Warner Bros. Consumer Products has formed licensing deals with Funrise Toy Corp. to release a variety of products based on the upcoming film release of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
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| Charlie and company on a chocolate factory tour |
As part of the agreement, Funrise will manufacture, market and sell a full line of toys, including play sets, action figures, activities, puzzles, pinball and games based on the fantasy-adventure film, directed by Tim Burton.
Based on the Roald Dahl classic, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a story about an eccentric chocolate-maker, Willy Wonka, who launches a worldwide contest to select an heir to his candy empire. Charlie, a young boy from a poor family, draws a “Golden Ticket” and joins four other lucky children on a guided tour of the candy-making factory. Charlie enters Willy Wonka’s fantasy world and soon learns the tour is anything but ordinary.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is expected to hit theaters nationwide beginning July 15.
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| Cast of characters from Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride |
In addition, Warner Bros. has formed a new licensing deal with McFarlane Toys to produce action figures and gifts based on another Tim Burton film, the animated
Corpse Bride, which hits theaters this fall.
McFarlane Toys plans to produce a full line of toys, including collectible action figures, bendable figures, PVC and plush toys. The agreement marks the first time McFarlane Toys will expand its categories to include fashion dolls, bobbleheads, candles, glassware mugs, pewter pieces and ornaments. The suggested retail prices for the new line range from $1.99 to $149.99, but the company plans to set key price points at $4.99, $9.99 and $19.99.
The company plans to gear its new line of toys toward teen and young adults. Corpse Bride products will hit stores nationwide with the film’s launch.
Set in a 19th Century European village, the stop-motion animated film follows the story of Victor, a young man who is taken away to the underworld and is married to a mysterious corpse bride. Victor’s real bride, Victoria, waits for her love in the land of the living. Victor learns there’s nothing that can keep him away from his one true love.
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