Playmates Toys: iCarly Review

My daughter, who is about to turn 5, has been straying from her usual TV shows and looking for something a little less “baby.”  She ended her search when she ran across iCarly on Nickelodeon.  

This humorous show features three friends (Carly, Sam and Freddie) who create their own webshow called iCarly.  The show lets kids be kids and includes sketch comedy and random dancing which Lily absolutely loves!  On the show, Sam uses a remote control to create sound effects such as applause, booing, and music signaling “random dancing.”  On more than one occassion, Lily has made the comment that Sam’s remote is “so cool!”

Playmates Toys and Nickelodeon realized that iCarly had great marketing potential and teamed up to bring kids great toys that let them pretend to be part of iCarly!  About Playmates Toys:

“With a history of over 40 years, Playmates Toys is among the most well respected and innovative marketing and distribution companies in the global toy industry with a proven heritage in both the creation of original and imaginative products as well as the development and management of profitable, long-term brand franchises. The company’s core licensed character and entertainment brands include Disney Fairies, Nickelodeon’s “iCarly” and H2O, The Halcyon Company, Warner Bros’ distributed “Terminator Salvation”, CBS Consumer Products- Paramount Pictures’ distributed “Star Trek”, Giochi Preziosi’s “Gormiti”, 4Kids Entertainment/Mirage Licensing’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and 4Kids’ Yu-Gi-Oh! and Dinosaur King. From its offices in Hong Kong, China, and the United States, Playmates Toys designs, develops and markets its products which are distributed in over 80 countries worldwide.”

I was asked to review one of those products, Sam’s Remote.  When it arrived, Lily was so excited and immediately turned on one of the iCarly episodes we had taped (the one where they go to Japan…it’s pretty funny, by the way!).  The toy remote looks exactly like Sam’s and makes all of the noises seen on the show.  Lily has enjoyed the “random dancing” as I knew she would, and has made me get up an dance at her will when she presses the button!

iCarly’s Fall 2009 line includes collectible vinyl figures, interactive playsets based on locations from the actual show, 10” fashion figures, and several gadgets inspired by Carly’s webshow.  Sam’s remote by Playthings Toys is available to purchase at Toys R Us for only $12.99!  It  would make an excellent stocking stuffer for your little iCarly fan!