What’s This? With Shelby Wiens
This item should have been an Ewok in the park if you are a Star Wars fan, but for those not keen on the galactic saga these little guys are Star Wars toy figures of the fictional Ewok characters made by the Kenner Toy Company.
While the first Star Wars movie was released on May 25, 1977, the license for action figures of characters from the movies was offered to the Mego Corporation in 1976. At the time the Mego Corporation, was the leading manufacturer of action figures.
Mego rejected the offer. Kenner, a division of General Mills’ Fun Group subsidiary, picked it up. Although the first offer was in 1976, and the film came out in 1977, Kenner was not ready for such a huge demand to be put upon them. They were behind on production and did not finalize the deal until mid-year.
Due to this delay, Kenner was not prepared for their space toys to hit the Christmastime market, so they sold an “Early Bird Package,” which was a certificate for redemption that could be mailed into Kenner for the action figures.
The first film to successfully license toys on a large scale was Star Wars – with Kenner’s success in sales of action figures. Through the help of other licensing deals that sold a variety of branded goods from t-shirts to even dog food, George Lucas (the franchise’s proverbial father) was able to amass funding for production of the subsequent movies.
The most notable and iconic characters were produced first: Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, and R2-D2. They were included in a box with a diorama stand, stickers, and a Star Wars Fan Club membership card.
Once direct sales were available, the collection of available figures grew by eight more designs, making the total of the original figures a set of 12. In 1978, vehicles and play sets were introduced as well as some exclusive sets only available at stores like J.C. Penney and Sears.
Their popularity skyrocketed. Christmastime store shelves were bare, but filled with rumors that Kenner had been manipulating the market by releasing less toys, thus fueling the demand further. Sales of the Kenner Star Wars action figures in 1978 reached 40 millions units, accounting for a revenue of $100 million dollars.
Our Ewok figures shown here were not out on the market shelves until 1983 when the third franchise film Star Wars Episode VI – Return of the Jedi was released.
Kenner and Star Wars’ success has spanned decades and continues to hold true as generations hold the Star Wars franchise to their hearts. Do you have a favorite Star Wars character or movie? Maybe you have a memory of having your own lightsaber battle as a kid.
Until next time! What’s this?