B.I.G.G. Time in 2023

By David Vonner

B.I.G.G. TIME

in 2023

Ladies and Gentlemen...Boys and Girls... and Kids of All Ages! Welcome to the second installment of B.I.G.G. TIME! With 2022 coming to an end (wow that was FAST!), and with 2023 upon us, I absolutely cannot WAIT to experience the new, exciting and awesomely fun World rising on the horizon. During the height of the pandemic, there was so much uncertainty surrounding the overall development, shipping and delivery of quality product, that it was almost nauseating. Uncertainty was - and in some cases still remains - at an all-time high. New toy assortments and lines that may have taken months, if not years, to launch are suddenly threatened with total collapse by a global bottleneck of epic proportions. I reside in Long Beach, Calif., directly along the Pacific Coast line. I could see first-hand what could only be described as an armada of cargo ships stretched for miles along the Pacific Coast that were going absolutely nowhere. For days. For weeks. For months. Doom was in the air, and the sky was literally falling. As the World all but gave in to the panic, and news pundits stood on their very high soap boxes with their very loud bullhorns proclaiming the end of business as we know it, something began to happen. Kids, being Kids of all ages, wanting to do Kid Stuff!

No matter what the age, humans want to play. We have to play. And play led the world back to sanity. Families began to turn that dining room table piled with bills and junk mail, back into the arena of Family Board Game Fun. Grandparents taught Grandchildren card games from times past, and in turn, Grandparents became masters of video games such as Subway Surfer, Roblox, and Minecraft.

Kids began to experiment again, and STEAM became an even bigger and more important role in play and development. Adult Kids laid heavy into their love of action figure collectibles, especially collectibles based on new movies, streaming shows, and legendary rock and hip-hop musicians.

Content really became the ruler of the land, and everyone was totally invested. Even one of the most successful new binge worthy episodic shows was based on old kid games. The Netflix episodic series ‘Squid Game’ became a global phenomenon, which is rooted in childhood outdoor games and challenges.

To me, it’s a no-brainer for such a success. We all can relate to being a kid, and wanting to go outside to play, to explore, and to be adventurous.

Kids can’t be stopped, and our collective joy of play was proven. According to global market information company NPD, global toy sales increased 30 percent compared to pre-pandemic sales in 2019. The Toy Industry is healthy, and can maintain so, with proper management. Of course as a knee jerk reaction to bottlenecks at our ports of entry such as the Port of Los Angeles, companies began over supplying once movement began. However, we can’t ignore the glaring demand to be immersed in play in some form or fashion.

So now that we are managing day-in and day-out to navigate in this new world of product delivery, let us never forget the value and necessity of play. How toys and games can strengthen family bonds, even if the family members are miles apart.

Let’s always appreciate the memories play can conjure up, and how millions of our elderly family members hold dear to those memories years gone by. Let us always be held captive by the infectious laughter of a child who is amazed by the magical experiences of hearing their favorite character speak and sing to them for the first time.

Or the joy of a son living his Lebron James dreams, finally hitting that trick basketball shot over their dad’s head. The breeze that caresses cheeks as you’re riding your bike or Big Wheel through the quiet

(continued from page 12) asphalt jungles of the neighborhood. The feeling of freedom. That’s what play does. Playing allows you to be free, and enjoy everything about it. The Pandemic brought forth new pioneers, who looked at the risk straight in the face, and decided to go full steam ahead with their dreams.

New companies such as the

Nacelle Company, known for their Netflix docuseries

‘The Toys That Made Us’ decided that despite every challenge the toy and manufacturing world faced, were going to start their new toy division, spearheaded by

Yours Truly. With manufacturing uncertainty, shipping chaos, and distribution hell, we STILL managed to design, develop and ship our first action figure toy line, Robo Force, on time, and delivered from Santa by Christmas 2022.

We saw an explosion of minority owned toy and doll companies getting their just due, and fostering much success. Creators such as Yelitsa Jean-Charles and her very beautiful and inclusive doll line Healthy Roots Dolls rolled into major retail chains such as Target.

Major toy companies such as Hasbro doubled down with presenting more diverse characters in their lines such as Simu Liu’s Shang-Chi and Kamala Khan’s Ms. Marvel. We’ve seen creatives such as Kemp Powers (co-director of ‘Soul’ and the upcoming ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2’) create mind boggling content, and change the landscape of how we view animation and cinema. We even saw the introduction of the Black character SunMan become fully embraced by Mattel and The Masters of The Universe. 2023 will bring even more experiences to the table. Through art, science and culture, the future of our society hinges on what some are quick to call ‘disengaged,’ or those who lack patience due to instant gratification. Where other areas are lacking, toys continue to be a conduit for youth to express themselves in ways that will prepare their minds in a multitude of ways. From music to fashion,

The feeling science to fantasy, toys are becoming vehicles to share ideas, and present new of freedom. business opportunities for those with

That’s what play does. imaginative minds. We still have a long road ahead of Playing allows you to be us. Supply chain issues still persist, and as free, and enjoy everything mentioned earlier, the panic reaction of over shipping is already hitting shelves. about it. However, all is not lost. Now, more so than ever before, the toy industry is proving more and more that it can withstand the pressures of an up and down economy, social angst, and global pandemics. We’re toy people, and we SHALL Prevail! Let’s continue on being the soldiers of fun and break new ground in 2023. Play, have fun, and keep truckin’! For The Culture.