Creepy, Crawly Pleasures at Toy Fair

Feb. 14, 2006 — -- New York City is once again crawling with Santa's elves. Though many Americans have yet to vacuum the Christmas tinsel from their carpets, 1,500 toy makers and marketers are now asking that timeless question: "What will your kids be whining for next year?"

Diva that she is, Barbie has exploited her personal life to grab some quick headlines. At last year's Toy Fair, America's most plastic celebrity announced through her Mattel publicists that she was competing on "American Idol," hanging out with the 12-inch version of Lindsay Lohan, and dating this Aussie surfer dude doll named Blaine, who gossips say, like her other men, proved to be anatomically incorrect.

This year Barbie's people say Ken is back at their gal's Dream House, and from his radical makeover, it looks as if he's been working out with GI Joe. Actually, Ken's got a new look courtesy of celebrity stylist Phillip Bloch, and his lightened Malibu tan and updated haircut suggest he's now hanging out in all the right places.

In Search of the Next Furby

These are indeed troubled times in toy land. The industry is trying to reverse a two-year decline in sales, which dropped 3.6 percent to $20.1 billion in 2004 and an estimated 4 percent last year.

Moreover, the small independent toy makers and retailers have found it increasingly harder to compete against industry giants, especially as even the oldest toys get high-tech makeovers. Nearly seven out of 10 toys now come with a computer chip.

Nevertheless, the American International Toy Fair -- a 103-year-old New York tradition -- is where the industry still turns to find the next Furby, Cabbage Patch Doll or Tickle Me Elmo.

Of course, Barbie is still a star, though, like Madonna, she's well into her 40s and is always on the lookout for ways to reinvent herself. Her "Let's Dance" line, which comes with instructional DVDs, is just part of her new direction.

It seems as if everyone's hoofing it this year. Even Twister is coming out with a dance version.

The key to many marketers is latching on to the right TV and big-screen characters. While that seems as easy as checking which superhero blockbuster film is slated for release, you can still get great deals on "Hulk" products. This year has brought high hopes for products pegged to "Superman Returns," "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" and the upcoming Disney/Pixar release, "Cars." It's always a gamble, and even more so these days, with Hollywood's box office in decline. But new technologies also open a world of possibilities.

For the first time, you'll be able to fly your own Superman, thanks to remote-control technology. Interactive software allows you to have conversations with a 3-foot version of Johnny Depp's Capt. Jack Sparrow, and Hot Wheels has a souped-up version of Lightning McQueen, Owen Wilson's talking auto character in "Cars."

As I walked through the miles of aisles at Toy Fair, here are the items that jumped out at me:

Inflato-Suit Superman: Don't worry about steroid testing. You can get artificially pumped up with this $22 vinyl costume equipped with a battery-operated fan to make your muscles bulge. Sharp objects -- not kryptonite -- are this Man of Steel's weakness. Some older boys may be equally deflated to learn that it's geared for the 3-to-7 age group.

Butterscotch, the FurReal Horse: Owning a pony might still be every little girl's dream, but owning a $250 robot horse still has its advantages -- including no need for a robot barn to shovel out. Hasbro's Butterscotch, a 40-inch-high pony, nuzzles, whinnies, snorts and gently bounces a little child up and down. Theoretically, if you replace your child with a robot, this makes an even better gift.

Shadow Magic: Even the art of playing with your shadow has gone high-tech. Now, when you cast your menacing images in the darkness, you can capture them on the $30 Shadow Magic glow screen, which comes with a high-intensity strobe light and pen, so that you can even add lines to your own hazy image, and make your self-portrait even more menacing.

The Hot Wheels Terrordactyl Track: Mixing fast cars with lava-spewing volcanoes and flying prehistoric animals in this $50 racetrack set is genius -- and perhaps the next Vin Diesel movie.

The Marshmallow Shooter: This $25 pump-action marshmallow gun is s'more fun than edible paintball. Load 20 mini marshmallows in the chamber, and you'll be aiming at targets 30 feet away. With that sort of firepower, your targets will be toast -- and your ammunition toasted.

Big Bad Booming Bugs: No video game will ever replace the childlike joy of trapping a bug and putting it in a jar. But with Little Kids Big Bad Booming Bugs observatory ($20), you don't just watch ants battle over a bread crumb. Microphones built into the toy's base let you put on a headset and listen to the critters' every movement. Perhaps next year's model will let kids download audio insect adventures to their iPods.

Remote-Control Snakes: To be sure, today's kid doesn't have to get dirty digging in the garden for critters to gross out grandma and frighten the neighbor's cat. Uncle Milton's RC Snakes are the perfect gift for any little Bart Simpson. The $25, 20-inch serpents -- available in banana boa and green mamba -- have light-up eyes and will slither through your yard as you control them with the hand-held, snake-egg controller. Uncle Milton is also promising to unveil a RC Tarantula by the holidays, with real, spiderlike, moving tendrils.

Wild Planet's Spy Video Car: In the last few years, thousands of remote-control cars have hit the market. Now comes one that lets you see in the dark. Wild Planet's Spy Video Car -- expected to retail between $100 and $150 -- is equipped with an infrared night vision camera. As you steer the car, it transmits video that you view through goggles at distances of up to 75 feet, making domestic spying a reality at any age.

Banzai Falls Criss Cross Waterslide: If you can't take the kids to Six Flags, this might be the closest you'll get to building a backyard amusement park. It's a $350 inflatable water slide with a 10-foot vertical drop. With the blower-powered motor, kids are whooshed into a wading pool, loosely based on the Six Flags attraction.

Disgusting Anatomy Brain: Scientific Explorer's new anatomy kit allows your kid to play mad scientist in a way that would gross out Dr. Frankenstein. Your kid will not only learn how the human mind works by building a gooey, life-size model -- the final product will be edible! As a bonus, this $25 science kit also comes with a build-it-yourself, edible eyeball.

Teddy Scares: Meet Erwin Morose, part of the Teddy Scares plush doll "Bearly Alive" series, and not quite as friendly as your Sesame Street pals. Still, Erwin has his own charm. According to his bio, he's a greeting card writer who died in 1973, and his goal is "to be loved." Perhaps you'd prefer his plush toy friends, the Dumpster-diving Rita Mortis or the one-eyed Abnormal Cyrus, who likes to count cracks in the ceiling.

"Fear Factor" Candy: Kid candy has always played up the gross-out factor. But you never had to worry about gummy worms being made of real worms -- until now. Brand New's "Fear Factor" Candy includes a whole line of sweets including "Crunchy Larva" -- an item made from 100 percent real bug larva in barbecue, cheddar and spicy Mexican flavors. For the less adventurous, there are "Fear Factor" gummy worms in a sour sugar dirt that makes them looked pulled right out of the ground, and gummy frog eggs, extra slimy on the outside with a crunchy bone center, served with blood-red candy dipping sauce. Of course, some kids realize that on the TV show, they pay you to eat those things.

Buck Wolf is entertainment producer at ABCNEWS.com. "The Wolf Files" is published Tuesdays.