Rubie’s Costume Company, Inc., has received the 2011 Monster High North America Rookie Licensee of the year award from Mattel.

As one of the most successful children’s licenses of last year, characters from the Monster High Costume Collection include Frankie Stein, Lagoona Blue, Cleo de Nile, Clawdeen Wolf, and Draculaura. Available in children’s, tween, and adult sizes, each character comes to life with unique designs, intricate detailing, and coordinating accessories. In addition to the colorful costumes, the line also includes wigs and make-up kits.

With the expansion of the 2012 Monster High Collection, Rubie’s continues to create costumes that reflect the characters’ unique personalities while paying homage to their cool monster heritage. As they say at Monster High, freaky just got fabulous.

Paul Frank is partnering with Babies “R” Us to launch Small Paul designs that will be available exclusively at Babies “R” Us stores nationwide beginning May 23.

Parents can now outfit tots in Small Paul apparel and accessories, available in sizes 0-5T. The line also includes Small Paul-branded bags, backpacks, footwear, and hosiery, as well as Julius plush.

Paul Frank’s Small Paul merchandise will be showcased in a dedicated shop in Babies “R” Us stores nationwide through July.

Namco Bandai Games, 41 Entertainment (“41e”), and Arad Productions have appointed several new agents in relations to the U.S. licensing and promotional efforts for the upcoming Pac-Man TV series property slated to begin broadcast on Disney XD in fall 2013.

Striker Entertainment, led by Marc Mostman and Russell Binder, will be charged with securing licensees in the key categories of apparel, accessories, footwear, health and beauty aids, oral care, and publishing. The CDM Company, headed by Mitch Junkins, will handle all consumer promotional efforts. All categories not specifically handled by Striker and CDM will be retained by the 41e team in-house. 41e will manage the overall global licensing and merchandising program, and has already granted a number of key licenses.

Stride Rite Children’s Group brings blockbuster excitement to kids with the all-new X-celeRacers by Stride Rite Marvel collection. Premiering at locations where Stride Rite shoes are sold, X-celeRacers feature superhero favorites such as Iron Man, Captain America, The Incredible Hulk, and Spider-Man.
The new X-celeRacers sneaker features a strap with an adjustable closure for extraordinary fit, X-Grip with a grooved outsole for traction, Extra Flex with a lightweight outsole for agility, and lightweight cushioning for comfort.

Stride Rite will advertise the product through an integrated marketing campaign, called “Imagination” that will inspire 3- to 8-year-old boys and their moms through TV, online, and in-store. Commercials, airing on Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, and Disney XD, highlight boys imagining themselves as the legendary Marvel Universe Super Heroes through the Power of X in their X-celeRacers shoes. There will also be a special X-celeRacers by Stride Rite Marvel collection Web page that will host a variety of interactive activities for moms to share with their sons.

American Greetings has green lit production for a third season of Strawberry Shortcake: Berry Bitty Adventures. Thirteen episodes have been ordered for the new season that will continue to showcase Strawberry Shortcake and her six best friends as they embark upon new adventures.

Strawberry Shortcake: Berry Bitty Adventures airs daily on The Hub and is a joint venture between Discovery Communications and Hasbro, Inc.

Danilo Promotions signed with V&S Entertainment to create a line of greeting cards based on the preschool program Everything’s Rosie.

As a supplier of licensed calendars and greeting cards in the UK, Danilo Promotions plans to produce greeting cards, sound cards, calendars, gift wrap and bags, and print on demand. An initial sample of products will be released this summer, with the full line to follow next year.

Amscan Inc., its division Grasslands Road, and its related subsidiary Anagram International, Inc. have secured licenses with Pretty Ugly, LLC to create a complete line of Uglydoll-branded decorated party goods, balloons, and ceramic ware. Amscan will manufacture a party goods line that will include tableware, party invites, gift wrap, and other decorative items, while Anagram will be responsible for the manufacturing of the balloon segment. Grasslands Road has signed with Pretty Ugly to take over the manufacturing and distribution of the Uglydoll ceramic ware items.

Beginning this fall, Komar Kids will manufacture and distribute Uglydoll children’s sleepwear and robes in North America. United Legwear has signed with Pretty Ugly to manufacture and distribute socks and legwarmers for infant/toddlers, kids, and teens, as well as items for the men’s and women’s categories in North America.

Other licensees include Callaway Digital Arts, Inc. for mobile apps, FAB*Starpoint for a line of branded bags and accessories, Richard Leeds International, Inc. for sleepwear, apparel, Zak Designs for children’s dinnerware, Accessory Innovations for cold weather accessories, and Freeze for branded T-shirts and fleece apparel. Thermos will produce lunch accessories. Thumbtack Press will create a line of Uglydoll art prints. Toy Factory will produce Uglydoll-branded plush toys for North American amusement park markets.

Big Idea Entertainment plans to expand digital programming for its VeggieTales brand this year. The company has partnered with mobile kid-play experts Playful Own and marketing company GorillaSpot to create more apps for fans.

VeggieTales is the first property to launch with Playful Owl’s Step-by-Story, a mobile app that promotes reading readiness through word, picture, and sound association. Step-By-Story, available for andriod, iPhone, and iPad, lets children create their own animated short story by offering 500 different story combinations.  VeggieTales has already launched VeggieTales: The Goofy Gift and VeggieTales: Larry’s Missing Music, and will release six more titles throughout the year.

VeggieTales e-cards will also be available to fans later this year. ReelCards, powered by GorillaSpot, will create a Facebook application that allows fans to send personalized video cards using short clips from popular VeggieTales titles. GorillaSpot hopes to make this a mobile app for andriods and iPhones by this summer.

Beginning in June, visitors of the ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands, in Singapore, will have a firsthand look inside Harry Potter: The Exhibition. The exhibition will showcase a collection of artifacts from the various film sets and viewing props, including Harry’s wand and eyeglasses, Professor Snape’s original costume, the Golden Snitch, and the Gryffindor school uniforms.

Other featured items include Sybill Trelawney’s crystal ball and exotic wardrobe; costumes and props from Professors Lupin, Lockhart, and Umbridge; artifacts from the Yule Ball, including costumes from such notable characters as Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Professor Dumbledore; and life-size creatures, including centaurs, a caged dragon, Buckbeak the Hippogriff, and a giant Acromantula.

Harry Potter: The Exhibition runs from June 2 through September 30, and tickets will be available for purchase online and at all Marina Bay Sands box offices beginning May 1.

As the official Global Kids’ Ambassador for World Wildlife Fund’s Earth Hour initiative for a second year, Zinkia Entertainment’s character Pocoyo will support the new Earth Hour 2012 “I Will if You Will” campaign by spreading Earth Hour’s message to children around the world and by participating in his own challenge.

For Pocoyo’s challenge, Zinkia has pledged to plant up to 10,000 trees—one tree for every person who goes online to play Pocoyo’s Recycling Game, which launched in February through Earth Hour’s website and the Official Pocoyo Facebook page. A pre-launch test campaign generated nearly 10,000 plays in less than one week. The trees will be planted by charity partner Trees for the Future, whose mission for this year is to plant 17 million trees worldwide.

To promote Pocoyo’s initiative, a new public service announcement featuring Pocoyo is available for on-air broadcast and online across websites and social media platforms. There will also be special Pocoyo Earth Hour activity booklets available for printing and distribution as well as Pocoyo Earth Hour screensavers and wallpapers.