Weird Toys of Christmas Future
Feb. 22, 2005 — -- It's all work and all play at New York's annual Toy Fair, the international gathering of every elf in Santa's workshop, where everyone is looking for the next Furby.
These days, the toy business is getting increasingly high-tech. The latest versions of Elmo and Winnie the Pooh will know your child's name and birthday, thanks to computer chips and voice-recognition technology.
Even Barbie is struggling to keep up with the times. New versions have her competing on "American Idol" and hanging out with the 12-inch Mattel version of Lindsay Lohan, one of the most talked-about dolls unveiled at the toy show.
Barbie now has designs on Hollywood. In "My Scene Goes to Hollywood," a straight-to-DVD release coming in August, America's most plastic blonde attempts to win a part in a Lohan movie. You can bet your Dream House that this Barbie won't suffer red carpet wardrobe malfunctions in her new designer couture, which, of course, is sold separately.
Rival bigheaded bad-girl dolls the Bratz are countering by forming a rock band and releasing an album this summer called "Bratz Rock Angelz." These Bratz are also pushing lip-shaped DVD players, while Barbie counters with her own cell phone.
The toy industry may be more competitive and diversified than ever. But as 1,400 industry professionals from 31 countries gathered for their annual February meeting -- a tradition that goes back 102 years -- one thing never changes. Everyone is asking, "What will kids want to play with in December?"
Here are some of the most novel -- and in some cases -- most downright peculiar items that you might find on your kid's wish list.
1. Bleeding Edge Goth Dolls
If Barbie isn't your daughter's cup of tea, she might appreciate Serpentina, who has a pierced lower lip, pet cobras named Ted and John Wayne, and a strong dislike for the smell of burning hair.
Serpentina is part of the Bleeding Edge collection of 12-inch Glam Goth Dolls, all dressed like trashy vampires, retailing for $24 each. Her friend Storm O. Misery offers this tip on meditation: "I sit in the middle of an electrical storm and channel my dead pets."
2. The Vapo-Blaster
Calling all alien wannabes: The ray-gun of choice this year is the Vapo-Blaster. This $20 gizmo fires smoky bubbles that look more toxic than the atmosphere of Saturn.
The good news is, you're arming your tyke with a toy gun that shoots soap bubbles filled with harmless water vapor. Pop them and -- poof -- a dark and creepy cloud of smoke fills the air. The more your little gun-toting spaceling fires his weapon, the more the little darling may realize that soap is not the enemy.
3. The Kaleidabug
The simple joy of capturing a bug and putting it under a glass just got a whole lot better. With Kaleidabug, your pint-sized sportsman just slips a captured insect into the viewing chamber and looks through the lens, where even a simple housefly will create a rainbow of art.
The $15 Kaleidabug works just like a kaleidoscope. However, the colors and shapes change not only when you twist the lens but when the bug moves. One second you're looking at a cockroach in orange and green. Twist the lens again, and you see a whole army of tutti-frutti roaches.
4. The Jumping Skateboard
Do you feel a heart attack coming on each time Junior attempts to take an entire flight of stairs on a skateboard? If that daredevil can't be stopped, at least with the Jumping Skateboard he's got a fighting chance to survive with minor injuries.
How many other skateboards can go off road, even through grass? The wheels on this $99 sidewalk surfer look like they belong on a mini-SUV, and the suspension is so springy, you can stand on the board and jump several inches off the ground, as if you're on a Pogo Stick.
5. Tek Tag
Perhaps it's a bit distressing for adults to see the simple games of their youth reinvented -- and, perhaps, needlessly complicated -- with computerized gizmos. Still, you have to admit, old-fashioned tag had a major flaw. Kids cheat. They never admit when they're tagged. And the game would almost always end in an argument.
Now the honor system that served this schoolyard game so poorly has been removed. With Tek Tag, each player wears a sensor on his or her shoulder that registers when a player is touched, despite the protestation of a sore loser.
Each $25 Tek Tag kit comes with a set of two sensors. Of course, really devious little monsters can secretly remove the sensor's batteries. At that point, a mommy or daddy is sure to be called in to referee the dispute -- and that always ends with the adult getting tagged with a headache.
6. The Sidewalk Stamper
Do you really expect today's kids to play hopscotch and dodge ball on crudely fashioned, hand-drawn courts? No, to provide quasi arena-quality gamesmanship in your back yard, you'll need the Sidewalk Rolling Stamper from The Wow Factory.
This $11 device rolls out chalk lines on pavement or grass so straight that even if your kid doesn't realize a career in professional sports, he or she will be prepared for a lucrative career as part of the Yankee Stadium grounds crew.
7. Honky Tonk Homicide
Why should your family just watch lurid murder trials on TV when you can experience the next best thing at your dinner table? Honky Tonk Homicide begins with someone making "last call" at Bubba's Bar in Cactus, Texas, after a murder disrupts Karaoke Night.
As denizens of the Cactus Court Trailer Park, your family assumes the identities of residents in a town filed with double lives, torrid affairs and alien abductions. This $30 dinner party game comes with a "gourmet menu" of what are called "redneck recipes." Just remember, everyone's a suspect.
8. Embarrassing Family Moment Game
Remember that time you mistook the dog food left in the refrigerator as a snack? With Gamesake, the $12 do-it-yourself family game, you and the loved ones who torture you can relive those family traumas in a Monopoly-like experience.
Family members just fill out game cards and players draw them as they move across the board. On good memory cards, a player move ahead. On bad ones, a player moves back. Warning: The more dysfunctional the family, the longer the game.
9. Brain Candy for Junk Food Junkies
If your kid is obsessed with playing with his food, here's something to avoid the messy cleanup -- Eat It, a snack version of Trivial Pursuit.
Ask yourself this: What's the best-selling Girl Scout treat? Who is the Cheetos mascot? And, how many stripes are on a Keebler Fudge Shoppe Fudge Stripe cookie?
If you answered, Thin Mints, Chester the Cheetah and five fudge stripes, you may be an Eat It! superstar. In the name of objectivity, the $25 game is not affiliated with any food company. An Atkins version is not yet in the works, but might be necessary after Eat It! tournaments.
10. Very Bunny Potty Training
Meet Puddles and Ca-Ca and Poo-P, three of the newest potty-training assistants. They're mascots from the Strugglez product line to help your kid graduate from diapers by transforming your toilet into a bunny, giraffe or puppy dog.
Each $20 potty pal comes with an animal head that fits over the toilet tank, complete with floppy ears, a smiling face, bushy tail. Puddles, Ca-Ca and Poo-P promise to be there when your little tyke hears nature call.
Buck Wolf is entertainment producer at ABCNEWS.com. "The Wolf Files" ispublished Tuesdays.