Disney toys get Pixar animation guru's touch

Disney Pixar Animation gurudisney box set John Lasseter found himself tangled in a miniature fashion kerfuffle.
Toy maker Mattel the simpsons dvd Inc. had made a prototype doll of "The Princess and the Frog's" newly minted princess, Tiana,disney dvds wearing her bayou wedding dress. But one animator worrieddisney dvd that the gown failed to reflectfamily guy dvd the one in the film, whose multiple layers resemble the petalsSouth park season of an unfolding waterlily. Lasseterdisney movies on dvd suggested a wayall disney dvds to create the illusion of volume disney box setwithout driving up the doll's $10 price tag -- namely, printing a swirling pattern of glitterall disney dvds atop the diaphanous outer layer of fabric.No detail seems to be toothe simpsons dvd mundane for Lasseter, who after years focusing ondisney dvd box set Pixar is extending his reach to Walt Disney Co.'s merchandise juggernaut. Immersing himself in the toy-making process, he has visited a plant in Hong Kong to observe how workers applied paint to "Toy Story" Buzz Lightyear figures. The father of five boys has also spent hours in Mattel's showrooms, studying the Disney Princess line, to South park dvdbetter understand what little girls want.
The filmmaker is bringingdisney box set his taskmaster persistence to Disney consumer products, pressing for better-quality toys in a business associated with sometimes shoddydisney dvds and opportunisticfamily guy dvd merchandise.
One of the first things American dad dvdLasseter did was call for an end to "label slapping," in which a toy maker uses a popular moviedisney dvd title to sell generic toys that are otherwise unrelated to the film. "If we'redisney dvd going to make a movie, it's going to be the bestall disney dvds movie that we can make," Lasseter said. "I take that exact philosophy when it comes to every other product that's going to be referencingthe simpsons dvd a [Disney or Pixar] character or movie -- especially when it comes to toys."
isney's disney movies on dvdconsumer productsdisney dvd collection group hopes to benefit South park seasonfrom Lasseter's creative spark.

The group, whichSouth park dvd operates Disney Stores in North America and licenses toys, clothes, bedding and even food, accounted for 9% of the entertainment giant's disney dvd box setoperating income in fiscal 2009.
But the disney movies on dvddivision's operating profit fell 22% from a year earlier, in part because of the recession but also all disney dvdsbecause it lacked hot new properties. Lasseter's disney dvdsefforts appear to be paying off.
Dolls, bedding and otherthe simpsons dvd items inspired by "The Princess and the Frog" have been selling briskly.
he week of Thanksgiving,disney dvd Princess Tiana items outsold the perennial favorite, "The Little Mermaid's" Ariel, by $700,000.
Retailers are reporting that "Princess and the Frog" articles account for as much as 19% of sales of all Disney Princesses merchandise, which generates about $4 billion in annual retail sales.
Interest in Tiana hasAmerican dad dvd been sothe simpsons dvd keen, Toys R Us stores pulled merchandise off shelves to ensure an adequate supply for the movie's wide release Friday, according to Lutz disney dvdMuller, president of Klosters Trading Corp., a toy industry disney box setconsultant."We're bringing in South park dvdorders as fast as we can get it in," said Toys R Us Inc.'s chief merchandising officer, Karen Dodge.
Because Tiana is the only new Disney princess in a decade -- and the first African American one -- it would be surprising if disney dvdsshe hadn't been met with a royal reception, said Ira Mayer, publisherSouth park season of the Licensing Letter newsletter,disney dvd box set which tracks retail sales data.
"This is disney movies on dvdthe new kid on disney dvd collectionthe block," Mayer said. all disney dvds"It should be outselling the others by a wide margin."
The only damperdisney box set on "Princess and the Frog" retail was gloomy holiday sales forecasts.
"The release date was the simpsons dvd so close to Christmas, the retailers were very conservative in the quantities of product that they bought," said Disney Consumer Productsdisney dvd box set Chairman Andy Mooney. "They reallydisney dvd underestimateddisney dvds the demand."