Beginning in the 90’s Lego finally started to partner with popular brands like Star Wars and Batman. When I fist saw that I could build an X-Wing fighter out of Legos I was pretty jazzed. That’s a toy a Lego/Star Wars fan simply cannot pass up, no matter what your age. As the years rolled on Lego expanded their line to include brands like Spongebob.

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With the summer movie season only weeks away the list of hot toys is here. This is the first post in a four part series where we take a look at the toys connected to what may this years biggest movies (for toys anyway).

The movies are sure have a huge line of toys and products are the Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Teenage Mutant Turtles, Transformers, and Spiderman 3. Each movie is sure to have official products from action figures to tasty sugary cereal. Here is the first group we took a look at from Disney’s powerhouse franchise; Pirates of the Caribbean.

With the huge success of the first two films, “The Curse of the Black Perl” and Dead Man’s Chest”, the Pirates series already has a huge toy line. The question is will the toys of “At World’s End” be up to par. Looking at Disney’s site, the early release toys look a bit uninspired. There are a bunch of $9.95 3 ¾” action figures of the major characters from the film but a few caught my attention at the local Target.

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Who didn’t use the coffee table and couch cousins to build a fort in the living room? For some reason forts and clubhouses has always been a part of being a kid. Weather it was with cardboard boxes, sheets, or pillows; kids have the innate need to build fortifications. In 2007 Cranium is making building a fort that won’t damage the living room furniture fun and easy. With Cranium’s Mega Fort your kids can construct over 100 different structures including a castle, boat, and clubhouse.

Using the Mega Fort requires very little parental involvement. Connecting pieces together is easy and safe with the magnetic connectors and foam tubes. Clean up is just as easy with all the parts fitting conveniently into provided storage bags.

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There are a few things that (stereotypically) every little girl wants; to marry a prince, to care for a baby doll, and to have a pony. Now every little girl can have her very own pony to love and care for. Hasbro has just released what may be the “IT” toy for little girls in 2007. It is the Butterscotch Interactive Plush Pony from their Fur Real Friends line.

Hasbro’s Butterscotch is about the same size as a miniature pony, which is just over three feet tall. Butterscotch is totally interactive. She does all the cute things a little girl’s vision of a pony would do like whinny, neigh, and blow a puff or air out of her nose. She also blinks, swishes her tail, and eats her plastic carrot. Butterscotch responds to voice by moving her head and ears. She is even strong enough for your little girl to sit on and go for make-believe rides. Butterscotch does not walk however so there is no danger of your daughter taking her over a flight of stairs.

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Every kid or grownup has had the dream to be a hero but not many would actually attempt to fight off the supernatural forces of Dr. Octopuss or the Joker in real life. What parent wouldn’t expect their kids to take things upon themselves, to be brave enough to tackle any situation? How would you foster courageous and honest feelings in your kids? How would you motivate them?

We have found the answer in the form of a toy called Mazu Kan: Two Player Invisible Fighting Game. One has to agree that latest movies, like the Star Wars, have impacted everyone’s lives especially the younger generations. Mazu Kan is based upon the same terminology which introduces a virtual fighting/training stimulation. This two player stimulation game is played by wearing two button straps around both hands and the central shield like unit on your chest. The fun starts when the player squeezes the palm buttons which cause vibrations in the central unit generating the feelings as if you have punched the opponent.

What’s super cool is that the palm buttons create vibrations in your opponent’s chest unit. Yeah… it’s true. Once you start hitting opponent in the air, the opponent’s chest unit will vibrate if he/she doesn’t block it by simple hand fold signaling. That’s where you are considered to have scored a successful hit.

Players can shuffle between basic and advanced modes and play with more moves and hits. Hitting on walls will also get your chest unit to vibrate. Using advanced the mode a player can use more moves to hit and score against their opponent. Some of the moves a player can gain are punch, a power punch, block, power block, double power punch and block, Force field, Heal and overheat features.

The maximum distance that the players can try their moves is approx 30 feet’s at a frequency of 433 MHz with each unit having 3 AA batteries. $29.99 gets you the entire package from ThinkGeek.com, with two complete fighting suits, instructions, and your child’s path to superhero fame and glory.

It is interesting to see other companies capitalize on the “Pirates of the Caribbean” sensation. A company called Wiz Kids has come up with a (sort of) collectable card game called “Pirates Constructible Strategy Game.” This is a neat looking game. It is a mix between Magic the Gathering’s collectable card game and a little known (out of print) game by an English company, Games Workshop, called Man ‘O War.

Overall it is a game where you play with ships that are put together with thick card. The ships are 3 dimensional with sails and masts. Each ship has unique moves, attacks, and special abilities. The game is played on any flat surface such as a table or floor. The object is get as much treasure as possible or simply blow all of your opponents out of the water.

Players use their ships to shuttle treasure back to their home island and to carry out attacks against one another. The upside to Pirates is the simplicity. There are also limitless play possibilities since every time you play the board can be different. Lastly, there are a ton of booster packs available with extra ships, islands, and special characters. You can pickup a starter pack from any major toy and/or game retailer for about $15.

This week Mattel will launch BarbieGirls.com, which is “designed to be a safe place for girls to play and interact online.” BarbieGirls.com is an online community where girls can “… [have the] creative power to customize their own virtual character, design their own “room,” shop at the mall, play games, hang out and chat live with other girls.” The motivation behind BarbieGirls.com site is based on the 65 million hits Barbie.com receives each month. It is a virtual no brainier to try to drive the MySpace.com crowd to a safer friendlier place.

This site seems to be an amalgamation of MySpace.com, Yahoo’s Avatars, and a place to spend money. While all of these services already exist, they are lacking the massive name recognition of the world’s number 1 doll, Barbie. The site will no doubt be a huge success since there are few web sites out there that are designed and marketed strictly to young girls; but I see it as next to impossible to keep the bad people out.

You can see the full Web site on April 26 of this year.

Original Press Release