Fantasy Realms

Category: Fantasy Realms

STEM, LEGOs, Jurassic World and more–Annual Toy of the Year Awards finalists revealed

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August 16, 2022

Every year industry group The Toy Foundation unveils its annual Toy of the Year Awards (see the 22nd annual award winners here) and this week it announced the finalists for the 23rd annual honors, this time representing the past two years in 17 categories, with the final awards coming in November. Altogether that’s 122 toys vying for top honors, selected from more than 600 nominees by a panel of judges comprising play experts, journalists, academics, retailers, and other toy authorities, and now it’s up to the voters to determine the winners. All are invited to visit ToyAwards.org to vote for their favorites in each category through September 2, 2022.

Links, links, and more links… check out the full slate of finalists:

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Tags: 100 Things That Go™ by LeapFrog, 3Doodler Start+ Maker Bundle by 3Doodler, 5 Surprise Disney Mini Brands Series 1 by ZURU, AirTitans™ Jurassic World Massive Attack T-Rex R/C by JAKKS Pacific, Ann Williams Craft-tastic Nature Scavenger Hunt Potions by PlayMonster Group LLC, Barbie – 60th Dreamhouse Anniversary by Mattel, Barbie Signature Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Doll by Mattel, Best Toys of 2022, Big Big Baby by Hunter Products, Bill Nye's VR Science Kit by Abacus Brands, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Fresh Fierce Collection by The Fresh Dolls by World of EPI Company, Bluey by BBC Studios, Build Box Subscription: Disc Launcher by CrunchLabs by Mark Rober, Cal Kestis Legacy Lightsaber Hilt by Disney Global Product Creation, Catch the Moon by Thames & Kosmos LLC, Celestial Star Explorer by The Manhattan Toy Company, Clean Sweep Learning Caddy™ by LeapFrog, CoComelon by Moonbug Entertainment, CoComelon Ultimate Learning Adventure Bus by Just Play, Cody Block by QUBS, Connect 4 Spin Game by Hasbro, CONNETIX Pastel Mega Pack 212pc by CONNETIX, Crayola Color & Erase Reusable Mat by Crayola, Crayola Happy 64th Birthday Crayons by Crayola, Creativity for Kids Build & Grow Tree House by Faber-Castell USA/Creativity for Kids, Cyberquad for Kids by Radio Flyer Inc., Dance & Play Bluey by Moose Toys LLC, DC Comics Batman 12" Wingsuit Action Figure by Spin Master, Disney Junior Alice's Wonderland Bakery Alice Doll & Magical Oven by Just Play, Disney Junior Mickey Mouse Funhouse Treasure Adventure Pirate Ship by Just Play, Disney Kingdomania: Series 1 – Game Ball by Funko Inc., DJ Beat Boxer™ by VTech, Explore & More Grow Along 4-In-1 Activity Walker by Skip Hop, Fisher-Price® Little People Collector™ Ted Lasso by Mattel, Flybar Bumper Car XL by Flybar, Flyer L885 Electric Bike by Radio Flyer Inc., FurReal Cinnamon the Pony by Hasbro, Gabby's Dollhouse by Universal Brand Development, Gigabots Energy Cores by Blip Toys, Global Kidizen Doll Collection by For Purpose Kids, GraviTrax PRO: Giant Set by Ravensburger, Harry Potter Playing Cards by theory11, Healthy Roots Dolls Curlfriends Club by Healthy Roots, Heroes of Goo Jit Zu Goo Shifters by Moose Toys LLC, Hugimals by Hugimals World, Imaginext® Jurassic World™ Mega Stomp & Rumble Giga Dino™ by Mattel, Inc., John Deere Johnny Tractor Ride-On by TOMY International, Jurassic World Dominion by Universal Brand Development, Jurassic World Dominion Super Colossal Giganotosaurs by Mattel, Jurassic World Real FX Baby Blue by WOW! Stuff, Jurassic World: The Legacy of Isla Nublar by Funko Inc., Klutz LEGO: Race Cars by Scholastic Inc., LEGO® Ideas The Office by LEGO Systems, LEGO® Minifigures The Muppets by LEGO Systems, LEGO® Technic™ McLaren Formula 1™ Race Car by LEGO Systems, Level Up Gaming Chair™ by VTech, Lite-Brite Wall Art Pop Wow! Edition by Basic Fun!, Little Live Pets Mama Surprise by Moose Toys LLC, Little Tikes Ice Cream Cozy Truck™ by MGA Entertainment, Little Tikes Learn & Play™ Look & Learn Window™ by MGA Entertainment, LLC, Magic Mixies Magic Mixlings by Moose Toys LLC, Magic Mixies Magical Crystal Ball by Moose Toys LLC, Magna-Tiles® Forest Animals 25-Piece Set by Magna-Tiles, Mantis by Exploding Kittens Inc., Mario Kart™ 24V Ride-On Racer by JAKKS Pacific, Mega Chomp R/C Shark by Skyrocket Toys, Miniland Baby Doll Caucasian Girl with Down Syndrome with Glasses by Miniland, My Avastars by WowWee, My Pal Scout Smarty Paws™ by LeapFrog, National Geographic Kids Chimp Care & Nurture Set by Just Play, Naturalistas Fashion Dolls by Purpose Toys, Peppa Pig Toniebox Starter Set by tonies® USA, Pokémon by The Pokémon Company International, Pokémon Trading Card Game: Pokémon GO Elite Trainer Box by The Pokémon Company International, Professor Maxwell's VR Dinosaurs by Abacus Brands, Rainbow Loom Loomi-Pals Mega Combo by Rainbow Loom, Replogle Globe 4 Kids by Replogle Globes Inc., Rollplay Nighthawk Storm by Rollplay, smART sketcher® GO! by FlyCatcher Inc, SmartMax My First Hide & Seek by Smart Toys and Games, Snap Circuits: Code Journey by ELENCO, Snap Circuits: Green Energy by ELENCO, Snap Circuits: Junior by ELENCO, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Sonic Speed R/C by JAKKS Pacific, Squishmallows by Jazwares, Star Wars L0-59 (Lola) Animatronic Droid by Hasbro, Star Wars Villainous by Ravensburger, STEM Explorers™ Brainometry™ by Learning Resources Inc., Super Cityscape Transport Bucket Set by Hape, Switcheroo Coding Crew™ by Learning Resources Inc., T.A.P.E.S. by Hog Wild, Tacto Doctor by PlayShifu, The Joker Dragon DC MULTIVERSE Vehicle by McFarlane Toys, The Play Kits by Lovevery, The Toy Association, Toy Industry Hall of Fame, Toy of the Year 2022, Toy of the Year 2023, Toy of the Year Awards, Toy of the Year Finalists, Transformers: Bumblebee Cyberverse Adventures Dinobots Unite Smash Changer Optimus Prime by Hasbro, Viro Rides™ Café Racer by MGA Entertainment, Where's Squeaky? by Blue Orange Games, WindBots: 6-in-1 Wind-Powered Machine Kit by Thames & Kosmos LLC, Wooden Shape Sorting Grocery Cart by Melissa & Doug, ZipLinx Triple Tower Blast by Blip Toys

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Spelljammer–D&D in space arrives tomorrow in three-volume boxed set

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August 15, 2022

Review by C.J. Bunce

No doubt the most eagerly-awaited gaming event of the year is Spelljammer: Adventures in Space, and at last it arrives tomorrow. An inexpensive three-book boxed set (including DM screen and two of the most beautiful of the 5th Edition’s pull-out maps) that feels like a standalone RPG, it allows Dungeon Masters and players to explore Wildspace and the Astral Sea. Combining themes of nautical exploration with deep space–think fantasy mash-ups like characters from H.P. Lovecraft, Jules Verne, Alex Raymond, and Edgar Rice Burroughs–Spelljammer brings new characters and places to 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons, while allowing characters you already know into another world.

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Field of Dreams returns to Dyersville for MLB’s–now annual–vintage match-up

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August 12, 2022

It’s been a year since Kevin Costner returned to Dyersville, Iowa, to lead the ultimate movie event follow-up. Last year the Chicago White Sox faced the New York Yankees in vintage uniforms to provide fans of Major League Baseball with the ultimate gift, a regular season game at the most beloved stadium in the country–the Field of Dreams, setting for the Phil Alden Robinson’s 1989 film classic (find out more about last year’s game here). Last night the second major league game to take place in Iowa–and second annual Field of Dreams game–featured the Chicago Cubs and the Cincinnati Reds. Spoilers ahead–in case you missed the game.

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Monsters of the Multiverse–D&D Monster Manual and Player’s Handbook update available in standalone edition

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August 8, 2022

Review by C.J. Bunce

Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse is one of those Dungeons & Dragons supplements from Wizards of the Coast that you might have overlooked. First released as part of the Dungeons & Dragons Rules Expansion Gift Set in late January, it was one of the victims of worldwide shipping delays, and only made it to a single volume release finally this summer. Compiling and updating monsters that originally appeared in Volo’s Guide to Monsters and Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes–and replacing those books for most purposes, this book is a bestiary presenting friends and foes for any D&D campaign with some creatures you’ve seen before while also fully incorporating 33 races not provided in the Player’s Handbook, but introduced in previous adventure volumes.

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Tags: D&D Rules Expansion Gift Set, Dungeons and Dragons, Dungeons and Dragons fifth edition, Dungeons and Dragons Player's Handbook, Dungeons and Dragons Rules Expansion Gift Set, Grzegorz Rutkowski, Joy Ang, Monster Manual, Monsters of the Multiverse review, Monsters of the Multiverse variant cover, Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse, Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes, Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, Volo's Guide to Monsters, Wizards of the Coast

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The Winchesters–Supernatural spin-off could get that prequel thing right

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August 6, 2022

For 15 years and 327 episodes, CW’s Supernatural established itself as the longest continuously running genre series of the century. It’s the kind of series, like The X-Files, anyone can drop in on without getting lost in some ongoing story arc. It’s no wonder that no movie mega-star gets as enormous a crowd at San Diego Comic-Con as when stars Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki enter the building. With that kind of start, and a retro spin like the successful series Stranger Things, its coming prequel The Winchesters has the potential of doing well, and the full trailer for the series looks like it may have what it takes to stick around awhile, with a great vintage vibe and Scooby Doo look.

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Doctors and Daleks–All-new roleplaying game puts players right into your next Doctor Who episode

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August 1, 2022

Review by C.J. Bunce

If you’re looking to get your fix of Doctor Who, a new roleplaying game has just arrived that may be just the thing for you. Whether you want to step into the shoes of a Time Lord yourself, become a member of an alien species (join your own Paternoster Gang!), travel anywhere to the past or future, journey into outer space, or accompany a Doctor as a Companion, the Doctor Who Doctors and Daleks Player’s Guide is a giant guide to a new RPG for three or more players. Grab your friends and take your own time machine to explore the universe and history, help others solve problems, and share your fish fingers, just like in the six decades of the Doctor Who series. And you’re not required to use existing Doctors and Companions–or alien races–you can make up your own. Or play without a Doctor, like UNIT and Sarah Jane Smith in the show. How about Captain Jack Harkness and Torchwood? Pull them in, too.

Filled with photographs from the franchise’s six decades, Doctors and Daleks Player’s Guide is available now in PDF, with pre-orders now being taken by publisher Cubicle 7 Games for the hardcover and a Collector’s Edition. Check out links to order below.

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In Memoriam–Nichelle Nichols (1932-2022)

Filed under: Backstage Pass, Con Culture, Fantasy Realms, Movies, Sci-Fi Café, Superheroes, TV — 1 Comment

July 31, 2022

Arguably no player of fictional roles did more to further science and the future than Nichelle Nichols. The actress who played Star Trek crew member Uhura for 54 years in the original series, six movies, and fan films passed away today at age 89. I first met her in San Francisco in the 1990s and later at other events, and she always was gracious, embraced fans, and was always laughing, smiling, and enjoying her time recounting her personal story. She probably has the most familiar story of any science fiction actor, as she became an icon of television, science fiction, and science fact.

Her greatest story was recounting how she had decided to leave the Star Trek series until she had a conversation with Martin Luther King, Jr., who informed her just how important it was that a black woman was being seen by an entire nation on television. She was an equal crew member serving in a prime-time network series, and would go on to help expand the boundaries of race relations, participating in the first on-screen inter-racial kiss, with co-star William Shatner’s Captain Kirk.

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Tags: Heroes, Heroes TV series, KCCC 2016 Nichelle Nichols, Martin Luther King Jr, Memoriam Nichelle Nichols, NASA, Nichelle Nichols, Smithsonian Institution, Space shuttle Enterprise, Star Trek, Star Trek original series, Wizard World 2018 Nichelle Nichols

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The Resort–What is this strange half-hour series?

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Review by C.J. Bunce

If you can’t enjoy an all-included, exclusive Caribbean resort vacation, then vacations are probably not for you. Ninety-minutes in and Peacock’s new half-hour series The Resort doesn’t reveal much of what it’s trying to be. Alternately billed as mystery and comedy, it’s not much of either, but it does seem like a rejected episode of Fantasy Island. That series, a Fox reboot starring the fantastic Roselyn Sanchez as a great niece of Ricardo Montalban’s famous host, was far more coherent–and fun. The Resort focuses on a couple with zero chemistry taking a Sandals-esque resort vacation for an anniversary. It’s like a cringeworthy watch-party of a friend’s slides from a vacation gone wrong.

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Now streaming–Tuppence Middleton stars in mystery/suspense/thriller Disappearance at Clifton Hill

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July 28, 2022

Review by C.J. Bunce

How can a movie only make $25,000 at the box office and be this good? It must be poor marketing–the movie poster calls it darkly comical, and there’s no humor intended in Albert Shin’s semi-autobiographical directorial debut, the brilliant mystery/suspense/thriller Disappearance at Clifton Hill. A 2019 Canadian release that premiered in the U.S. in 2020, this is the kind of simmering mystery in the vein of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train, with a genre-bending vibe that blends You Should Have Left, I Am the Pretty Thing that Lives in the House, The Sinner, Picnic at Hanging Rock, and Archive 81–and yet it’s unlike any of them. It stars Tuppence Middleton (The Current War, Jupiter Ascending, The Imitation Game, Mank) in a worthy–and similar–follow-up to her starring role in The Lady Vanishes.

Abby is only seven years old when she sees the boy with one eye, hiding while she vacations with her family in the woods not too far from her home in Niagara Falls.

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Boo, Bitch–A surprisingly smart and funny coming of age series begins on Netflix

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July 23, 2022

Review by C.J. Bunce

Romeo and Juliet, Emma, American Graffiti, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Grease, Square Pegs, The Outsiders, Sixteen Candles, Say Anything, Heathers, Dazed and Confused, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Clueless (the best version of Emma), 10 Things I Hate About You, Veronica Mars, Orange County, Superbad, Riverdale. Writers have concocted several personal and entertaining coming of age movies and TV series over the years. Add to that list Netflix’s new series Boo, Bitch, a funny, clever, supernatural twist on the typical “last days of high school” story, full of snappy, witty dialogue that catches the genre up with the year 2022.

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