Ryan Tuchow & Cole Watson

Jazwares 

Netflix is expanding its Stranger Things franchise with an interesting new collaboration with Jazwares’ Squishmallows brand. Celebrating the upcoming launch of the Netflix show’s final season, Jazwares will manufacture and distribute a new collection of Squishmallows based on fan-favorite characters from Hawkins and The Upside Down to retailers worldwide this summer. 

According to market research firm Circana, Squishmallows was the number-one toy brand in the US last year, with strong sales driven by its co-branded Pokémon and Disney ranges, as well as cross-category expansions into housewares, apparel and games. 

Universal Products & Experiences

The studio’s consumer products division has renewed Mattel’s master toy license for Jurassic World. The toyco will develop new ranges of action figures, vehicles, plush and games based on upcoming content offerings—including a fourth Jurassic World film slated for 2025, and the CG-animated series Jurassic World: Chaos Theory (DreamWorks Animation, Amblin Entertainment, Universal Pictures), which will launch on Netflix later this year. This sequel series follows the continuing adventures of dino-fan Darius Brown, who survived the events of Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous (26 x 23 minutes) and must now deal with rampaging dinosaurs living on the mainland. 

Spin Master

The Toronto-based toyco has tapped Sao Paulo-based licensing agency Redibra to represent several brands in its portfolio in the Brazilian market, including Tech Deck, Rubik’s and the CG-animated fantasy-adventure series Unicorn Academy (eight x 22 minutes, pictured). The agency unveiled a new range of Unicorn Academy playthings at the ABRIN International Toy Fair in Brazil earlier this week, and local toyco Sunny Brinquedoes will distribute them to retailers in the region later this year. Outside of this new partnership with Spin Master, Redibra’s licensing portfolio already includes Nintendo, CoComelon, Care Bears and Netflix. 

Random House Children’s Books

The kids publishing division of Random House has signed a multi-book deal with creator Parker James and LA-based animation studio Toonstar to publish titles based on the YouTube-first animated series StEvEn & Parker, which has almost 4.6 million subscribers on the platform. Random House imprint Crown Books for Young Readers acquired the book rights to the series, which releases three two- to three-minute videos each week. The middle-grade graphic novels will build on the series’ comedy-driven escapades of two young brothers (meeting aliens and sneaking a dog into a movie theater, for example). Toonstar, which primarily produces animation for adults, is using generative AI, AI dubbing and machine learning to produce StEvEn & Parker content faster and for about 80% less than the industry standard, according to a spokesperson.