Buzz Lightyear is a fictional character in the Disney–Pixar Toy Story franchise. He is a superhero action figure from an in-universe media franchise. Buzz is recognizable by his lime green, purple, and white space suit. Originating as a one-man band toy named Tinny, he evolved into a space ranger action figure during the development of Toy Story, a decision made by director John Lasseter. He is named after American astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second person to walk on the Moon. Buzz Lightyear is a recurring character in all of the Toy Story franchise's animated feature films, including spin-offs. In the Toy Story films he is voiced by Tim Allen.
Mego Corporation is an American toy company that in its original iteration was first founded in 1954. Originally known as a purveyor of dime store toys, in 1971 the company shifted direction and became famous for producing licensed action figures, celebrity dolls, and the Micronauts toy line. For a time in the 1970s, their line of 8-inch-scale action figures with interchangeable bodies became the industry standard.
Disney Interactive Studios, Inc. was an American video game developer and publisher owned by The Walt Disney Company through Disney Interactive. Prior to its closure in 2016, it developed and distributed multi-platform video games and interactive entertainment worldwide.
The long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who has since its beginnings in 1963 generated many hundreds of products related to the show, from toys and games to picture cards and postage stamps. This article is not an exhaustive list of merchandise but attempts to present a flavour of the type of material that has been produced. This entry mainly concentrates on "official" spin-offs, that is to say, material sanctioned by the British Broadcasting Corporation, which produces the series.
Ronan the Accuser is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, he first appeared in Fantastic Four #65. In his comic book appearances, Ronan is depicted as the Supreme Accuser of the Kree Empire, the militaristic government of the alien Kree, and commonly serves as an adversary of superhero teams such as the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, and the Guardians of the Galaxy. Initially portrayed as a supervillain, the character would later be presented as a more noble and honorable figure. Ronan has even been married to the Inhuman Crystal, a princess of the Inhuman Royal Family.
Avalanche Software is an American video game developer and subsidiary of Warner Bros. Games based in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was founded in October 1995 by four programmers formerly of Sculptured Software, including John Blackburn, who is chief executive officer. The studio was acquired by the games arm of The Walt Disney Company in May 2005, and spent the next ten years developing Disney-related titles, including the toys-to-life game Disney Infinity (2013). In May 2016, due to a declining toys-to-life games market, Disney decided to close the games arm, including Avalanche. Warner Bros. Games acquired the studio and re-opened it in January 2017.
Mighty Max was a series of toys that were manufactured by Bluebird Toys PLC in the UK in 1992. The toys were similar to the earlier Polly Pocket toyline, but these toys were marketed primarily towards young boys. In Canada and the United States, they were distributed by Irwin Toy Limited and Mattel Inc. respectively. The original toyline consisted mainly of "Doom Zones" and "Horror Heads". "Doom Zones" were small playsets with a horror theme and featured miniature figurines of menacing creatures and the hero Max, a young boy with blond hair, jeans, a white t-shirt with a red "M" on it, and a baseball cap which also always had an "M" on it. The "Horror Heads" were smaller-sized playsets, also shaped like the heads of creatures and contained miniature figures. It was later adapted into a TV series, as well as a tie-in video game The Adventures of Mighty Max produced by Ocean Software for the Super NES and Mega Drive/Genesis.
Funko Inc. is an American company that manufactures licensed and limited pop culture collectibles, known for its licensed vinyl figurines and bobbleheads. In addition, the company produces licensed plush, action figures, apparel, accessories and games. Founded in 1998 by Mike Becker and Claudia Becker, Funko was originally conceived as a small project to create various low-tech, nostalgia-themed toys. The company's first manufactured bobblehead was of the Big Boy restaurant mascot.
Marvel Super Hero Squad is an action figure line marketed by Hasbro beginning in 2007. The line features 2-inch (51 mm) scale replicas of comic book heroes from the Marvel Comics universe. Each figure is portrayed in a cartoonish super-deformed style. The line was designed for younger collectors, but has become a hit with fans of all ages despite the "for ages 3 and up" category status. Marketed initially as four two-packs per wave, Super Hero Squad has branched out to include larger multi-packs, vehicles, and mega-packs containing larger characters in scale with the 2-inch (51 mm) line.
Toy Story 3 is a 2010 platform game developed by Avalanche Software and published by Disney Interactive Studios. The game is based on the 2010 film of the same name. It was released for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, and Microsoft Windows. The game was ported to Mac OS X by TransGaming. A Nintendo DS version was developed by n-Space, while Disney Mobile Studios developed and published an iOS game based on the film. Another version was developed by Asobo Studio and released for PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable.
Tron is an American science fiction media franchise created by Steven Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird. It began with the eponymous 1982 film produced by Walt Disney Pictures. The original film portrays Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn, a genius computer programmer and video game developer who becomes transported inside a digital virtual reality known as "The Grid", where he interacts with programs in his quest to escape.
Lego Minifigures are a 2010 Lego theme based on a set of collectible Lego minifigures. Each figure is an original character with new clothing and facial designs, and many contain previously unseen accessories. Each series usually contains 16 different minifigures; however, some series contain as few as 9 minifigures, while others contain up to 22. Since 2021, the number of different minifigures for a series is set to 12. In 2023, the Disney 100-anniversary series came out, bringing the total number of figures to 18, although it was once again reduced to 12 with the second Marvel series. This series also introduced paper boxes, instead of the plastic bags, making it no longer possible to feel up the pieces for each figure.
Disney Infinity is a 2013 toys-to-life action-adventure game published by Disney Interactive Studios. It was announced on January 15, 2013. The game used collectible figurines that were then synchronized with the game, unlocking characters from Disney and Pixar properties that interact and go on adventures. The game was released for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, Wii U, and Nintendo 3DS in August 2013. A PC version of Toy Box was also released on November 14, 2013. The game had a budget approaching $100 million. A sequel, Disney Infinity 2.0, was released on September 23, 2014. The third edition, Disney Infinity 3.0, was released on August 30, 2015, and introduced support for the Apple TV. This game was also later released on Microsoft Windows in 2013.
Finding Nemo is a CGI animated film series and Disney media franchise that began with the 2003 film of the same name, produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The original film was followed by a standalone sequel, Finding Dory, released in 2016. Both films were directed by Andrew Stanton. The film series received widespread critical acclaim from critics and audiences with two films released to-date, the series has grossed $1.9 billion worldwide.
Disney Infinity 2.0 is a 2014 toys-to-life action-adventure game published by Disney Interactive Studios. It is the sequel to Disney Infinity (2013) and was announced on April 8, 2014. The game was released on September 23, 2014, in North America, September 19, 2014, in the United Kingdom, September 18, 2014, in Australia and the rest of Europe for iOS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PlayStation Vita on May 9, 2015.
Mulan is an American Disney media franchise that began in 1998 with the theatrical release of Mulan.
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Lego Dimensions is a Lego-themed action-adventure platform crossover video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and Wii U. It follows the toys-to-life format, in that the player has Lego figures and a toy pad that can be played within the game itself where it features characters and environments from over 30 different franchises. The Starter Pack, containing the game, the USB toy pad, and three minifigures, was released in September 2015, while additional level packs and characters were released over the following two years.
Disney Infinity 3.0 is a 2015 toys-to-life action-adventure game published by Disney Interactive Studios for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One and Apple TV, and is the third and final installment in the toys-to-life Disney Infinity series. It was developed by Avalanche Software and Heavy Iron Studios with additional help from Ninja Theory, Studio Gobo, Sumo Digital, and United Front Games. It is the sequel to Disney Infinity 2.0 (2014). In contrast to its predecessor, which focused on Marvel Comics characters and playsets, 3.0 has a focus on the Star Wars franchise. The game was announced on May 5, 2015, and was released on August 28, 2015 in Europe and on August 30, 2015 in North America.
Toys-to-life is a video game feature using physical figurines or action figures to interact within the game. These toys use a near field communication (NFC), radio frequency identification (RFID), or image recognition data protocol to determine the individual figurine's proximity, and save a player's progress data to a storage medium located within that piece. It was one of the most lucrative branches of the video game industry especially during the late 1990s and 2010s, with the Skylanders franchise alone selling more than $3 billion worth over the course of four years.
