Thanks to the pioneering efforts of companies such as Funko with its Pop! brand, Kidrobot, and Lego with its minifigures, it has become commonplace in the toy industry for licensed properties to take on the stylized look of the licensee’s brand. The trend affects not only the adult-skewing collectible portion of the market, but also collectible-with-play-value toys for younger kids.
A few examples of stylized licensed toys and collectible figures include:
- Whatnot Toys’ Super Deformed action figures (featuring licenses such as G.I. Joe and Transformers).
- Factory Entertainment’s Revos (Jurassic Park, Back to the Future, Wizard of Oz, and others).
- The Loyal Subjects (Thunder Cats, Street Fighter, and more).
- Ty’s Beanie Ballz (Major League Baseball, Disney, NBA, etc.).
- Re-Marks (Harry Potter, Wizard of Oz, and Justice League).
- Hasbro Mighty Muggs (Marvel and Star Wars).
This list represents just a limited sample of the vast array of stylized collectible figures and toys on the market, but it serves to illustrate how ubiquitous this trend has become. As with any licensed collaboration, these stylized products are the result of licensor and licensee coming together to create something new to generate reorders from their existing collectors and fans, and potentially attract new customers as well.
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