Toy Fair Goes Up, Up And Away!

You don't need X-ray vision to see what's hot in Metropolis' toy world.

With a weekend blizzard appropriately turning New York City into a winter wonderland, Toy Fair, the industry's annual merchandising confab, kicked off, showcasing what will likely be the hottest playthings this year. As usual, Hollywood tie-ins dominated the floor, most notably toys from what manufactuers are expecting to be 2006's biggest flicks. And while there was no Da Vinci decoder, there were plenty of offerings from the likes of Superman Returns, the latest Pirates of the Caribbean and Disney-Pixar's Cars.

As Warner Bros. prepares to launch the first Man of Steel movie in nearly 20 years, toy giant Mattel hopes to literally turn fanboys into Superboys with the Inflato-Suit, a battery-powered costume that features inflatable muscles. That can be combined with the Punch 'n' Crunch Gloves, which generate sound effects as you bend a toy steel bar.

There's also a radio-controlled flying Superman with aerodynamic cape; Alternate Power Superman, a 12-inch action doll with heat vision, complete with sound effects; 5-1/2-inch action figures, including Lex Luthor; and a series of Superman figures in classic poses from famed designers the Four Horsemen.

"We've had a really positive reaction to our toy line. The fact that kids can control and fly Superman is a really cool feature that's just wowing everyone," Sara Rosales, Mattel's vice president of communications tells E! Online. "We're pretty sure the movie will live up to the buzz, and we're hopeful that our toy line is equally as popular."

Mattel isn't the only one hopping on the Superman bandwagon. Kids Station Toys International is manufacturing a Superman digital camera, an MP3 player, DVD players, TV sets, CD players and heat-vision headset walkie-talkies. Oregon Scientific is selling a "learning laptop" shaped like the S-shield that plays Superman's theme song every time you wave your hand in front of the LCD screen.

Superman Returns, starring Kevin Spacey as Luthor, Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane and newcomer Brandon Routh in the iconic role, flies into theaters June 30, while the toy line should arrive in stores by late May or early June.

Mattel, which also makes Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars, is revving up in advance of Cars, too.

Among the hot rods hitting stores: Fast-Talkin' Lightning McQueen, a die-cast model with animated eyes and mouth that speaks more than 30 different phrases (recorded by Owen Wilson, who voices the character in the movie) and puts kids in the driver's seat by allowing them to program up to 15 different stunts and tricks. Several of the other vehicles will also be available, as will various race tracks sets based on scenes from the 'toon. The toy line will hit stores weeks, if not months, before the flick zooms onto the big screen June 9.

While the original Pirates of the Caribbean didn't spawn much merchandise, there's a slew of toys tied to Disney's sequel, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. Zizzle, the first company to obtain a master license from the Mouse House, will crank out Black Pearl play sets, a $300 pinball machine; a 2-1/2-foot replica of Captain Jack's pirate ship, handheld games, slashing swords and a working toy cannon that shoots and spouts water-based smoke.

Hasbro, meanwhile, showed off several prototypes tied to the plot of the Transformers cartoon on TV, including Cybertron, the Transformers' home planet. Aside from reintroducing the popular '80s Gen-X brand with new action figures and sets, the company is teaming with Activision for console, handheld, PC and mobile games. Those toys will also serve to wet fans' appetite for the July 4, 2007 release of Paramount and DreamWorks' live-action Transformers movie, executive produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by Michael Bay.

And while George Lucas may have wrapped his epic big screen space opera with last summer's Star Wars: Episode III--Revenge of the Sith, that's not stopping Hasbro from milking the franchise for all it's worth. New products this year include the R2-Potatoo Mr. Potatohead and 3-inch vehicles.

Hands-down the most unusual Hasbro display was the bizarro, Lucas-sanctioned Star Wars-meets-Transformers series. See robot version of Han Solo and Chewbacca shape-shifts into the Millennium Falcon, complete with sound effects; Darth Vader pulls a Megatron by turning into a TIE-fighter; Obi-Wan morphs into a Jedi starfighter; Luke becomes an X-wing fighter.

Hasbro also reached a deal with Marvel Enterprises to make toys based on its hugely popular comic book characters to compete with rival Mattel's D.C. superheroes. Expect new action figures from upcoming films like Fantastic Four 2, Ghost Rider and Spider-Man 3.

Other items of note at Toy Fair 2006, which opened last Sunday and ran through Wednesday: Mattel's new line of figures, play sets, plush dolls and electronics based on 20th Century Fox's upcoming animated sequel Ice Age 2: The Meltdown; a new DC Comics line that includes Batman, Batgirl and classic villains like Joker, Braniac and Darkseid, as well as other figures tied to Batman: The Animated Series

Mattel is also coming out with toys, trading cards and videogames based on Shonen Jump's wildly popular manga ninja high school series, Naruto, which launched on the Cartoon Network last fall; new action figures from Nickelodeon's popular Asian-inspired Avatar and The Last Airbender series; a line of dolls, a shopping adventure cash register and Dora's Talking Kitchen for preschoolers who can't get enough watching Nick's Dora the Explorer; and Scene It?, the company's DVD-based trivia board game, will have new editions with Friends and The O.C.

With The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift coming soon, so are the toys. There's a line of collectible vehicle replicas from the high-octane franchise from toymaker RC2, which is also releasing play sets, drag strips and activity kits.

Lego and Lucasfilm continues their affiliation with a new series dubbed Star Wars II. The block-inspired toys include an Imperial Star Destroyer, Jabba the Hutt's Sail Barge (Sarlach Pit included), Boba Fett's Slave I and various fighters. Lego also has a line of Batman products, including the Batcave, the Batwing, the Batmobile and even a miniature Catwoman.

And finally, manufacturer Cardinal is coming out with a strategy/trivia game based on ABC's Lost in which players hunt for specific things on the island. The company also just shipped a Family Guy game and also has games in the works for The O.C. and Dora The Explorer.