Chit Chat

Merchandise based on Galli Galli Sim Sim

 

Reel characters, real fun

Pick up a Powerpuff skirt for Bhai Phonta, or dress up in a Beyblade T-shirt on Id. Now pre-school tots have choices of bedsheets, quilts and duvets sporting their favourite Galli Galli Sim Sim characters, who are also waiting to be carried home in their soft toy avatars.

Cartoon buffs can own their favourite toon this festive season. Cartoon Network, the small screen hub of toons, has launched a range of consumer products based on the lovable muppets Elmo, Biscuit Badshah, Bharat and Ernie from Galli Galli Sim Sim (based on the globally acclaimed Sesame Street series) on Pogo to add to the range of merchandise featuring Johnny Bravo, Dexter and Powerpuff Girls.

“We have launched consumer products across four categories — apparel, books, plush toys and home furnishings,” says Jiggy George, director, Cartoon Network Enterprises — India and South Asia, over phone from Delhi. “Manufactured by Mattel, one of the dolls even has a customised voice chip that allows her to speak in Hindi, a first time in the country’s toy market.”

The books, featuring content by the US-based Sesame Workshop, are being brought out by Eurokids in bookstores and by Scholastic Books for its book clubs in 2,200 schools across the country. “Galli Galli Sim Sim, which inculcates basic values in children, is a good fit for publishing,” George adds.

Aimed at two to eight year-olds and priced between Rs 70 and Rs 1,399, the products will be available in leading multi-brand retail chains such as Shoppers’ Stop, Pantaloons and Landmark.

If Powerpuff Girls apparel, toys, stationery, rainwear and school bags are a hit among girls since 2005, the range now has been increased to include footwear, home furnishing, books, party products, ceramics and gifts. Beyblade T-shirt and shorts have also been a rage among boys. Now it’s the turn of the tots to pick up muppets of their choice.

Sudeshna Banerjee