Now onto what everyone's been waiting for...Mattel's main event this year, Toy Story 4 merch! Shelf date is April 22nd. 

Toy Story "Minis"'

Everyone's favorite Toy Story "Minis" blind bags collection is continuing on with new packaging and brand new characters from Toy Story 4!   

 

7" Action Figure Line 

These are in the vein of Mattel's classic line of basic Toy Story poseable action figures, but now a scale bigger! I was surprised how big they actually were once I saw them in person. They look great! 

 7" Scale 4-in-1 Starship Space Command Playset

For use with the 7" figure line above! Comes with a unique glow in the dark Buzz, exclusive to the set.

 Role Play Toys

Buzz Ultimate Space Amour and Bo Pee's Action Staff!

 Hot Wheels

These were originally available in 2010 for the release Toy Story 3, repackaged here for Toy Story 4. Hopefully we see new characters in this lineup as well.

Fashion Doll Line

Bo Beep and Barbie! I'm especially excited to see Barbie making a comeback (and looking better than ever), since I missed her release at the time of TS3.

Imaginext  

This giant Imaginext set was also shown, known as Buzzbot! Really hoping to see more Imaginext sets soon, based on actual characters and scenes from TS4. Pretty cool though, kids will love it. 

That's all that was shown at the Toy Story 4 Mattel booth! Of course this isn't everything that will be released on April 22nd, so look forward to many more exciting reveals in the coming months.

LEGO

Now onto the Lego booth, which also featured some really cute upcoming Toy Story 4 sets! These will be available on April 22nd as well. 

Four sets were shown, all of which are part of their simplified 4+ range (previously called "Lego Jr."):

Buzz and Woody’s Carnival Mania

 RV Vacation 

 Who's excited for this adorable Lego Forky!!

Carnival Thrill Coaster 

 Woody & RC

One new Lego Duplo set was shown as well, however this one is inspired by TS3 and is very similar to a train set already released back in 2010. Very cute regardless, sure to be a big hit with little fans.

FUNKO

A few Toy Story Funko products were on display, including the already revealed RC & Woody "POP!" Ride, Buzz and Woody Loungefly backpacks and the soon to be released Buzz and Woody "Vynl" Collectibles.

BEAST KINGDOM

Check out these Cars and Toy Story "D-Stage" Diorama Statues from Beast Kingdom! Both of these are available now.

EXQUISITE GAMING

Exquisite Gaming had a really cool new Toy Story 4 Buzz Lightyear game controller/phone holder as part of their "Cable Guys" line.

And here's just some really adorable Toy Story wall art I saw while walking around the show floor! It didn't seem to be tied to any specific merchandise, but I thought it was too cute not to document. Not sure who the artist is, but please let me know if you have any insight.

Lastly there were some items I missed (there was a lot of ground to cover), so thanks to fellow attendees Cathy S (@Proudfan92) and Tiffany (@Tubey_Toys) for sharing the below pics with me! Really cute stuff.

ORANGE TREE TOYS

From UK based company Orange Tree Toys, look at these insanely cute Toy Story wooden baby toys! I'm really hoping these get released in the US as well.

Next up, check out these hats featuring Toy Story 4 characters Ducky and Bunny! I'm not sure which company these hats were from, but I did see them while I was there. I tried to take a photo of them and I was stopped! Oh well, here they are anyway thanks to Cathy.

BANDAI

I should have gone in the Bandai booth, but didn't think they had anything Pixar this year! I missed out on seeing these—more cute wooden baby toys, this time blocks. These are must haves! Apparently these are already available internationally, but will see a US release date later this year. Thanks for sharing Tubey Toys! 

TOMY

Again, I should have gone in the TOMY booth because I missed out on these! More baby toys, but this time the soft variety. These toys, under TOMY's Lamaze banner, will be released as soon as March.

That about wraps everything up! I'm so grateful for the time I was able to have there, the items I was able to see, the people I was able to meet and the contacts I was able to make. I was able further my relationships with many companies and get my name out there a bit more, which was very encouraging for me. I'm also grateful for all the representatives that were able to squeeze me in (schedule-wise) for booth tours since all my planning was last minute! Everyone was very accommodating. Next year I'll have things planned out a bit more ahead of time and hopefully even be able to attend more than one day.

I hope you enjoyed this coverage. I would love to hear all your thoughts below! What are your favorite items? What are you looking forward to the most? Have you seen anything from NYTF that is Pixar that I didn't touch on here? Let me know down in the comments!

A Bug's Life: 20th Anniversary Plush Collection (Disney Store)

Another night, another plush post! Following Coco and Incredibles 2, this is the last group of recent Disney Store plush I've had for a while meaning to review. Released just this past fall, in celebration of the film's 20th anniversary, here we have three adorable A Bug's Life plush featuring Flik, Dot and (my personal favorite character) Heimlich! I was so happy to see Pixar's most underrated film get some recent love...you NEVER see A Bug's Life stuff anymore (well, thanks to BoxLunch Gifts, there has been a bit more these days than usual). I was afraid this anniversary would come and go without any recognition at the Disney Store, but they came through.

I almost didn't pick these up (given that I already have all these characters in plush form from the original 1998 Disney Store mini bean bag collection), but then I figured these were bigger, better/improved and different enough to justify! Plus how could I not support the 20th anniversary of this film. So of course I got them, why did I even question it.

All three of these are part of the Disney Store's "small core plush" category and retail for $14.95 each (but right now they're all on sale for only $10, so hurry!!). Flik is 18'' H (incl. antennae), Dot is 14'' H (incl. antennae) and Heimlich is 10'' H x 13'' L.

Magic in the details:

• Detailed plush sculpting
• Embroidered features
• Super soft stuffing
• Enhanced stitching
• Beans in belly
• Polyester / polyethylene pellets

They all look great and have really nice likenesses/detailing. Love Dot's little shiny wings! Solid and well made plush all around as usual.

The actual anniversary of the film was on November 25th and I meant to get this post up clear back then. Oops! I even posted the below photo on Instagram prepping for it, but things got real busy. Oh well—at least I'm not quite as late this time as I have been recently. Luckily they're all still in stock online HERE and should also be available at your local Disney Store if you'd like to snag these in person.

What are you thoughts? Did you pick up these cute bugs for your collection? Who's your fave? Shout it all out down below! 

Incredibles 2: Disney Store Plush Collection

After being over a year late getting my Disney Store Coco plush review up, I didn't want to make the same mistake with the Incredibles 2 plush collection! While these did come out last April (so wow, I am pretty late here as it's almost been a year), I didn't actually receive them until just this past Christmas. I waited for a good sale around the holidays in order to justify grabbing all of them. The best thing is, all of these characters are still currently in stock and easily attainable both in store and online—which is something I couldn't say for the Coco plush.

This isn't going to be a detailed review of each plush here. That would get pretty redundant as they're all very similar and equal in make and overall quality. I'll say that these are ALL really well done—from the mixture of materials used to the stitching/embroidered features to the character likenesses/stylization, this is a solid assortment! I don't think I really have any negatives to share, they're your standard Disney Store plush; so if you're familiar with past plushies from the Disney Store, then you know exactly what to expect here. 

Aside from the little "mini bean bag plush" of Jack-Jack in his diaper, these are all part of the same small/medium core lineup. Their sizes and prices are as follows (click the links to buy):

• Mr. Incredible ($19.95; Medium Core; 19.5" tall) 
• Elastigirl ($19.95; Medium Core; 19" tall) 
• Violet ($14.95; Small Core; 14.5" tall)
• Dash ($14.95; Small Core; 12.5" tall) 
• Jack-Jack ($14.95; Small Core; 8.5" tall)
• Frozone ($19.95; Medium Core; 18.5" tall) 
• Edna Mode ($14.95; Small Core; 12.5" tall) 
• Jack-Jack in Diaper ($9.95; Mini Bean Bag; 7" tall) 

And if you haven't purchased these yet (but want to) you'll be thrilled to know they're all currently on sale for only $10 each! So whether you're looking to get just one, the whole set or complete the collection you've already started, you won't want to miss this deal. Hurry—not sure how long it'll last.

I don't believe an Incredibles plush collection like this was released back in 2004 at the Disney Store, so it's cool the sequel made way for these to get made. As a big fan and collector of Pixar plush, the lack of Incredibles in my plush collection was definitely felt! In a sense I like that it's just the classic characters released (if it wasn't for Edna's outfit, these could all easily be lumped in with toys from the first Incredibles and you'd never know any better), but it would have been cool to see one or two Incredibles 2 specific characters released here as well. What do you think?

Shout out your thoughts down below! Do you have a favorite? Anyone else you wish got made? I'll be excited to hear your thoughts. 

Coco: Disney Store Plush Collection Review

Alright everyone, don't judge too harshly here. I'm only a year and four months late with this review! I've planned on getting these plush up here ever since I purchased them in October 2017 and then again last May for Cinco de Mayo (I even got an Instagram post up for it). Not sure why it kept getting pushed back, but here it is! My review of the Disney Store/ShopDisney.com range of Coco inspired medium core plush.

This colorful collection of five soft characters includes Miguel, Hector, Dante, Dante (Alejibre) and Pepita! Each plush originally retailed for $19.95.

Let's start with Miguel. He's about 18.5" tall, has a good likeness and is made from a nice variety of soft, quality materials. His iconic red hoodie has decorative drawstrings, a real working zipper and can be fully removed to reveal his white undershirt. Transform Miguel's face to his land of the dead disguise by pulling up his hood/fabric skeleton face flap!

MIGUEL

Both Dante plush look fantastic, have wonderful embroidered details and both really capture the character from the film. Both are about 15"-16" tall; regular Dante is in a sitting pose and alejibre Dante is standing on all fours. You can't go wrong with getting either of these, but there's really something to say about the alejibre one! The vibrant colors and details in the pattern are outstanding (not to mention those wings and bright blue tongue). There's a reason why the Disney Store decided to bring back only this one recently out of all of these!

DANTE & ALEJIBRE DANTE

The Hector plush is very cute. They did a really nice job stylizing him and making a skeleton appealing for kids to play and cuddle with (which sounds weird in concept, but I think it works here). He stands at 18" tall and is also made with a great selection of soft/quality fabrics.

HECTOR

The Pepita plush looks amazing—almost gargoyle-esque in her stance! She's very soft with bright colored fabric and embroidered details. This one may be the coolest and most striking, which is probably why she's also the rarest of these five plush. Pepita measures about 12.5" tall.

PEPITA

There you go! I'm so happy that these are finally documented and reviewed here on the blog. As mentioned, these aren't available to purchase anymore unfortunately (aside from alejibre Dante which made a comeback, BUY HERE or in store), but you can pick them up on eBay (if you don't mind paying high prices) by using THIS direct link to current listings. Sellers also have them listed on Amazon, but again, prices are very high.

Let me know all your thoughts down below? Did you grab these at the time of their release? Do you have a favorite? 

Toy Story: Nighttime Routine Rewards Chart

Hey howdy hey everyone! A few months back, the Disney Store/ShopDisney.com released this cute Toy Story inspired Nighttime Routine Reward Chart. While my wife and I don't have any kids quite yet, I had to grab this and put it away for the future. I've thought a nighttime rewards chart type tradition would be fun to do someday (it's something I never did as a little kid) and what better one to have than one that's Toy Story themed! I couldn't help myself.

This chart is 19'' H x 14'' W and features seven spaces in a column on the left (for each day of the week) and six spaces in a row at the top (for each part of the nighttime routine). The nighttime routine labels fit in little clear plastic envelopes there at the top and you can arrange them in any order according to how you do things in your home. There's Woody's hat to represent getting dressed, a tub for taking a bath, a toy box of aliens for cleaning up toys, a toothbrush/paste for brushing teeth, books for reading a bedtime story and a pillow for going to sleep. There's even six blank labels you can customize with a marker if you'd like to add you own in.

Everything about this is extremely cute; all the artwork is so well done and stylized to really captivate kids. It comes with an erasable marker, a large rectangular space at the bottom for writing any notes and 42 resealable clear cling stickers featuring aliens, stars, hats, and rockets (seven of each design) to mark achievements. Recommended age is 3+; original retail price was $19.95.

Unfortunately this item has sold out online, but there are a couple currently on eBay HERE if you're interested. 

While I understand that it's not good to completely rely on reward charts like this (you want kids to learn good habits/behavior, responsibility and helping others—not just for stickers or tangible prizes), I think there is a time and a place for this type of thing and I think it adds a little fun and magic to everyday "boring" routines. Once the whole chart fills up, it'll be fun to plan some kind of fun small reward/outing (say a trip to get ice cream or maybe a little toy they were wanting).

Anyway, I think that about wraps up my thoughts! I'll be excited to see this in action one day and to see if a system like this works for our family/child. Did you pick one of these up? Has your family ever used rewards charts before and how'd it go? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments!