My Little Pony - a staple of every 1980s childhood - is finally inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame
The beloved mini horses, which first hit the market in 1981, also spawned a successful media franchise
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Your support makes all the difference.My Little Pony has finally been inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame.
The pastel-colored ponies were enshrined in the National Toy Hall of Fame on Tuesday (November 12), along with Transformers action figures and the Phase 10 card game.
The honorees rose to the top in voting by a panel of experts and the public from among 12 finalists. This year's field included the party game Apples to Apples, balloons, “Choose Your Own Adventure” gamebooks, Hess Toy Trucks, Pokémon Trading Card Game, remote-controlled vehicles, Sequence, the stick horse, and the trampoline.
“These are three very deserving toys that showcase the wide range of how people play,” Christopher Bensch, vice president for collections and chief curator, said in a statement to the Associated Press. “But for My Little Pony in particular, this year is extra validating. The beloved toy was a finalist seven times before finally crossing the finish line!”
Hasbro's mini-horses, distinguishable by different “cutie marks” on their haunches, were introduced in the 1980s and reintroduced in 2003, outselling even Barbie for several years. The brand grossed more than $650m in retail sales in 2013, and over $1bn annually in retail sales in 2014 and 2015. Hasbro also launched the animated series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic in 2010, which aired for nine years.
The collectibles were recognized for encouraging fantasy and storytelling – the kind of creative play the Hall of Fame demands of inductees – along with popularity over time.
“The My Little Pony line has endured for decades because it combines several traditional forms of doll play with children’s fascination with horses," said Michelle Parnett-Dwyer, curator of dolls and toys. “The variety of figures promotes collecting as a pastime, too.”
Phase 10 was introduced by inventor and entrepreneur Ken Johnson in 1982. Today, Mattel sells two million decks of the card game annually in 30 countries and more than 20 languages. That makes it one of the bestselling card games in the world, according to the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York, where the Toy Hall of Fame is based.
In the style of rummy, the game challenges players to collect groups of cards to complete 10 phases in sequential order before their opponents.
"Whether played in its original form or in one of its variations, Phase 10 has become an iconic game title that continues to encourage multigenerational social and competitive play,” said Mirek Stolee, the museum's curator of board games and puzzles.
Transformers came along in the 1980s, when Hasbro bought the rights to several existing Japanese toy lines featuring transforming robots. They were first marketed with a cartoon and have since graduated to a series of live-action films. Social media sites allow for debates over which figures are must-haves, as well as demonstrations of the sometimes complex process of manipulating them from robot to vehicle or other alternate form.
Regular new Transformers characters keep collectors coming back, Bensch said, “but the toys are also popular because they are so suited to the ways kids play. The toy line feeds kids’ imaginations and fantasy play.”
Anyone can nominate a toy for the Hall of Fame. Museum staff narrows the field to 12 finalists each year. Fans can cast votes online for their favorites and their results are counted alongside ballots from a national advisory committee of historians, educators and others with industry expertise.
Additional reporting from AP