Pokemon Cartoon Character

After the suffocation death of a 13-month-old girl, Burger King Corp. on Monday announced a voluntary recall of more than 25 million Pokemon balls, another setback in the fast-food chain's $22-million promotion. The Miami-based company said the "Poke Balls"--red-and-white ball-shaped plastic containers--may pose a hazard to children under age 3. The containers, made by Equity Marketing Inc.

Speaking of burgers and toys, Burger King learned the hard way with its Pokemon campaign that when you disappoint kids by running out of toys, it can be a public relations nightmare even if the promotion generates blockbuster sales. Burger King President Paul Clayton has apologized for the shortages in two full-page newspaper advertisements, the most recent published Dec. 10. "I want to thank you for you patience," Clayton wrote.

Burger King Corp. may have a whopper of a public relations problem on its hands over its $22-million Pokemon promotion, one of the largest in the history of the fast-food industry. Dozens of Southland Burger Kings--and scores across the country--ran out of Pokemon toys tied to the Warner Bros. hit movie on Thursday, causing angry parents and crying children to storm out of its restaurants.

After the suspects in the burglary ring were arrested and read their rights, they finally confessed. Sheriff's deputies then searched their homes and found the stolen property: 171 Pokemon cards. The suspects, two eighth-graders at Dodson Middle School in Rancho Palos Verdes, now face felony charges of burglary and receiving stolen property, said Sheriff's Deputy Daniel Beringer. They also have been suspended from school.

Like the characters in the wildly popular Nintendo video games, "Pokemon: The First Movie" evolved into something much more powerful. The Japanese-made animated film that Warner Bros. will release Wednesday was to have complemented the cartoon show that now airs 11 times each week and has been a bonanza for its WB network.