Word: toye
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...separated from his parents, confronts adversity and is reunited with them. But here the child is not abducted by poltergeists < or locked in a De Lorean time warp. Young Jim (Christian Bale) loses his way because, in the tumbledown panic of escape from Shanghai, he reaches for his precious toy airplane instead of holding onto his mother's hand for dear life. Once on his own, he leaps into the grasping arms of a scurvy American merchant seaman (John Malkovich). Jim might be an Oliver Twist auditioning for Fagin, or a Pinocchio begging to visit Stromboli's summer camp...
...Christmas-shopping season begins, one question stands out in the minds of the country's toy manufacturers: Just how many $150 playthings can American parents afford at a time of shivering stock prices and economic uncertainty? It had better be plenty, because the industry is pinning its hopes on a new generation of fast-talking and fast-shooting computer-driven toys with price tags that run from $60 to $225. Store shelves and shop windows are crowded with jabbering dolls, video villains, electronic spaceships and even a child- size camcorder. But there are signs that parents -- and grandparents -- may balk...
...toy companies may be playing a losing game, and for high stakes. In the past year, many have watched their business stagnate, as past hit toys lost their novelty but few new ones seemed to capture shoppers' imaginations. Sales this year are expected to grow a meager 3.4%, compared with an average of nearly 6% over the past three years. The price of some toy stocks tumbled more than 40% in October, further than the shares of any other industry. Such leading firms as Mattel, Coleco and Worlds of Wonder all posted larger losses than usual in the normally slow...
...Worlds of Wonder, in particular, the next four weeks may determine whether the company survives. The fledgling firm, founded in 1985 in Fremont, Calif., became an industry legend on the strength of two blockbuster toys: Teddy Ruxpin, the personable talking bear that debuted in 1985, and last year's Lazer Tag ray-gun game. The company, soon known aptly enough as WOW, chalked up earnings of $18.6 million on sales of $327 million during its past fiscal year, making it one of the fastest-growing new manufacturing concerns in history. But in the view of industry analysts, the company expanded...
...company's hopes for a turnaround rest on its latest round of talking toys, including the Mickey Mouse doll and Mother Goose (each $60), as well as dancing Disney figures called Little Boppers ($20). WOW is especially proud of Julie (up to $125), which it claims is the "most sophisticated toy ever to be introduced in America . . . and still a little girl's best friend." A voice- recognition system allows Julie to "understand" questions. If a child asks, "Are you hungry?" the doll is programmed to respond with a bright "I'm hungry. Let's eat!" The doll can also...