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Cometh the Penguin (to a box store near
you)
Dawn C.
Chmielewski
LA Times
October 28, 2008
It was only a matter of time before Club Penguin's
online inhabitants waddled into retail.
Walt Disney Co. has licensed a toy line based on its
popular virtual world for kids -- just in time for the
holidays.
As with the avatars that wander the snow-covered online
community, these stuffed penguins and plastic figures
come dressed in an assortment of costumes (bees, aliens,
superheroes, pirates, etc.). Even their virtual pets,
known as "puffles," can be found in plush, selling for
$10 each.
Such a move by Disney Consumer Products was all but
inevitable after Disney's acquisition of Club Penguin in
August 2007. Until then, Club Penguin sold a limited
assortment of stuffed puffles as a promotional item, but
had not created a full line of toys inspired by the
flightless waterfowl.
Hollywood learned long ago that penguins are box-office
gold.
The documentary "March of the Penguins" was the sleeper
hit of the summer of 2005, grossing more than $77.5
million for Warner Independent Pictures. The following
summer, Warner Bros. reprised the penguin theme with the
animated hit "Happy Feet," which sang and danced up $198
million in domestic box office.
Disney could lay claim to giving penguins their
cinematic debut as Dick Van Dyke's dancing partners in
the 1964 film "Mary Poppins."
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