Filly (collectible figure)
| Filly | |
|---|---|
|
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| Owner / user | Dracco Company (Home Focus Development Ltd.) |
| Introductory year | 2006 |
| Products | Toys |
| Markets | worldwide |
| Website | http://www.filly.com/ |
A filly (from English filly = mare foal , young mare ) is a horse-like collectible and toy figure . Fillys are also used as a theme in various media and merchandising products. The target group are primarily girls between the ages of four and seven. The concept is developed by Dracco , headquartered in Hong Kong ; In Germany, marketing was taken over by Simba Toys under an exclusive license until the end of 2013 . In January 2014, however, Simba returned the license.
history
Before Filly , Dracco had developed other types of collectible and toy figures. The company was founded in 1997 by the Danish brothers Jacob and Henrik Andersen. They chose Hong Kong as their location primarily because of its proximity to the preferred production facilities for toys in Asia, particularly in China.
Dracco designed the first Fillys in 2006 as simple collectible toy figures. In the course of the following years, the concept was further expanded over several series (see below, Series section ), each with one topic. An extensive merchandising system was also set up based on the figures (see below, section Merchandising and Media ).
In Germany, from 2007 to 2011, a total of more than 20 million Fillys were sold, of which more than 6 million in 2010 and 8 million in 2011. By 2012 the number of Fillys sold rose further to over 25 million, and by mid-2013 it was around the world 60 million.
Merchandising and media
In addition to the actual collectible and toy figures (from 2007 in two sizes) with associated collectible cards , Fillys appear as a theme in various other products and media:
- Toy accessories like stables, carriages, houses and castles
- Clothing, bed linen and various accessories , stuffed animals , advent calendars , school bags , stickers , crayons, ...
- Magazines (produced by Blue Ocean Entertainment , circulation> 200,000)
- Painting , puzzles -, crafts , Venner and reading books (produced by Friendz-Verlag , a total of> 1 million sold to autumn 2012)
- Radio plays (produced by Europe ,> 650,000 sold from 2011 to early 2013)
- TV series ( Filly Funtasia produced by the Spanish animation studio Screen 21 on behalf of BRB Internacional ,)
- Online computer games and apps
description
Fillys are mostly kept in typical girls' colors (pink, pastel tones, ...) and use the child pattern (big head, big eyes, round shapes, ...). The figures are horses or ponies, mixed with various, sometimes horse-like figures from legends and mythology such as unicorns , pegasi or sea horses . With colors, accessories, held objects, hairstyles and posture, each figure and each series has a characteristic appearance. For each series there is one (for the first time two in the Witchy series) specially designed "princess" with a reduced edition.
A background story is provided for each series and each figure, in which the places of residence, professions, hobbies and other preferences and characteristics of the Filly as well as the friendship and relationship relationships with each other are presented.
Contrary to what the meaning of the English name Filly (German filly ) suggests, there are - according to the description - not only female but also male Fillys.
Fillys are made of hard plastic. Their surface is flocked and feels velvety soft. The figures are available in two sizes: The original size is about 5 cm. The approximately half as large (2.5 cm) "baby" size was derived from this. Occasionally there are still smaller figures that were not produced as a regular series, but only as an accessory (e.g. as a chain or key ring).
The normal figures are sold in opaque, closed plastic bags ("blind pack") so that the buyer cannot see which figure he is purchasing before buying, which increases the attraction of collecting. In many series there are some figures with reduced editions that stand out due to their special features (e.g. special color) and which are particularly popular as collectibles.
Series
Since 2007, an average of about one new topic has been added each year. The basis for each topic is a standard series, usually consisting of 20 figures plus one or two princesses, each in two sizes, supplemented by special figures with a reduced edition. A special series on ice skates ("Ice / Eis") and / or a slightly different color or design variant of the standard series ("Silver", "Pink", "Magic", ...) was published for most of the topics.
The most important topics and series were:
| theme | year | Number of figures (normal + princess + special figures ) |
description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| series | output | Full size | Baby size | ||
|
Filly Forest
(Filly Forest) |
default | 2007 | 20th | - | Simple horse figures with fur in natural colors |
|
Filly Beach Party
(Filly Beach Party) |
default | 2008 | 20 + 1 | - | Simple horse figures with fur in bright colors |
| New edition | 2010 | 20 + 1 + 8 | 20th | New edition of the Filly Beach Party series from 2008 with a slightly different princess, supplemented by 8 figures from the Filly Forest series in more colorful colors | |
|
Filly Princess (Filly Princess) |
default | 2008 | 20 + 1 | 20 + 1 | Fillys with golden crowns. Princess Crystal is the only one with a crystal in the crown. |
|
Filly Fairy (Filly Fairies) |
default | 2009 | 20 + 1 + 8 | 20 + 1 | Fillys with golden crowns and green wings (made of fluorescent material); Princess Magic also wears a unicorn on her forehead, which is decorated with pink crystals. |
| Filly Ice Fairy | 2011 | 6 + 1 | ? | Fillys with gold crowns and pink wings on ice skates. On the bottom of the figure is a UV - light-emitting diode integrated with the figure with fluorescent surface leaves on a "Rink" a tracer. | |
| Filly Fairy Silver | 2013 | 20 + 1 | ? | Special edition, like Filly Fairy , but with a silver crown and silver wings (not fluorescent) | |
|
Filly Unicorn (Filly Unicorn) |
default | 2011 | 20 + 1 + 7 | 20 + 1 | Fillys with a unicorn on their forehead and a crown decorated with a crystal. Princess Sparkle has a golden horn and five crystals in the crown. Sonderfillys hold various items. |
| Filly Ice Unicorn | 2012 | 10 + 1 | ? | Fillys with unicorn and crown (like Filly Unicorn ) on ice skates with UV-LED (like Filly Ice Fairy ) | |
| Filly Unicorn Silver | 2012 | 20 + 1 | ? | Special edition, like Filly Unicorn , but with a silver horn and a silver crown | |
|
Filly Elves (Filly Elves) |
default | 2012 | 20 + 1 + 9 | 20 + 1 | Fillys with crown and floral decorations in the tail. Female fillys wear a necklace with a gemstone, male a bracelet (also with a gemstone) around a front hoof. Princess Jewel has a mood stone in the crown that changes color when you put your finger on it. Special figures hold various objects. |
| Filly Ice Elves | 2013 | 8 + 2 | ? | Fillys with crown, floral decorations and necklace with gemstone (like Filly Elves ) on ice skates (like Filly Ice Fairy ) | |
| Filly Silver Elves | 2013 | 20th | ? | Special edition, like Filly Elves , but with a silver crown and silver collar | |
|
Filly Mermaids (Filly Mermaids) |
default | 2012 | 11 + 1 | 1 | Fillys with gold crowns decorated with a crystal and fish tails ( hippocampus ). Female fillys wear a necklace around their necks, while males wear a bracelet around their front hooves. Princess Pearlia has a pearl in the crown and a crystal in the necklace. |
| Filly Pink Mermaids | 2013 | 11 + 1 | 1 | Like Filly Mermaids , but with a pink crown and necklace. | |
| Filly Mermaids Glitter | 2014 | 11 + 1 | 1 | Filly Mermaids with glittering tail fin. Princess Glitterina has a glittering rainbow fin and two crystals, one in the crown and the other in the necklace. | |
| Filly Mermaids Glitter Golden | 2015 | 11 + 1 + 5 | 1 | Like Filly Mermaids Glitter , but five Fillys with golden fins have been added, their fins also glitter. | |
| Filly Mermaids Super Glitter | 2016 | 11 + 1 + 5 | ? | Like Filly Mermaids , but with a metallic tail fin. | |
|
Filly Witchy (Filly Witches) |
default | 2013 | 20 + 2 | 20 + 2 | Fillys with crown and cape, which is decorated with a crystal. Princesses Abra and Cadabra wear a pointy hat that is decorated with five crystals. |
| Filly Witchy Magic | 2013 | 20 + 2 + 5 | 20 + 2 + 5 | Special edition, like Filly Witchy , but with a fluorescent cape. There are five new Fillys who also wear a hat like Abra and Cadabra , but it is only decorated with a crystal. | |
| Filly Ice Witchy | 2013 | ? | 1 | Fillys in a pointy witch hat that lights up (like Filly Witchy ) on ice skates (like Filly Ice Fairy ) | |
| Filly Silver Witchy | 2014 | 20th | - | Special edition, like Filly Witchy , but with a silver cape. | |
|
Filly Wedding (Filly Wedding) |
default | 2014 | 10 | - | Fillys dressed like bridal couples. Female fillys are dressed with a veil, wedding dress, bridal bouquet or flower ribbon on the front hoof. Male fillys are dressed in a suit and tie. There are a total of 5 bridal couples, 2 fillys per bridal couple. |
|
Filly Butterfly (Filly Butterflies) |
default | 2014 | 20 + 1 | 20 + 1 | Fillys with crown and large butterfly wings. Princess Scarlet has rainbow wings that are slightly larger when compared to the wings of the remaining 20 Fillys. It has five crystals in the crown. |
| Filly Butterfly Glitter | 2014 | 20 + 1 + 5 | 20 + 5 | Special edition, like Filly Butterfly , but with glittering wings. Five new Fillys have been added that have a different wing shape than the remaining 21 Fillys. | |
| Filly Silver Butterfly | 2015 | 20th | - | Special edition, like Filly Butterfly , but with silver wings. | |
|
Filly Stars (Filly Stars) |
default | 2015 | 20 + 2 | 20th | Fillys with a crown decorated with a crystal and transparent and glittering wings (glitter particles in the wings). Queen Cassiopeia and Princess Zodia have white, flocked wings, each decorated with two crystals. Queen Cassiopeia has five crystals in her crown, Princess Zodia one. |
| Filly Stars star twinkle | 2016 | 20 + 2 + 7 | ? | Special edition, like Filly Stars , but with glittering wings where the glitter particles are on the wings. Seven new Fillys have been added, whose wings are fluorescent and flocked. One of the seven new Fillys has three crystals in the crown and white wings, while the remaining six have purple wings and only one crystal in the crown. | |
| Filly Silver Stars | 2016 | 20th | - | Special edition, like Filly Stars, | |
| Filly Royale | default | 2016 | 20 + 1 | ? | Fillys with crowns, which is decorated with a crystal |
| Filly ballerinas | default | 2017 | 15 + 1 | ? | Filly with cute ballet shoes and tutu to change in bright colors. |
criticism
Educators and gender researchers criticize, similar to other play figures tailored to girls, that outdated gender-specific role models and clichés are promoted through the shape, color and other representation of the filly and the associated stories . It also criticizes the fact that children through collective incentives and the combination with other marketing products from the manufacturer to the excessive consumption are enticed. Many critics also find the artistic design of the Fillys simply cheesy .
In a test by the consumer magazine Öko-Test from 2011, in which toys from children's magazines were tested, Filly figures from the magazines Filly Magazin and Filly Special Princess received the grade "unsatisfactory" because of increased levels of harmful ingredients . A similar study from 2013 on behalf of the parliamentary group of the Greens showed residues of the heavy metal cadmium .
See also
Web links
- filly.com - Official website of Dracco Company Ltd.
- filly-pferde.de - Fan page of the DoWorks agency
- filly-pferdchen.de - fan page of cybob communication GmbH
- my-filly-horses.de.tl - Private fan page of Spooky
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Nadia Köhler: Children's toys: Why the Filly horses are so popular. Stuttgarter Zeitung , September 14, 2011, accessed on July 17, 2013 .
- ↑ a b c d Christine Meffert: Child heroes: The illusionists. Filly horses are a cross between a pony and a princess . In: ZEIT magazine . No. 45/2011 , November 3, 2011 ( full text in the ZEIT online archive ).
- ↑ a b Company Overview. Dracco Company, accessed August 23, 2013 .
- ↑ a b c d Little horses, really big . In: Simba Dickie Group (Ed.): YO-YO - The magazine of the Simba-Dickie-Group . No. 2/2012 , June 2012, p. 26–29 ( excerpt as HTML version , full text in the online archive ).
- ↑ Filly. Official presentation of the former licensee. Simba Toys, accessed January 10, 2014 .
- ↑ a b Filly history. Simba Toys, accessed August 23, 2013 .
- ↑ On gentle runners. Simba-Dickie-Group, April 5, 2011, accessed on August 23, 2013 .
- ↑ a b c Filly: Strong arguments, strong sales . In: Friendz-Verlag, Kids & Concepts GmbH (ed.): Strong brands, strong books . Self-published, Ravensburg 2012 ( kidsundconcepts.de [PDF] autumn).
- ↑ a b 60 million Filly horses sold. Nuremberg Toy Fair , May 30, 2013, accessed on August 23, 2013 .
- ↑ a b c Dracco with multimedia strategy for Filly. Nuremberg Toy Fair , February 2, 2013, accessed on August 23, 2013 .
- ↑ FILLY helps increase sales. in: Presse-Report - Retail magazine for press, tobacco & convenience , April 16, 2012, accessed on August 24, 2013 .
- ↑ Filly® on the road to success and soon as a television series. Hypekids (Goertz Media), March 6, 2013, accessed on August 28, 2013 .
- ↑ Neil Raymundo: Dracco and BRB Internacional Preps Filly Funtasia. ToonBarn, May 30, 2013, accessed August 28, 2013 .
- ^ At BLE Filly's leap into television. (No longer available online.) Licensing Italia, October 19, 2012, archived from the original on February 21, 2014 ; accessed on August 28, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Parvin Sadigh: Role Models for Girls: The Trauma in Pink. ZEIT ONLINE, December 15, 2009, accessed on August 24, 2013 .
- ↑ Daniel Decker: Unicorns are there for everyone - My contribution to #ichkaufdasnicht. Puking Unicorn, March 11, 2013, accessed August 28, 2013 .
- ↑ Toys from children's magazines: Aus die Maus . In: Öko-Test . July 2011 ( summary online ).
- ↑ Pollutants in children's toys: Toxic unicorns discovered. Stern online ( stern.de ), August 2, 2013, accessed on August 28, 2013 .
