Toys "R" Us

Toys"R"Us, Inc. (ToysЯUs) is an American toy and juvenile-products retailer founded in 1948 and headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey. Company's merchandise is sold in 856 Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us stores in the United States and Puerto Rico, and in more than 755 international stores and more than 255 licensed stores in 38 countries and jurisdictions.

In addition, it exclusively operates the FAO Schwarz brand. It also operates a portfolio of e-commerce sites including Toysrus.com, Babiesrus.com and FAO.com.

Stores

Company history

Charles Lazarus started Children's Supermart (which would evolve into Toys "R" Us) in Washington, D.C., during the post-war baby boom era in 1948 as a baby-furniture retailer. Its first location was at 2461 18th St. NW, where the nightclub Madam's Organ Blues Bar is located. Lazarus began receiving requests from customers for baby toys. After adding baby toys, he got requests for toys for older children. The focus of the store changed in 1957, and Toys"R"Us was born in Rockville, Maryland. Toys"R"Us was acquired in 1966 by Interstate Department Stores,Inc., owner of the White Front, Topps Chains and Children's Bargain Town USA, a sister toy-store chain to Toys "R" Us in the American Midwest that would later be re-branded as part of the Toys "R" Us chain. The original Toys "R" Us store design from 1969 to 1989 consisted of vertical rainbow stripes and a brown roof with a front entrance and side exit. Some brown-roof locations still exist, although some have been painted different colors or renovated.

Thomas & Friends

Thomas & Friends (titled Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends prior to 2003) is a British children's television series. It had its first broadcast on the ITV network in Great Britain in 1984 and first aired in the United States on PBS KIDS in 2004. It is based on The Railway Series of books by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher Awdry. These books deal with the adventures of a group of anthropomorphised locomotives and road vehicles who live on the fictional Island of Sodor. The books were based on stories Wilbert told to entertain his son, Christopher, during his recovery from measles. Many of the stories from the first four series are based on events from Awdry's personal experience.

History

Precursors

Toy

A toy is an item that can be used for play. Toys are generally played with by children and pets. Playing with toys is an enjoyable means of training young children for life in society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable to all ages. Many items are designed to serve as toys, but goods produced for other purposes can also be used. For instance, a small child may pick up a household item and "fly" it through the air as to pretend that it is an airplane. Another consideration is interactive digital entertainment. Some toys are produced primarily as collector's items and are intended for display only.

The origin of toys is prehistoric; dolls representing infants, animals, and soldiers, as well as representations of tools used by adults are readily found at archaeological sites. The origin of the word "toy" is unknown, but it is believed that it was first used in the 14th century. Toys are mainly made for children.

Playing with toys is important when it comes to growing up and learning about the world around us. Younger children use toys to discover their identity, help their bodies grow strong, learn cause and effect, explore relationships, and practice skills they will need as adults. Adults use toys to form and strengthen social bonds, teach, remember and reinforce lessons from their youth, discover their identity, exercise their minds and bodies, explore relationships, practice skills, and decorate their living spaces.

Cars (film)

Cars is a 2006 American computer-animated comedy-adventure sports film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed and co-written by John Lasseter, it is Pixar's final independently-produced motion picture before its purchase by Disney. Set in a world populated entirely by anthropomorphic cars and other vehicles, it features the voices of Owen Wilson, Paul Newman (in his final non-documentary feature), Larry the Cable Guy, Bonnie Hunt, Tony Shalhoub, Cheech Marin, Michael Wallis, George Carlin, Paul Dooley, Jenifer Lewis, Guido Quaroni, Michael Keaton, Katherine Helmond, and John Ratzenberger. Real life race car drivers Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Mario Andretti and Michael Schumacher, and car enthusiast Jay Leno (as "Jay Limo") voice themselves. It is also the second Pixar film—after A Bug's Life—to have an entirely non-human cast. The film was accompanied by the short One Man Band for its theatrical and home media releases.

Cars premiered on May 26, 2006 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina and was theatrically released on June 9, 2006, to positive reviews. It was nominated for two Academy Awards, including Best Animated Feature, and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film. The film was released on DVD on November 7, 2006 and to Blu-ray Disc in late 2007. Related merchandise, including scale models of several of the cars, broke records for retail sales of merchandise based on a Disney·Pixar film, bringing an estimated $10 billion in 5 years since the film's release. The film was dedicated to Joe Ranft, who was killed in a car accident during the film's production.

Monster High

Monster High is an American fashion doll franchise created by Mattel and launched in July 2010. The characters are inspired by monster movies, sci-fi horror, thriller fiction, and various creatures thus distinguishing them from most other fashion dolls on the market. Monster High was created by Garrett Sander, with illustrations by Kellee Riley and illustrator Glen Hanson.

The Monster High franchise includes many consumer products such as stationery, bags, key chains, various toys, play sets, video games, TV specials, a web series, and direct to DVD movies. Lisi Harrison is the author of the Monster High books. The characters are related to or as offspring of famous monsters such as Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, the Mummy, Medusa, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, the Phantom of the Opera, Zombies and more.

The entire Monster High franchise will be rebooted in 2016, with new face molds, movie animation (starting with "Welcome to Monster High"), slogan ("How Do You Boo?"), and theme song performed by Jordin Sparks.