Applause Inc. was a company that produced

stuffed toy A stuffed toy is a toy doll with an outer fabric sewn from a textile and stuffed with flexible material. They are known by many names, such as plush toys, plushies, stuffed animals, and stuffies; in Britain and Australia, they may also be cal ...

s and collectible figurines. The company produced licensed toys from

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

, and Jim Henson's Muppets. Its principal subsidiaries included Dakin Inc. and International Tropic-Cal Inc. The Applause brand survives as part of Kid Brands.

History

The company was founded as The Wallace Berrie Company in 1966 by Wallace Berrie. In 1979 the company obtained worldwide rights to

The Smurfs ''The Smurfs'' (french: Les Schtroumpfs; nl, De Smurfen) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. ''The Smurfs'' was first created and in ...

and released figurines in 1979 at $1.50 each. The figurines became one of the best-selling toys of 1982. That year, the company acquired the Applause division from Knickerbocker Toys, which came with the licenses to

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...

, and

Raggedy Ann and Andy Raggedy Ann is a character created by American writer Johnny Gruelle (1880–1938) that appeared in a series of books he wrote and illustrated for young children. Raggedy Ann is a rag doll with red yarn for hair and a triangle nose. Gruelle re ...

. In 1986, the company changed its name to Applause Inc. and released

California Raisins The California Raisins were a fictional rhythm and blues animated musical group as well as advertising and merchandising characters composed of anthropomorphized raisins. Lead vocals were sung by musician Buddy Miles. The California Raisins w ...

merchandise. It would also produce various

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

merchandise, focusing largely on small figures and dolls, from the late 1980s into the early 1990s. In 1992, Applause released the Magic Trolls Babies toy line.

Dakin merger

From 1991 to 1995, the company built a strong retail business by focusing on its classic entertainment licensed brands with in-store merchandising displays as a platform for entertainment event properties, e.g.

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance, it ...

The Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the activities of the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighb ...

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of ...

The Little Mermaid "The Little Mermaid" ( da, Den lille havfrue) is a literary fairy tale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The story follows the journey of a young mermaid who is willing to give up her life in the sea as a mermaid to gain a h ...

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

, and

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

. Also during this period, one of the most significant events was the company's acquisition of the licensed rights to the very popular Looney Tunes characters. In late 1995 the company acquired

Woodland Hills, California Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Geography Woodland Hills is in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, which is located east of Ca ...

company, Dakin Inc., the most widely recognized brand name in stuffed animals. Dakin was founded in 1955 by Richard Dakin as an import business. This acquisition strengthened Applause's generic stuffed animal business to balance out its already strong entertainment license portfolio. Applause created a Strategic Alliances Group to oversee products for food-related and premium-based programs such as from

Taco Bell Taco Bell is an American-based chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962 by Glen Bell (1923–2010) in Downey, California. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The restaurants serve a variety of Mexican-inspired foods, includi ...

KFC KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that specializes in fried chicken. It is the world's second-largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with 2 ...

Kellogg's The Kellogg Company, doing business as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. Kellogg's produces cereal and convenience foods, including crackers and toaste ...

General Mills General Mills, Inc., is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, the company orig ...

, and Pillsbury. In 1998 the company produced fast food toys for ''

A Bug's Life ''A Bug's Life'' is a 1998 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It was the second feature-length film produced by Pixar. Directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Andrew Stant ...

'', ''

Mulan Hua Mulan () is a legendary folk heroine from the Northern and Southern dynasties era (4th to 6th century CE) of Chinese history. According to legend, Mulan took her aged father's place in the conscription for the army by disguising herself as ...

'', ''

Pokémon (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures (company), Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of ...

'' (KFC) and ''

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film ''Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produc ...

''.

Bankruptcy and acquisition

In 2004 CEO Bob Solomon took his own life once it became apparent the company was not going to survive. The company filed for bankruptcy shortly after his death. The Applause name was acquired by

Russ Berrie Kid Brands, Inc. () was a company that designed, developed and distributed infant and juvenile branded products. These products were distributed through mass market, baby super stores, specialty, food, drug, independent, and e-commerce retailers ...

in a bankruptcy auction.

References

* "Applause, a Novelty Maker, Sold to Management Group," ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', September 26, 1997, p. C4(N)/D4(L). * Bozman, Jean S., "New, Tougher Garfield Emerges," Computerworld, February 17, 1992, p. 53. * Cuneo, Alice Z., "Hot Raisins; It's Licensed Products That Bring Big Bucks," Advertising Age, May 16, 1988, p. 30. * "Custom Warehousing, Distributor Services Pay; Dakin, Stafford Make a Winning Combination," Playthings, May 31, 1989, p. 10. * "Applause to Sell Name; Bankrupt Toy Company's Label to be Shed for $4 Million," Los Angeles Daily News, September 30, 2004.

External links

Fundinguniverse.com
{{Teddy bears Toy brands Toy companies established in 1966 Defunct manufacturing companies based in Greater Los Angeles Toy companies of the United States 1966 establishments in California American companies established in 1966 Manufacturing companies established in 1966