Hasbro x Mattel Toys That Need to Happen Immediately
If Hasbro buys Mattel, these are the brand mashups that everybody wants to see.
Over the weekend, Hasbro, the largest toy company in the United States, made an offer to buy Mattel, the second largest. The deal would merge two billion-dollar companies into a single, giant toy-making behemoth to rule over all of playtime for eternity. And while the deal seems like a smart move for Hasbro, it’s not clear if it will actually go through. Pesky anti-trust laws.
Either way, a Hasbro-Mattel merger brings up the tantalizing possibility of combining their extensive catalogs of brands. Barbie and Nerf? My Little Pony and Matchbox? The theoretical must-have mashups are practically endless. After cycling through dozens of dream crossovers, we picked the seven we’re hoping show up on shelves shortly after the merger.
Beyblade and Hot Wheels
So much of the fun of Beyblades, Hasbro’s dueling spinning tops, comes from that initial, euphoric rip of the launcher. But things tend to fizzle once you’re left watching two Beyblades sporadically bump into each other. Enter Hotwheels. Spin those battling tops on a race car track, and suddenly the game becomes much more dynamic and engaging. Instead of traditional attack/defense add-ons, tricking out your Beyblade would focus on speed and endurance.
Transformers and Dinotrux
It seems like a no-brainer that a universe about robot-transforming vehicles should merge with a universe about half-truck, half-dinosaur hybrids. The potential collaborations are practically endless: Dinosaurs that turn into trucks. Robots that turn into dinosaurs. Robots that turn into trucks driving trucks that are also dinosaurs. There’s never been a better opportunity for two franchises centered on vehicle-hybrid toys.
Clue and Masters of the Universe
It was Skeletor in Castle Grayskull with the Power Sword. A Masters of the Universe-edition of Clue would bring the classic murder-mystery format to the planet of Eternia, even putting He-Man under suspicion. But we all know Skeletor did it.
WWE and Easy Bake
This obligatory crossover would finally address the mystery of The Rock’s catchphrase. Introducing the Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson Easy Bake Oven … so you can actually smell what he’s cooking.
Barbie and G.I. Joe
If there’s one thing that Barbie’s perfected, it’s the dollhouse. Barbie’s DreamHouse is a behemoth of a mansion that only outdoes itself with each iteration. And G.I. Joe, with all of the action-packed scenarios its characters are placed in, sorely lacks a perspective into the Joes’ home lives. How does Duke deck out his living room? What does Snake Eyes do to unwind after a long day fighting evil? Do all the Joes live together in some sort of Real American Hero apartment? Only a franchise like Barbie could tackle these pressing questions.
Enchantimals and Nerf
Nerf has always been about one-on-one combat, but it’s time the toy gun franchise expanded into animal conservationism. Teaming up with Enchantimals, Mattel’s line of dolls with magical animal abilities, would give Nerf a seamless transition to foam-tipped hunting products.
Scrabble and Thundercats
It’s everyone’s favorite dictionary-based board game, except you can only spell out terms and names from Mattel’s line of cat-like humanoid aliens. Do you have enough letters to spell Cheetara? How about Turmagar?
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