The hottest toys for Santa's elves By MARCIA ARMSTRONG The Free Lance-Star 11/10/2002

By MARCIA ARMSTRONG
The Free Lance-Star

What do Care Bears, R2D2 and Cabbage Patch Kids have in common?

They've all been retooled and redesigned, and they're back on toy-store shelves.

Maybe toy manufacturers are playing it safe in a challenging economy. Maybe they're appealing to baby-boomer parents' penchant for nostalgia.

"They're bringing back the old stuff," said Patty Carlisle, product flow manager at the Toys "R" Us store in Fredericksburg's Central Park.

And, the oldies are still goodies, she said.

Care Bears, back in their traditional rainbow colors, are so popular that Carlisle finds it difficult to keep them in stock.

Parents who loved them when they were kids are buying them for their children. Teens who remember the bears from their toddlerhood purchase them for themselves.

"They were hot back then," Carlisle said about the bears, which range from $6 to $15.

"And, they're hot now."

R2D2 rebounds this year as a 15-inch-tall interactive droid. Packed with speech-recognition technology, an infrared location sensor and sonar navigation system, R2D2 recognizes and responds to 40 spoken phrases. He also dances, sings and plays five games, including Hide-and-Seek and Spin the Droid.

"We've already had people in here asking for him," Carlisle said.

Original Appalachia Artwork may be trying to duplicate the buying frenzy it created in the 1980s when it first introduced Cabbage Patch Kids. Back then, parents lined up at toy stores, waiting for truckloads of the dolls to arrive. Things occasionally turned ugly as they fought off rivals for the soft-sculpture dolls.

Now, the Kids are back in a funky new cabbage-leaf package. They're still hand-stitched, except for the molded vinyl face, and come complete with adoption papers.

In the world of TV spinoffs, Pokemon is out and Yu-Gi-Oh is in. Yama Yugi and Maximillion Pegasis, primary characters in the battle tile game, duke it out on trading cards and as action figures. Prices for the fighters range from $10 to $38.

Zoids, mechanoid beasts from Planet Zi, are popular with ages 4 and up, Carlisle said. The motorized models--including Elephander, Liger Zero and Dark Horn--sell for $9.99.

Legos Bionicles, including Buhroki, Jui-Jaga and Manas, are also hot toys, Carlisle said.

Each hard-plastic hero has its own story and comes with a code containing key information specific to each character.

The 6-inch toys range from $10 for a 40-piece set to $60 for a 630-piece canister.

Barbie resurfaces this year as Rapunzel with golden bridal train-length hair and a sparkly pink dress. Ken is dressed as sidekick Stephan. Accessories include a horse and carriage, Penelope the dragon and the Rapunzel video tie-in.

Dolls are still groovy Christmas presents if they are Groovy Girls, said Jennifer Roberson, assistant manager of Central Park's Zany Brainy store.

The 15-inch dolls come in different outfits and skin tones, and represent a variety of nationalities. Parents (or Santa) can add such accessories as chairs, vanities and bedroom sets, ranging from $10 to $100.

Cranium Cadoo will be popular this Christmas, said Barbara Brock, owner and self-described "funstructor-in-chief" at FUNdaMENTALS in downtown Fredericksburg.

The just-out, geared-for-children game is a version of Cranium, the adult thinking game.

Cadoo, which sells for $20, introduces a variety of activities such as acting, sketching, sculpting or cracking secret codes. "Parents like it, too," Brock said. "It's a fantastic game for them to play with their children."

Fridgets, a marble-run magnet set, is like eating potato chips, Brock said. You can't drop the ball and watch it travel down a maze of chutes on your refrigerator just once. The mesmerizing game appeals to all ages, she said.

"It's a gift for grown men as well as for children," she said.

Date published: Sun, 11/10/2002