Now that all the kids are suited up in "Batman Forever" T-shirts, drinking from "Casper" mugs and playing with "Mighty Morphin Power Ranger" action figures, the major studios are looking for ways to bring their parents into the merchandising fold.

"The competition for the kids market is brutal," said Neil Newman, vice president of marketing for Viacom consumer products. "In order to grow the business, we must grow the adult segment. If it's done correctly, there's a lot of money to be made."

Along with computer games, high-end merchandise geared to adults and based on vintage and recent entertainment properties, is the main growth area in the licensing market. It already accounts for 9% to 10% of sales, said Karen Raugust, editor of the Licensing Newsletter. "And the market's still relatively unsaturated," she said.

The $70-billion annual licensed merchandise windfall (of which entertainment goods account for somewhere between 15% and 20%), is targeting adults with products ranging from $45 for a Sylvester and Tweety beach umbrella to $40,000 for an original Disney animation cel from "The Lion King."

There has always been a cadre of collectors for entertainment-related memorabilia (from the original ruby slippers from "The Wizard of Oz" to anything related to "Star Trek"). But since the early '90s, the major studios have sought to exploit the baby boom generation's identification with and nostalgia for movie, TV and music properties on a mass market level.

"There's a growing core of fans who are looking for higher quality and more distinctive products," said Dell Furano, president of Sony Signatures, who envisions the adult segment of the market growing to 20% to 25% of total sales over the next decade.

Studios' licensing divisions welcome the challenge to go in a new direction and develop more sophisticated product lines. "It's a whole new market," said Lisa Crane, director of animation art at MCA/Universal. "The more we look, the more we find. For each film Universal produces, we try to figure out if there's an application to the collectibles market."

For "Apollo 13," Universal commissioned an art piece from former astronaut Alan Bean, the fourth man to walk on the moon. It depicts the explosion aboard the ill-fated capsule and is signed by Apollo 13 astronauts and the film's stars. A limited edition of 1,000 sold out at $500 apiece.