A number of big licensing names – including Barbie, Bluey, Disney, Squishmallows, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, PAW Patrol and Pokémon among others – are among the finalists for the 2023 Toy of the Year Awards in the US.
The shortlist for the awards – which will be held on Friday 29 September in New York, ahead of Toy Fair – includes 122 toys, games and properties across 17 product categories.
Consumers are now being invited to visit ToyAwards.org to see the complete list of product category finalists and vote for their favourites until 8 September.
A dedicated Licence of the Year category will see Barbie (Mattel), Bluey (BBC Studios), Disney 100 (The Walt Disney Company), Magic: The Gathering The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth (Hasbro), Spider-Man (The Walt Disney Company), Squishmallows (Jazwares) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (Paramount) fight it out.
Licensed names also appear in a number of other categories across the awards, too.
Jurassic World, Pokémon and Star Wars products have been shortlisted in Action Figure of the Year; Monster High is among the Collectable Toy of the Year finalists; National Geographic and Hot Wheels products are both in contention in Construction Toy of the Year; Disney The Little Mermaid is named in Doll of the Year; while PAW Patrol gets a nod in Play-set of the Year.
“This year’s TOTY Awards finalists are an unmatched lineup of toys, games, and professionals that represent the best of the best in the toy industry,” commented Pamela Mastrota, executive director of The Toy Foundation. “We look forward to celebrating all of the finalists at the industry’s biggest night of the year, plus advance the industry’s collective philanthropy for the benefit of children in need.”
You can check out the full list of finalists by clicking on this link.
Want to read more news like this? Simply sign up to our daily digest by clicking here. You can also follow @LicensingSource on Twitter and @licensing_source on Instagram.
