Posted in: Movies, Recent Updates | Tagged: amazing spider-man 2, American International Toy Fair, andrew garfield, bradley cooper, chris pratt, dane cook, Disney Consumer Products, disney xd, entertainment, film, freddie prinze jr, guardians of the galaxy, Jorge Vega, Planes: Fire and Rescue, rocket raccoon, Start Wars: Rebels, toys, tv

Disney Products At Toy Fair Spotlights Spider-Man 2, Guardians Of The Galaxy, Star Wars: Rebels With Andrew Garfield and Freddie Prinze, Jr.

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2014 22:39:04 -0600

by Hannah Means Shannon

Last updated Tue, 18 Feb 2014 22:39:08 -0600

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Attending the Disney Consumer Products Event on Monday February 17^th at the American International Toy Fair in New York was not only my first time at a Disney event, but my first time at the Toy Fair and my initial event of the day.

Getting ushered into the event itself, in a quiet corner of the lower level of the Javits Center was in many ways like entering a church walking in to hush-toned conversations, with dim atmospheric lighting, and the same air of anticipation and slightly bowed heads you might expect on a high holy day at a religious festival. Maybe it was the arrangement of the podium, with its backlit screen of luminously-colored blocks, the accompanying high-def screen with artful lighting on blue velvet curtains that helped reinforce the sense and meditative calm of stained glass. Even the stark white passes handed out to be draped over your clothes felt a little ritualistic. But what exactly was the attitude of being honored to attend and all the carefully moderated enthusiasm all about?

The event's host Jim Babcock broke the staid atmosphere a little by opening with "Are you guys ready for some fun?" He explained that "Exciting toys" are going to "dominate retail aisles for boys of all ages and embody the storytelling that Disney consumer products are absolutely known for" in 2014. Thereby they promise to "heat up the theatres, TV screens, toy aisles". There is little doubt that this, will, in fact, be the case considering that both Spider-Man 2 and Guardians of the Galaxy are arriving, celebrating Marvel characters this summer.

Though I understand the pragmatism of admitting, or even touting the fact that these are products geared toward "boys of all ages", it did make me a little circumspect as a female editor and reporter who absolutely wanted to see what they had in store for Spider-Man and Guardians in terms of toys this summer. Would I buy the toys? Probably not the Spider-Man products, though I have been known to own a Spidey item or two, but Guardians? Oh yes. I will be having to restrain myself when it comes to those products. So, why market only to boys? Marvel might want to have a think about that angle. Guardians has Rocket Raccoon, after all. And he is adorable.

But actually the event also promoted Planes: Fire and Rescue, also coming this summer, and Lucasfilm's animated Starwars: Rebels series coming to Disney XD. And there I would definitely pause and say there is no reason why those products should not be marketed quite aggressively to girls as well as boys. Both contain female characters who are borderline leads, and the attraction to aviation, and to the Star Wars science-fiction franchise is in no way gender-exclusive, and a generation of geek parents right now are making sure that their children explore interests in multiple genres. Missed opportunities for Disney and Lucasfilm here, too.

An initial clip of from Planes: Fire and Rescue highlighted the heroic aspects of the film's plot and seemed like it might deliver an even greater appeal than the first Planes film. A "Fire-Blastin' Dusty" (from Mattel) at $49.99 is forthcoming, and voice talent Dane Cook made an appearance, admitting that his role in Planes has made him a big hit with his nieces and nephews who were his "original critics" to see how the film appealed. Yes, I noted he said, "nieces" too. See, Disney?

Amazing Spider-Man 2 was up next, and at least in the press seating there was a noticeable leaning forward in seats to get a glimpse of a longer film promo than seen before for "one of the most iconic superheroes of all time", who in the new film will be "barraged", by new foe Electro.

The clip from Amazing Spider-Man 2 included dialogue that recognizably wrapped around some of the material used in the Super-Bowl aired trailer, revealing that Peter's "blue and red" mischief in the washing machine led him to explain that he was "washing American flag", to which Aunt May replies, "No one washes a flag" and Peter responds playfully, "Laundry sheriff".

In the clip, we also saw Max working as an Oscorp employee, and lines from Peter like "I'd like to think that Spider-Man gives people hope", as well as the full genesis of Electro through falling into tanks at Oscorp filled with eels (glimpsed in previous trailers).

Much of the preview was given over to a pointed scene in Times Square, where Peter and a blue-glowing Electro face off and Spidey takes a pretty brutal body dive into a cop car.

There was also more footage of his father's newly-discovered underground research bunker as well as plenty of shots of Gwen Stacy looking large-eyed and disturbed with hair blown back in the perpetual breeze, at one point insisting, "This is bigger than you Peter".

The two featured toy items of the day for Spider-Man 2 were an Electro action figure from the Hasbro Infinite series which was interrupted by a staged dramatic sequence with child actor Jorge Vega from the film fighting the Elektro toy with his even bigger and more impressive new Spider-Man interactive toy that blasts silly string in lieu of web-slinging.

This segued into a fairly big surprise (to judge from audience reactions) as actor Andrew Garfield, Peter/Spidey himself, arrived on stage. Garfield said that "Oscorp is sending a lot of villains my way but me and Jorge will figure it out together".

Garfield spoke about working with Jamie Foxx as Electro, and the incredible range the actor displays when building sympathy as well as switching into villain mode.

"You care about him, and remember that villains aren't born bad", Garfield said, and then, pausing, "It was once a baby", the use of "it" inspiring laughter from the audience. He suggested that a new line of toys might be the "downfall figurines" from Hasbro, featuring perhaps, Hitler, to more laughter.

But even more anticipated than discussion of Spider-Man 2 was certainly Guardians of Galaxy. The promo footage shown was a mixture of scenes from the film, behind the scenes elements and chats with actors, rather than a trailer per se.

Filmmakers commented that for a Marvel film, this is the "First time to really go way out into space, and see the world from totally different point of view, and that "Each guardian brings a different aspect to the film". More storyboarding and costume design art was shown, I noticed, than film footage. We saw in costume of Peter Quill in costume briefly, arguing that he should be called "Starlord" as if it was an uphill battle, and there was a very appealing comedic, upbeat feel to the film material being shown.

There was limited footage of Rocket, more images than motion, and he was described as a "mechanical genius" who is the "heart of the movie in many ways", but whose physical motion will be based on Bradley Cooper's own movement and mannerisms.

Drax the Destroyer was described as all "scars and tattoos, and a character "dealing with a lot of pain" while Gomorrah was described a little glossily as an alien female with a "heart of gold", rounding off the group, who are "each outcasts" in their own ways and the "last of their kind".

Though Chris Pratt didn't appear live, his pre-recorded video was highly entertaining and amusing as he played with the new Star Lord figure, improv reacting and commenting, "Dude this thing is sweet", "Its eyes light up, it shoots, it talks". The toy's lines include: "I don't learn, it's one of my issues". Pratt also goofed around with the new orange Quad Blaster gun toy, saying " It breaks things" and yes, it could "probably kill a man". Pratt's humor immediately recommended him to the role even in an interview situation like this, and hinted that he may well be the "heart of the film" as much as Rocket.

The last segment of the presentation revolved around the all-new animated series Star Wars: Rebels coming in the autumn to Disney XD with the preview tagline: "To ignite a rebellion all it takes is a single spark". The storyboards looked very much in keeping with a comics treatment for the animated film, and suggested potential for comics tie-ins.

Hero Kanan was described as a "Young man that's adrift, a Jedi but not in traditional sense", "more relaxed, rough around the edges" and a "strong character with sarcasm". His pony tail references Samurai tradition. He's a "gunslinger" who has to put his gun "away and take up the sword again".

A group of Storm Troopers then arrived, marching up to the stage with with voice actor for Kanan, Freddie Prinze Jr. to talk about "The Ghost" Lego set coinciding with the show. Prinze Jr. commented that he and Babcock were "so afraid" they were going to break the carefully put together set, to laughter. Prinze Jr. is not only a die-hard Lego fan, but a Star Wars junkie who recalls using a "soldering iron" with friends to melt lego sets together and create Star Wars-based toys as a kid.

"If you're anywhere near my age, Star Wars is pretty much in your DNA", he said, "You can't get away from it. When this came about, honestly, when I auditioned for this, it was called something completely different "The Wolf". I didn't know it was Star Wars". He explained that they had changed the language of the script to things like "sun sabre" to hide the identity of the project. When he learned it was Star Wars, he had to take a moment to recover before auditioning. "And now I'm going to have a light sabre which makes me the coolest guy in the universe", he added.

The reception that followed the presentation gave attendees the opportunity to look at little more closely at the featured toys, as well as others in the same lines, and there I found my obvious favorite…an action Rocket Racoon. I wonder if anyone will notice is a girl buys one? It could happen, and I am fairly certain I won't be the only one.