Toys

After the success of its "10 for $10" toy program last year, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is expanding its lineup of $10 toys for the holiday season to more than 100 items. The deals are expected to hit store shelves today. The move is the latest in an increasingly heated holiday toy battle as retailers race to attract frugal shoppers. Wal-Mart said it had worked with its suppliers over the last year to offer an assortment of top brands, classic toys and newly released items for $10, including Barbie dolls and Transformers action figures.

To their legions of fans -- Sasha Obama and Snoop Dogg included -- the Ugly Dolls are anything but ugly. With names such as Babo, Big Toe and Puglee, the creatures look more like impish cartoon monsters than adorable Beanie Babies. Millions of these odd, squishy misfits have charmed their way into buyers' hands since David Horvath began doodling them eight years ago on letters to his college sweetheart, Sun-Min Kim. Manhattan Beach residents Horvath and Kim had dreamed about creating toys that could tell stories and make kids happy.

When "Chicago" and "Hairspray" producers Neil Meron and Craig Zadan were looking for their next big movie musical last November, the two ended up in what would seem like an unlikely place: the El Segundo headquarters of Mattel Inc. The duo found their inspiration in the prototypes for an as-yet unreleased line of monster dolls from the toy manufacturer. Welcome to Hollywood's latest gold rush. Movie studio development slates are rapidly filling up with projects based on well-known toys and games.

President Bush has signed consumer safety legislation that bans lead from children's toys, imposing the toughest standard in the world. The new law prohibits lead, beyond minute levels, in products for children 12 or younger. Lead paint was a major factor in the recall of 45 million toys and children's items last year, many from China. The bill also bans a chemical called phthalates that is widely used to make plastic products more flexible.

Mattel Inc. and Jakks Pacific Inc. on Wednesday announced new deals to make wrestling action figures, the latest chapter in a story that has all the acrimony and shifting alliances of professional wrestling. Mattel has teamed with World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. to make toys based on its popular wrestlers, and Jakks is matching up with WWE rival TNA Entertainment. Both deals -- which take effect in 2010 -- are for five years.

After facing recall after recall of millions of Chinese-made items, the nation's biggest toy sellers are imposing stricter measures on their suppliers -- including tougher standards for lead content -- to get ahead of expected new federal legislation. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Toys R Us Inc., the nation's top two toy sellers, are setting a much tighter standard for the amount of lead allowed on surface paint for toys shipped to their chains starting March 1.

The U.S. Toy Industry Assn., whose members include Mattel Inc. and Hasbro Inc., said Monday that its board unanimously approved a plan for a new testing system after the recall of tens of millions of Chinese-made toys last year. The proposal includes more-stringent procedures for analyzing safety during the design and manufacturing of toys, as well as the testing of finished products, said Joan Lawrence, a vice president of the group.

Toy distributor Mega Brands Inc. recalled about 2.4 million Chinese-made toys Monday because small magnets could fall out and cause internal injuries. These tiny magnets could be swallowed or inhaled by children. If more than one magnet is swallowed, they can attach to each other and cause intestinal perforation, infection or blockage, which can be fatal. Montreal-based Mega Brands is recalling 1.1 million Magtastik and Magnetix Jr. preschool toys. The recall also includes about 1.

Purimopueru is a knee-high Japanese doll with soft, apple-spotted cheeks and big, black button eyes. It comes in green and pink, and when you cuddle it, it talks back. It's for grandmothers. The doll, an award-winner at last week's Tokyo Toy Show, is generating new sales among the elderly for creator Namco Bandai Holdings Inc. as Japan's birthrate drops.

Alarmed by a year of recalls targeting millions of tainted toys, the House voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to ban lead and other dangerous chemicals from items such as jewelry and rubber ducks that could end up in kids' mouths. The legislation also would toughen rules for testing children's products and take steps to give more muscle to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which was criticized last year for its handling of a flood of goods from China deemed hazardous to children.