Q&A - Disney

The magic of Disney comes to Spielwarenmesse

Nigel Cook – vice president, Brand Commercialisation & Retail at Disney Consumer Products EMEA, tells the readers of this year’s Spielwarenmesse supplement how Disney will be supporting and engaging with its licensees in Nuremberg, and what 2025 has in store in terms of new content and licensing partnerships.

Will Disney have a presence at Spielwarenmesse 2025 and what will you be doing to support your exhibiting licensees?

Spielwarenmesse is a crucial place for us to connect with licensees, retailers and other key partners to discuss our joint plans together across products, retail activations and marketing campaigns. We're excited to share our plans for 2025 and 2026, across our evergreen franchises and much-anticipated studio releases alike, during our annual brand update on Thursday 30th January. The film slate over the next few years is exceptional and we're confident it will continue to drive appetite across audiences.

Visitors to the fair will see Disney franchises showcased throughout Spielwarenmesse via product and creative activations both on- and off-stand. Our teams have been working closely with key licensees to ensure our characters and stories are showing up in fun and innovative ways that demonstrate the impact of our combined efforts.

What Disney licensed product from core partners should visitors be looking out for during their time at the show?

All our key toy licensees will be present, showcasing a plethora of industry-leading product on display across six key franchises. We’re looking forward to celebrating the continued popularity of fan favourite products and brands including Lego and Tonies, plus Mattel’s brilliant Moana 2 range, Spin Master’s Bitzee, Disney Lorcana by Ravensburger, and of course Wow! Stuff’s Real FX Stitch. We’re also excited about newness coming through including our partnership with Magic: The Gathering on Marvel, puzzle innovations from Ravensburger and Simba Smoby’s new Stitch plush.

Looking ahead to 2025, what is Disney excited about in terms of new content and licensing partnerships?

2025 promises to bring viewers one of our strongest film slates yet. Marvel will kick off the year with Captain America: Brave New World, followed by Thunderbolts and The Fantastic 4. Summer will also see our latest Marvel pre-school expression hit screens, with Iron Man And His Awesome Friends debuting on Disney Jr and Disney+. This is part of our move to double down on pre-school, a move that also welcomes new series for Spidey and his Amazing Friends, Super Kitties and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse+.

The live action Lilo & Stitch is, of course, a huge upcoming moment for the Disney Classics franchise. We've seen an incredibly positive reaction to the recent teaser trailer, showing how the popularity of Stitch's character continues to go from strength to strength. We’re also expecting further growth for our Princess, Frozen and Moana franchises, with new marketing campaigns and exciting new product releases bolstering their already impressive performances.

Additionally, 2025 sees us celebrate some major milestones - Toy Story's 30th anniversary and what we're confident will be our strongest May 4th (AKA: ‘Star Wars Day’) to date - while we’re excited to release the much-anticipated Zootropolis 2 in November 2025.

With so many things to look forward to, we're excited to work with our partners on bringing such rich material to life through innovative and original licensed product.

Licensing was one of the very few strong growth areas for the toy market in 2024. As we head into a new year, do you think Licensing will remain just as crucial? And how does Disney view its position within the market as a key licensor?

Our position as the largest licensor in the world is thanks to our wealth of IP across key brands which keeps us at the forefront of the market. As we have seen in 2024, with the success of Inside Out 2, Deadpool & Wolverine and most recently Moana 2, our stories and characters have huge appeal across all demographics. This appeal is sure to be strengthened next year thanks to the Lilo & Stitch live action movie, Captain America: Brave New World and Zootropolis 2, in combination with our evergreen franchises.

Consumer products are at the forefront of fans' interactions with our brands. We remain committed to forging true partnerships with licensees that bring the very best product, marketing campaigns and retail activations to market - and to making the most of the stories we have to tell.