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By: Nicholas Eskey Welcome back to another exciting episode of “The Beat’s Weekly Toy Review & Preview! We have a humdinger of an episode today kids, as a lot of collectible figures have been announced recently. Since I couldn’t narrow my favorites down to a short list, be prepared for a longer than usual post. […]

Netflix’s slate of original animated programming continues to grow with the recent announcements of three new series: "The Knights of Sidonia," "Ever After High" and "Dinotrux."

Nickelodeon hosted the 25th annual Kids’ Choice Awards this weekend (where the top stars in the youth world went home with orange blimps and slime covered clothes. It’s no surprise that Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez were among the big... Read the rest of this post

Katniss. Barbie. Those two names couldn’t summon more disparate images. Katniss — the main character from “The Hunger Games,” if you’ve been living under a rock — is a badass warrior who could care less about her appearance and just... Read the rest of this post

Today we bring you another installment of Youth Media Movers and Shakers. We’ve culled through industry publications looking for the recent executive placements we think you should know about. If you have executive news that you want us to... Read the rest of this post

Today we bring you our weekly sampler of cool youth media and marketing gigs. If your company has an open position in the youth media or marketing space, we encourage you to join the Ypulse LinkedIn group, if you haven’t yet, and post there for... Read the rest of this post

Clearly Snookie, the Situation, and the rest of the ‘Jersey Shore’ cast are, um, social creatures (but so are their show’s viewers. The premiere episode of season four broke all kinds of social viewing records, including the number... Read the rest of this post

We may have drooled over this photo (of the guys of “The Hunger Games.” What do you think of Liam Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson as Gale and Peeta? And why do we have to wait so long for this movie?? Speaking of books we’re... Read the rest of this post

Finding clean music for kids just got easier (thanks to RhymbaKid and RhymbaTween, the newest customizable music stores from VerveLife. The promotional stores feature age-appropriate songs that parents will appreciate and kids will enjoy.... Read the rest of this post

Today we bring you our weekly sampler of the cool youth media and marketing gigs. If your company has an open position in the youth media or marketing space, we encourage you to join the Ypulse LinkedIn group, if you haven’t yet, and post there... Read the rest of this post

Toy Fair (caters to the young and the wireless. Among the playthings that blurred the line between high and low tech were huggable Angry Birds, digital piggy banks and an interactive Little Mommy doll from Mattel that GizModo takes to task for its... Read the rest of this post

Mattel partners with General Mills (to include exclusive Hot Wheels pullback racers in boxes of five of its popular kids' cereals — its first such deal in five years. Each box also includes a code for kids to access the Hot Wheels Racing Circuit... Read the rest of this post

Facebook rolls out revamped profile pages (to display user info more visually with photos made prominent, top interests showcased as images and more descriptive relationships. In a savvier roll-out than years past, the new layout was announced on... Read the rest of this post

Today's Ypulse Guest Post comes from Shann Biglione, a digital media advertising expert, who reports back from the 2010 Engage! Expo, sponsored by Engage Digital Media, which took place in Santa Clara, CA. If you work in youth media or marketing and... Read the rest of this post

Snoop Dogg blows up a 4-ton armored truck (in a promotional stunt for the new Zynga game 'Mafia Wars Las Vegas,' that is. The explosive promo, which the gaming giant promised fans would take place when the title hit 10 million users, was broadcast... Read the rest of this post

Universal, MTV call truce for the VMAs (Though Viacom-owned MTV.com recently lost the rights to stream videos by Universal artists — like Justin Bieber, who's up for Best New Artist — the label will allow the site to publish its... Read the rest of this post

Comic-Con 2010 (Debates over digital comics and the future of the industry heat up the convention floor. Also Stan Lee unveils three new superheroes [pictured here], 'Scott Pilgrim' premieres, more backlash against 3D and a new fleet of toys for... Read the rest of this post

Mattel launches 'Shine On Now' (The girl-powered pro-social promotion for the American Girl line will promote charitable fundraising, volunteer work.. and the new AG virtual world) (MediaPost, reg. required) - Sony advertises 'Social Network'.. on... Read the rest of this post

We saw Toy Story 3 last week. The Ken doll was hilarious and his wardrobe brought back some memories. One of the outfits he wore was the Tropical Ken swimsuit. I still have Tropical Ken, so I brought out my old Barbies for the kids to play with this week.

Peaches N' Cream Barbie (1985) was my favorite with her fancy ballroom dress. This year (2010) Mattel released a vintage reproduction Peaches N' Cream Barbie in their My Favorite Barbie® Doll Collection. Tempting...I might just have to get one (for my daughter, of course). :)

Ubisoft to release performance-based Michael Jackson video game (the dance and karaoke game will be among the first to use motion sensor technology. And in other E3 news, Nintendo unveils its portable console for 3D games — no glasses required... Read the rest of this post

'Twilight,' Tom Cruise and lots of bleeping (dominated the MTV Movie Awards last night. Also Sandra Bullock accepted the MTV Generation Award. Understand the PR move, but anyone else feel like this was an odd fit? New York Magazine asks the same... Read the rest of this post

Being an independent, self-actualized, card-carrying feminist, I banned the Barbie. When my first daughter was born, I placed an embargo on the minx from Mattel, instructing family and friends not to consider eleven plastic inches of skewed body image appropriate for gift-giving occasions. Given the personalities of the people in my life and gene pool, this was really just a challenge. I might as well have waved a red, Barbie-covered flag to incite them to purchase. Before she was two years old, Keilana had an entire Rubbermaid tub filled with Barbie, her sisters, her friends, and their clothes, toys, and various accessories. None of which was purchased by me. So pervasive is her influence that it is fruitless to fight the Barbie battle--she is everywhere. In addition to a universe of dolls and their stuff, there are Barbie toothbrushes, board games, laptops, and legions of miniature bras for little girls who can only aspire to falling short of measuring up. Since you cannot fight the Barbie tide, and Scarlett is my third daughter, I have redirected my efforts into raising my daughters’ awareness of who they can become rather than who (God willing) they will never be. Since Barbie is such a heavily-marketed pink-butterflies-and-purple-unicorns temptress, it is no surprise that, in our book-finding trip to the thrift store, Scarlett would be magnetically drawn to Sue Kassirer’s Barbie Sleeping Beauty in all its cotton candy-colored splendor. After all, Barbie’s kind of like the Borg. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.

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HBO brings 'Funny or Die' to TV (Plus The CW renews "Gossip Girl," "The Vampire Diaries," "90210," "Supernatural" and "America's Next Top Model." And Nick renews its game show "Brain Surge." Also the new MTV series "My Life as Liz" is revealed... Read the rest of this post

Time for part two of what we saw as the biggest trends that shaped the youth media and marketing world in 2009. This also wraps up our YIR coverage except for predictions (send us yours!), which we'll post after the new year. The Hunt For Lost Boys'... Read the rest of this post

It got a little more crowded in the doll world this week after two big brands introduced new lines for tweens: toy company Spin Master launched the Liv Dolls, complete with Liv world (a virtual world) and MGA Entertainment, a.k.a. the maker of Bratz... Read the rest of this post