Magic troll

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Children playing with plastic rollers
An adult troll collection

A troll doll , also a magic troll or steam doll, belongs to a type of plastic doll with long hair that represents a troll . The toys, which were extremely popular in the early 1960s, particularly in the USA, go back to the Danish woodcarver Thomas Dam (1915–1989). There were then several real troll waves, in which similar products from different manufacturers were successfully sold, especially in the USA from the 1970s to the 1990s. In particular, the magic troll dolls from Hasbro became internationally known and successful . Video games and a video show based on the characters were added in the 1990s. In 2003 Dam's company managed to better enforce its copyrights on the trolls in the USA. The attempt to renew the brand under Trollz in 2005 met with little customer interest. The dolls are popular collectibles. In 2016, the animated film Trolls with the characters was released.

history

In 1959, the Danish fisherman and wood carver Thomas Dam carved a troll doll for his daughter as a Christmas present. She went to school in Gjøl in Vendsyssel , where other children, especially girls, then asked for dolls like this too. Dam began to professionally manufacture and distribute the figures under Dam Things , Good Luck Trolls was one of the brands. Dam managed to gain a foothold in several other European countries with his troll dolls. The figures had their greatest success between autumn 1963 and 1965, which was referred to as a real toy fad , a (troll) toy wave or sky.

particularities

Dam's figures were very elaborately designed, with sheep's wool hair and glass eyes. Due to the commercial success as well as a loophole in Thomas Dam's US copyright documents, a large number of cheaper copycat products emerged. Dam's company was not impressed and continued production in Europe. In the later 1980s another attempt was made to succeed in the USA, in cooperation with EFS Marketing Associates, Inc (Farmingdale, New York) and under the brand name Norfin (R) Trolls .

A special feature of the trolls compared to other dolls was the proof that girls could get excited about imperfect, unfinished, ugly toys. It was precisely this that had not previously been systematically perceived or marketed. The difference between the trolls and, for example, Barbie dolls and classic dress-up dolls could not have been greater. The troll dolls were always very girl-specific, and several attempts in the mid-1990s to market them to boys failed. Attempts were made to market them as The Original Battle Trolls , Stone Protectors or - based on other popular characters - as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Trolls or Mighty Max . However, a portrayal as a cheerleading role was successful .

The video game Trolls was published in 1993 for Amiga , DOS and C64 , other games ( Super Troll Islands ) were published for the game platforms NES and SNES , among others .

Property rights

In 2003 Dam's family was able to regain the original copyright in the USA after a legal reform in the USA. Dam became the sole manufacturer in the USA. A trial by the Uneeda company against Dam, which had made millions with imitation figures, failed. In 2003, troll dolls were included in the list of the 100 Most Beautiful Toys of the 20th Century by the Toy Industry Association .

In 2005 the company DiC Entertainment received the license from Dam to sell the dolls in the USA, but had no success with its marketing strategy, which resulted in a conflict with Dam as the licensor. In 2013 DreamWorks Animation announced that it had acquired the worldwide image and distribution rights with the exception of Scandinavia. In autumn 2016, the American studio DreamWorks Animation brought the computer-animated film Trolls to the cinema.

museum

In May 2019 the small museum Troldemuseet opened in Thomas Dam's hometown Gjøl (Limfjordsgade 50, 9440 Aabybro).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Good Luck Trolls Are Back! . www.goodlucktrolls.com. Archived from the original on February 13, 2009. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
  2. ↑ BNA's patent, trademark & ​​copyright journal Bureau of National Affairs (Arlington, Va.) - 2002
  3. ↑ The Guide to United States Popular Culture Ray Broadus Browne, Pat Browne Popular Press, 2001 p. 244
  4. ^ Sociology: Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life David M. Newman, Pine Forge Press, December 8, 2009, p. 143.
  5. ↑ Go! Fight! Win !: Cheerleading in American Culture, Mary Ellen Hanson, Popular Press, Jan. 1, 1995, p. 189
  6. ^ Troll Company v. Uneeda Doll Company , 483 F.3d 150 (2d Cir. April 13, 2007). Retrieved October 25, 2011.
  7. ^ "Toy Industry Association Announces Its Century of Toys List." Business Wire , January 21, 2003 . Retrieved October 31, 2008.
  8. ^ Lawsuit Charges Fraud In Deals for Iconic Troll Doll; DIC Entertainment `` Cynically Concealed '' Financial Woes - 31/10/07 - 305539 . elEconomista.es. October 31, 2007. Retrieved June 23, 2010.
  9. ↑ DreamWorks Animation Acquires IP For Trolls With Plans To Take Iconic Dolls' Brand (And Hair) To New Heights . In: DreamWorks Animation , April 11, 2013. Archived from the original on April 29, 2013. Retrieved on April 13, 2013. 
  10. ↑ Fritz Göttler: Please hug now! In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . October 24, 2016, accessed December 18, 2016 .

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