Jakks Pacific, Inc. is an American company that designs and markets toys and consumer products, with a range of products that feature numerous children's toy licenses. The company is named after its founder, Jack Friedman, who had previously founded LJN and THQ and presided over the company until retiring as CEO and chairman after March 31, 2010, a month before his death on May 3, 2010. Jakks produces action figures, electronics, dolls, dress-up, role play, Halloween costumes, kids' furniture, vehicles, plush, art activity kits, seasonal products, infant/preschool, construction toys, and pet toys sold under various proprietary brands including Jakks Pacific, Creative Designs International, Road Champions, Funnoodle, Go Fly a Kite, Jakks Pets, EyeClops, Plug It In & Play TV Games, Girl Gourmet, Kids Only!, Tollytots and Disguise. Jakks is a licensee of several hundred trademarks including

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 ...

, ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...

'' and

Nintendo is a Japanese multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produced handmade playing cards ...

History

Jakks Pacific, Inc. was founded in 1995. Jakks acquired several companies including Remco, Child Guidance, and Road Champions in 1997, Berk and Flying Colors in 1999, Pentech in 2000, Toymax, Go Fly A Kite and Funnoodle in 2002, Color Workshop and

Trendmasters Trendmasters was an American toy company based out of St. Louis, Missouri and was most notable for its figures based on the ''Godzilla'' series, as well as the 1998 film of the same name. It closed its doors in 2002, and its IP assets were ...

in 2003,

Play Along Toys Play Along Toys was a Florida-based toy company, and a wholly owned division of Jakks Pacific. In 1999, the founders of Play Along (among them Charlie Emby, Jay Foreman, and Larry Geller) chose the Britney Spears Doll line as the first licensin ...

in 2004, Pet Pal Corp. in 2005, Creative Designs International in 2006, and Kids Only Toys, Tollytots, and Disguise in 2008. In February 2005, Jakks Pacific was instructed to restate the financial statements for fiscal year 2003 to account for the acquisition of Toymax, Trendmasters and P&M Products. In 2010, the company formed Pacific Animation Partners LLC, a joint venture between that company and Dentsu Entertainment USA,

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

and

Topps The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures chewing gum, candy, and collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of American football, baseball, basketball, ice hockey, soccer, a ...

, to launch the '' Monsuno'' property in 2012. In 2012, Jakks Pacific announced the successful negotiation of licences for ''

The Dark Knight Rises ''The Dark Knight Rises'' is a 2012 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan, and the story with David S. Goyer. The film is based on the DC Comics character Batman, it is th ...

'' and ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', promoting new toy ranges at the New York and other International Toy Fairs. In 2014, the company launched Jakks Meisheng Trading, a joint venture with Meisheng Culture and Creative Corp., to bring its toys to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. In 2016, the two created Studio JP, a joint venture to produce animation.

Products

The company makes a variety of toys including Plug It In and Play TV games, various electronics, and action figures. The company also licenses global brand names for manufactured toys.

Plug It In & Play TV Games

Plug It In & Play TV Games interactive products are a series of plug-n-play game devices produced by Jakks Pacific. When connected to a

television set A television set or television receiver, more commonly called the television, TV, TV set, telly, tele, or tube, is a device that combines a tuner, display, and loudspeakers, for the purpose of viewing and hearing television broadcasts, or using ...

via RCA connector cables, the user is able to play a pre-defined selection of

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedba ...

s. Some models are collections of ports of games by companies such as

Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French publisher Atari SA through a subsidiary named Atari Interactive. The original Atari, Inc., founded in Sunnyvale, Ca ...

and

Namco was a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Namco Taiwan in Kaohsiun ...

, while others are collections of original games. Some versions facilitate the addition of games, via proprietary GameKey expansion cards, and/or include wireless features.

List of ''TV Games''

* ''

1 vs 100 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length&nb ...

'' *

Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one ...

* '' Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?'' * Atari series ** Atari Joystick Controller TV Video Game System **Atari Paddle Controller TV Game System * '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'' * ''

The Batman Batman is a fictional superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Batman or The Batman may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media Characters * Batman (Terry McGinnis) * Batman (Thomas Wayne) * Batman (Earth-Two) * Bat ...

'' * ''Bejeweled Deluxe'' * ''Big Buck Hunter Pro'' * ''Big Buck Safari'' * ''

Blue's Room ''Blue's Room'' is an American puppet television series spin-off from ''Blue's Clues''. It was created by Traci Paige Johnson and Angela Santomero. The show aired on Nickelodeon as part of the Nick Jr. block, and it started out as short segments ...

'' *

Capcom is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. It has created a number of multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being '' Resident Evil'', '' Monster Hunter'', '' Street Fighter'', ''Mega Man'', ''De ...

* ''

Cars 2 ''Cars 2'' is a 2011 American computer-animated spy comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the sequel to '' Cars'' (2006), the second film in the ''Cars'' franchise, and the 12th animated film from ...

'' * ''

Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood ''Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood'' (known as ''Daniel Tiger's Neighbourhood'' in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and often abbreviated to ''Daniel Tiger'') is a Flash-animated (photographs-influenced) musical television ser ...

'' * ''

Deal or No Deal ''Deal or No Deal'' is the name of several closely related television game shows, the first of which (launching the format) was the Dutch '' Miljoenenjacht'' (''Hunt/Chase for Millions''). The centerpiece of this format is the final round (a.k ...

'' *

series * ''

Disney Princess ''Disney Princess'', also called the ''Princess Line'', is a media franchise and toy line owned by the Walt Disney Company. Created by Disney Consumer Products chairman Andy Mooney, the franchise features a lineup of female protagonists who ha ...

'' * ''

Dora the Explorer ''Dora the Explorer'' is an American children's animated television series and multimedia franchise created by Chris Gifford, Valerie Walsh Valdes and Eric Weiner that premiered on Nickelodeon on August 14, 2000, went on hiatus on June 5, 20 ...

'' series * ''

Dragon Ball Z ''Dragon Ball Z'' is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. Part of the ''Dragon Ball'' media franchise, it is the sequel to the 1986 '' Dragon Ball'' anime series and adapts the latter 325 chapters of the original ...

'' *

DreamWorks Animation DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios and simply known as DreamWorks) is an American animation studio that produces animated films and television programs and is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, a divisio ...

* ''

EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to imitate real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network ...

Madden &

NHL 95 ''NHL 95'' (also known as NHL Hockey 95) is an ice hockey video game developed by Electronic Arts Canada. It was released in 1994 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and the Sega Genesis. The team rosters and player attributes in the gam ...

'' * ''

Elmo's World ''Elmo's World'' is a segment that is shown at the end of the long-running American children's television program ''Sesame Street'' which premiered on November 16th, 1998, as part of a broader structural change to the show. It originally lasted ...

'' * ''Fantastic Four'' * ''

Frogger is a 1981 arcade action game developed by Konami and manufactured by Sega. In North America, it was released by Sega/Gremlin. The object of the game is to direct a series of frogs to their homes by crossing a busy road and a hazardous rive ...

'' * ''

Go, Diego, Go! ''Go, Diego, Go!'' is an American children's animated television program that premiered on Nickelodeon on September 6, 2005 in the United States. Created and executive produced by Chris Gifford and Valerie Walsh Valdes, the series is a spin-of ...

'' * ''

Hannah Montana ''Hannah Montana'' is an American teen sitcom created by Michael Poryes, Rich Correll and Barry O'Brien that aired on Disney Channel for four seasons between March2006 and January2011. The series centers on Miley Stewart (Miley Cyrus), a t ...

'' * ''

High School Musical ''High School Musical'' is a 2006 American musical television film directed by Kenny Ortega and written by Peter Barsocchini. The 63rd Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM) and first installment of the ''High School Musical'' film series, ...

'' * ''

Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given genera ...

'' * ''Mortal Kombat'' * '' ¡Mucha Lucha!'' * ''

My Little Pony ''My Little Pony'' (''MLP'') is a toy line and media franchise developed by American toy company Hasbro. The first toys were developed by Bonnie Zacherle, Charles Muenchinger, and Steve D'Aguanno, and were produced in 1981. The ponies feature ...

'' * ''

Pac-Man originally called ''Puck Man'' in Japan, is a 1980 maze action video game developed and released by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. Th ...

'' and ''

Ms. Pac-Man is a 1982 maze arcade game developed by General Computer Corporation and published by Midway. It is the first sequel to ''Pac-Man'' (1980) and the first entry in the series to not be made by Namco. Controlling the title character, Pac-Man's wif ...

'' series ( Namco series) * ''

PAW Patrol ''PAW Patrol'' is a Canadian computer-animated children's television series, children's television series created by Keith Chapman. It is produced by Spin Master, Spin Master Entertainment, with animation provided by Guru Studio. In Canada, the ...

'' series *

Nicktoons Nicktoons is a collective name used by Nickelodeon for their original animated series. All Nicktoons are produced partly at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio and list Nickelodeon's parent company (Viacom, now known as Paramount Global) in their ...

series *

Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californ ...

* ''

Power Rangers ''Power Rangers'' is an entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live-action superhero television series, based on the Japanese tokusatsu franchise '' Super Sentai''. Produced first by Saban Entertainment, second by BVS E ...

'' series * ''

The Price Is Right ''The Price Is Right'' is a television game show franchise created by Bob Stewart, originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman; currently it is produced and owned by Fremantle. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also inc ...

'' * ''

Phineas and Ferb ''Phineas and Ferb'' is an American animated musical-comedy television series created by Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh for Disney Channel and Disney XD. Produced by Disney Television Animation, the series was originally broadcast as ...

'' * ''Retro Arcade featuring

Space Invaders is a 1978 shoot 'em up arcade game developed by Tomohiro Nishikado. It was manufactured and sold by Taito in Japan, and licensed to the Midway division of Bally for overseas distribution. ''Space Invaders'' was the first fixed shooter an ...

'' * ''

Scooby-Doo ''Scooby-Doo'' is an American animated media franchise based on an animated television series launched in 1969 and continued through several derivative media. Writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears created the original series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are ...

'' * ''

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 ...

'' * ''Shrek'' * Spider-Man series (Notable games include: The Amazing Spider-Man and the Masked Menace, Spider-Man's Villain Roundup, more) * ''

SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (or simply ''SpongeBob'') is an American Animated series, animated Television comedy, comedy Television show, television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It ...

'' series (Notable games include: The Fry-Cook Games, Jellyfish Dodge, more) * ''

'' series * ''

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book '' Action Comics'' #1 ( cover-dated June 1938 and pu ...

'' * Super Silly Makeover * Tele-Doodle * ''

Thomas & Friends ''Thomas & Friends'' (originally known as ''Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends'' and later ''Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!'') is a British children's television series that aired across 24 series from 1984 to 2021. Based on ''The ...

'' * Triple Header Sports *

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the prom ...

* ''

Toy Story ''Toy Story'' is a 1995 American computer-animated comedy film directed by John Lasseter (in his feature directorial debut), produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The first installment in the '' Toy Story ...

'' series * Ultimotion series (Unlicensed

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, ...

Clones) * ''The Walking Dead'' ''Zombie Hunter'' * ''

Wall-E ''WALL-E'' (stylized with an interpunct as ''WALL·E'') is a 2008 American computer-animated science fiction film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed and co-written by Andrew Stanton, pro ...

'' * ''

Winnie the Pooh Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear and Pooh, is a fictional Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. The first collection of stories about the character w ...

'' *

Winx Club ''Winx Club'' is an animated series co-produced by Rainbow S.p.A., Rainbow SpA and later Nickelodeon. It was created by Italian animator Iginio Straffi. The show is set in a magical universe that is inhabited by fairies, witches, and other myth ...

* ''

Wheel of Fortune The Wheel of Fortune or '' Rota Fortunae'' has been a concept and metaphor since ancient times referring to the capricious nature of Fate. Wheel of Fortune may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Art * ''The Wheel of Fortune'' (Burne-J ...

'' ''series'' * WWE * World Poker Tour

Visual electronics

*EyeClops Toy Microscope - A 200X magnifying device that plugs into a TV. *EyeClops Bionic Eye Multi-Zoom - An EyeClops with 100X, 200X, and 400X magnification that plugs into a TV. *EyeClops Mini Projector - A mini projector that projects SD content up to 60 inches with loud & very clear audio. *EyeClops Night Vision - An infrared night vision device, in head-mounted and neck-strapped models. *EyeClops BioniCAM - A portable version of the EyeClops with an LCD screen, and the ability to save pictures and videos to a USB storage device.

Handheld games

*vMigo - A handheld

virtual pet A virtual pet (also known as a digital pet, artificial pet, or pet-raising simulation) is a type of artificial human companion. They are usually kept for companionship or enjoyment. People may keep a digital pet in lieu of a real pet. Digital ...

game, which can be docked into a TV adapter. *BioBytes - A handheld game, where the player uses their animal to attack the computer's, or a friend's (wirelessly). *

Telestory ''Telestory'' is an Australian television series which aired 1961–1962. Produced by Artransa Park and aired on ATN-7, it was a 15-minute series in which an actor would read from a book. The first season consisted of Leonard Teale reading '' The ...

Toy vehicles

*Fly Wheels *Xtreme Performance Vehicle (XPV) *Custom Garage *Shock Racers *MXS *GX Racers *GX Skate *Power Trains

Infant and toddler toys

*Child Guidance *KnotWud

Girls' activities

*It's a Girl Thing *If you Say Sew! *Lucky Bee Bee *Girl Gourmet *Style Six

Boys' activities

* Max Force *Real Construction *Spy Net Toys

Stationery products

*BloPens *Vivid Velvet *Pentech * UltraSharp

Seasonal

*Funnoodle *Go Fly a Kite *The Storm *Disguise Halloween Costumes

Pet

*White Bites *Naturally Convenient

Action figures

* WWE *

Rocky ''Rocky'' is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise and stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Burges ...

*''

'' *''

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

'' *UFPO *

Real Steel ''Real Steel'' is a 2011 American science fiction sports drama film starring Hugh Jackman and Dakota Goyo and co-produced and directed by Shawn Levy for DreamWorks Pictures. The film is based on the short story "Steel", written by Richard Mat ...

*Ryuji Juwara *

Licensed brands

The company also licenses various brands for toy production, including

Black & Decker Black+Decker Inc. is an American manufacturer of power tools, accessories, hardware, home improvement products, home appliances and fastening systems headquartered in Towson, Maryland, north of Baltimore, Maryland, USA, where the company was o ...

Cabbage Patch Kids Cabbage Patch Kids are a line of cloth dolls with plastic heads first produced by Coleco Industries in 1982. They were inspired by the Little People soft sculptured dolls sold by Xavier Roberts as collectibles. The brand was renamed 'Cabbage ...

Care Bears Care Bears are multi-colored bears, originally painted in 1981 by artist Elena Kucharik to be used on greeting cards from American Greetings. In 1983, the characters were turned into plush teddy bears. The characters headlined their own televis ...

DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green L ...

Marvel Universe The Marvel Universe is a fictional shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Comics take place. Super-teams such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Guardians o ...

Sonic the Hedgehog is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games are platformers m ...

, and

References

External links

Official Jakks Pacific Inc website
{{Superhero toy lines Companies based in Santa Monica, California Manufacturing companies based in Greater Los Angeles Video game companies of the United States American companies established in 1995 Toy companies established in 1995 Radio-controlled car manufacturers Toy companies of the United States Godzilla (franchise) 1995 establishments in California Companies listed on the Nasdaq

History

Products

Plug It In & Play TV Games

List of ''TV Games''

Visual electronics

Handheld games

Toy vehicles

Infant and toddler toys

Girls' activities

Boys' activities

Stationery products

Seasonal

Pet

Action figures

Licensed brands

See also

References

External links