Mattel

Mattel and Sanrio have joined forces to bring a new line of “Hello Kitty and Friends” dolls to the market

There’s a new tiny dancer in town: Elton John’s Barbie. This blue jean baby, available today, rocks bell bottom jeans, electric boots and pink-tinted sunglasses à la Elton.

Medical professionals, grocery workers, and delivery drivers on the job during the coronavirus pandemic are getting action figures and toys in their likeness as part of a series that Mattel calls “#ThankYouHeroes.” The “Barbie” maker recently unveiled a series of $20 action figures featuring nurses, doctors, delivery drivers and EMTs. It’s also selling a $20 “Little People Community Champions” set…

Taking a toy out of the box can make a mess.

Since Barbie’s Fashionista line launched five years ago, Mattel has added a wide variety of dolls. Some differ in physical ways like skin tone and body type, while others reflect differently abled physical conditions that require the use of wheelchairs and prosthetic limbs.

The smartphone is being considered for induction into the National Toy Hall of Fame this year in recognition of its impact on how people play and interact. The other finalists announced Wednesday are: Care Bears, the coloring book, Fisher-Price Corn Popper, Jenga, Magic the Gathering, Masters of the Universe, Matchbox cars, My Little Pony, Nerf Blaster, Risk, and the top....

Mattel said Monday it will release a doll honoring the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead, which begins next month. The doll will be named Barbie “Día De Muertos” and will have an outfit featuring hearts and butterfly details. It also will have a crown with monarch butterflies and bright marigolds, with its face painted with the traditional skull...

Mattel has released new Barbie dolls that pay tribute to civil rights activist Rosa Parks and astronaut Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. The dolls, which were timed to coincide with Women’s Equality Day on Monday, are the latest in the Barbie’s “Inspiring Women” series. Parks was called the “mother of the modern civil rights movement” after she...

Responding to pressure from businesses and growing fears that a trade war is threatening the U.S. economy, the Trump administration is delaying most of the import taxes it planned to impose on Chinese goods and is dropping others altogether. The announcement Tuesday from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative was greeted with relief on Wall Street and by retailers...

Barbie has been many things over the years. Now, she’s dressed as Ziggy Stardust.

A young mother living in Oklahoma City told her parents about her medical school acceptance in a heartwarming way. Limayre Mendoza asked her 6-year-old daughter to hand her parents a Barbie doll dressed as a doctor.

Barbie, that iconic staple of toy stores and childhoods, turns 60 this weekend....
And although she might qualify as a senior citizen, retail experts say there’s nothing outdated about the legendary doll. She has become a more significant role model than she was in previous generations, not only to the children who play with her, but also to businesses seeking to...

Fisher-Price is recalling approximately 44,000 children’s Power Wheels toy vehicles because it can continue to run even after the foot pedal is released, posing a risk for injuries. The recall includes Power Wheels Barbie Dream Campers that were sold exclusively at Walmart stores from July 2018 through January 2019. The recalled product has a model number of FRC29, which can...

Mattel is partnering with National Geographic to create a line of Barbie dolls highlighting occupations centered around exploration, science, conservation and research in which women are underrepresented, the El Segundo-based toymaker announced Thursday.

The National Toy Hall of Fame’s class of 2018 includes Magic 8 Ball, Uno and pinball.

This may be the year that chalk makes its mark on the National Toy Hall of Fame, or American Girl outmuscles He-Man for a place of honor. But don’t count out Uno or Magic 8 Ball, which are also in the running, along with Chutes and Ladders, the Fisher-Price Corn Popper, pinball, the sled, tic-tac-toe, Tickle Me Elmo and Tudor...

Toys R Us is closing its last U.S. stores by Friday, the end of a chain known to generations of children and parents for its sprawling stores, brightly colored logo and Geoffrey the giraffe mascot.

Distant relatives of the late Mexican artist Frida Kahlo said Friday they have won a temporary injunction that stops sales of a Frida Barbie doll. Kahlo’s great-niece Mara de Anda Romeo argues that Mattel doesn’t have the rights to use Kahlo’s image as part of its Inspiring Women series.

Toys R Us is headed toward shuttering its U.S. operations, jeopardizing the jobs of some 30,000 employees while spelling the end for a chain known to generations of children and parents for its sprawling stores and Geoffrey the giraffe mascot. The closing of the company’s 740 U.S. stores over the coming months will finalize the downfall of the chain that...

Toy-maker Mattel was in a dispute Thursday with a distant relative of the late Mexican artist Frida Kahlo over rights to a Frida Barbie doll released as part of the company’s Inspiring Women series. Kahlo’s great-niece Mara de Anda Romeo said Mattel doesn’t have the rights to use Kahlo’s image.