Now this is a coup. Yes, Hasbro would like to build a snowman – and they soon will. Hasbro and Disney Consumer Products have entered into agreement for Hasbro to develop dolls and toys based on the DISNEY PRINCESS stories and characters, as well as the world of FROZEN beginning in 2016. These lines move over from Mattel, who has been producing Disney-based dolls for many years (we have quite a few here at Rock Father HQ). From the rumor department, there have been rumblings for awhile that Disney might be eyeing an eventual takeover of Hasbro (again, rumor and speculation here), but with Hasbro already producing toys from the Disney-owned STAR WARS and MARVEL properties, the addition of FROZEN and DISNEY PRINCESS into the mix certainly makes an alignment look more apparent.
For years, Hasbro and Mattel have seemingly been a ying to each other’s yang, with Hasbro dominating the action aisles (STAR WARS, MARVEL, G.I JOE, TRANSFORMERS) while Mattel has held prominence in the doll aisles (BARBIE, MONSTER HIGH, EVER AFTER HIGH). In fact, aside from MY LITTLE PONY and BABY ALIVE, I don’t know that Hasbro has had a big doll presence since the awesome JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS back in the 80s, and while Mattel has some cool lines based on WWE and DC COMICS, their major action lines like MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE have been largely collector-based these past few years, absent from major retail and sold exclusively online.
In the meantime, there’s still some Disney/Mattel crossover ahead as the first-ever collections of STAR WARS Hot Wheels are set to hit retail this Fall, and they’ve still got some great FROZEN and DISNEY PRINCESS toys in the pipeline.
