Because trouble comes in all sizes.
Let’s just put it out there. We love Star Wars and can’t wait to see the new sequel, The Force Awakens, next month on opening day. But watching a video of Harrison Ford surprising a series of unsuspecting Star Wars fans who’ve donated to the previous Star Wars/Omaze charity campaign really delights and inspires.
Full disclosure: I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Hasbro. I received product samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for my participation.
The Star Wars marketing hype has reached fever pitch. Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens in December 2015 and fans worldwide are clamoring for every tidbit of information associated with the film. My own family has certainly not been immune to being obsessed over the next chapter of the Star Wars story. The movie bridges a generational divide, bonding us, surrounding us, you know…like the Force. When Hasbro sent over Star Wars related games to CuteMonster HQ to try out for family game night, I could hear John Williams’ epic Star Wars theme music in my mind. The only thing missing was a piping hot bucket of popcorn.
We here at CuteMonster headquarters love Halloween. If somehow the day could be extended to a full month of Halloween activities we’d be all for it. Yet children with disabilities don’t always get to experience the adventure of the annual spooky holiday. That is unless you have a great Dad like Jeremy Miller. His Dad, Ryan Scott Miller, made Jeremy arguably the best Star Wars Halloween costume of 2015. Truly, the force is strong with the Miller family.
If you’ve been a parent on this planet for the past 5 years you may have noticed the craze in the toy-to-life video games genre. Skylanders has made a huge impact and has prompted competition in the form of Disney Infinity and now the recently released LEGO Dimensions. In what arguably could be characterized as an over saturated market, the need to innovate takes on a heightened sense of urgency. Given that these play sets can be quite costly by design with the myriad of add-ons why can buy including additional characters, vehicles, and levels, the choice becomes more of an investment rather than an impulse purchase. The good folks from Activision and Disney sent CuteMonster starter packs to test out Skylanders Superchargers and Disney Infinity 3.0 respectively. As a longtime gamer now with kids of my own, I couldn’t wait to see who came out on top.
In recent years the New York Comic Con has been built around hype. What was once the playing field of comic book geeks became a mainstream event. The television and film industry hitched their collective wagons to the Comic Con phenomenon choosing to premiere big budget movie trailers and trotting out movie stars to meet their adoring fans. The media flocked to the events further escalating expectations and prompting ticket sales to Comic Cons, specifically in San Diego and New York City. For true fans, Comic Cons became lost in the excess. Yet despite it all, 2015 will be known as the year Cosplayers took back New York Comic Con.
It’s hard to believe the 2015 Holiday season is fast approaching. Most of us still have sand in our sandals from summertime fun. This week I had the opportunity to attend the 2015 TTPM Holiday Showcase which provides a preview of the latest and greatest toys and gadgets for the upcoming holiday shopping season. If you’re a tech toy aficionado, a treasure trove of delights awaits.
It’s late at night. The lights are out in your home and you’ve just put the kids to bed. You step gingerly with your bare feet as to not awaken the sleeping cherubs. As you near the exit, a sudden sharp primal scream inducing pain races up from your foot to your now nearly exploding cranium. Welcome to the world of LEGO.
It’s not a stretch of the imagination to guess you’ve likely been exposed to the addictive game play of Rovio’s Angry Birds. Then along came the wildly successful follow up game, Angry Birds Star Wars, which attracted a whole new wave of fans captivated by the brilliant pop culture mashup. Now in the game’s sequel, Angry Birds Star Wars II, a real world interactive element has been introduced. Enter Hasbro’s Angry Birds Star Wars Telepods.
There are many perfect combinations in the world. Think peanut butter and chocolate, Batman and Robinl, Thunder and lightning, Rock and Roll, Kate Upton and a swimsuit. You get the point. Two distinct people, things, or ideas combining their inherent unique goodness to form something truly special. Enter Angry Birds and Star Wars into the fray. Building on the success of the original Angry Birds app, game producer Rovio teamed with Lucas Arts to create the successful app, Angry Birds™ Star Wars™. And now they’ve combined forces with Hasbro™ to create new toys including Angry Birds™ Star Wars AT-AT™ Attack Battle Game.