A look at celebrity

Celebrity-inspired toys have changed drastically since I was a little girl. In the 1980s, these toys gravitated more to boys it seemed, with GI Joe and HE-Man being front-runners (based on popular cartoon celebrities). X-Men were popular as well, and any little boy worth his salt knew who Superman was even when I was growing up. For girls, the still-popular My Little Pony toys were tops, and Barbie, of course, was riding high. Followed by those were the now almost unheard of JEM dolls and Trollz (which are trying to make a comeback in my five year olds’ age range).

These days, actual real-life celebrities inspire more toys for girls. From Mary-Kate and Ashley to Hannah Montana, Barbie has completely been revamped. Britney Spears and Cristina Aguilera have made an appearance in this category, and the beloved Lucille Ball has become famous all over again with a whimsical line of her own Barbie dolls. There are many of these type Barbies to choose from, and a good portion of them aren’t as highly priced as they used to be. Most range in price (depending on where you buy them from) from $20-$50 and up. There are many cartoon-based celebrity toys as always for girls, and many have changed little to none in the last 10 years or so.

For boys, movies still seem to be the big theme for toys. Transformers, Toy Story, Cars, and Spiderman lead the pack in popularity based on what shows on the shelves, with Star Wars and Justice League-themed toys in a close second. These can be pricey for large sets, but single toys are comparable in price to many not as popularly themed toys. There aren’t nearly as many real-life celebrities making their mark in boys’ toys as cartoon-based celebrities. Whether it is because there are fewer male models for this type of toy or because the cartoons are more popular has not yet been determined.

Overall, celebrity-themed toys are getting better all the time. I am waiting for the day when Virtual Reality makes it a moot point because children will be able to “play” with the celebrity him/herself. Children of all ages will be able to “play” with Batman, Superman, GI Joe, and so many more simply by imagining that they are doing so. Technology makes leaps and bounds every year, and more and more VR-themed toys are introduced into the market (mostly still either in test phases or extremely costly). It won’t be long though, until celebrity-inspired toys go back from whence they came (oblivion) in place of being able to play with the celebrity in the closest form imaginable: VR.