Playmobil at Spielwarenmesse 2017: Creativity Comes to Life

Now it's off to Playmobil. There, presenter Simone Dericks goes in search of the new products for 2017. One new theme world is Ghostbusters. Based on the 1984 film, Playmobil has created a great adventure world for children that will probably also delight adult Ghostbusters fans. And what else is new? Find out in our video!

Ghostbusters play world Playmobil

Simone Dericks: Playmobil has been one of the leading manufacturers of toys for 40 years. This year, Playmobil has added a few movie licenses to its product range for the first time. And I will now take a closer look at which ones. Simone Dericks: Hello Ms. Auer! I'm delighted to be here with you at Playmobil and you've brought us some great new things for 2017. What have we got there? Claudia Auer: Yes, I'm also looking forward to welcoming you to our stand. We're already standing here with our new Ghostbusters game world. It will be launched worldwide in mid-May and is based on the original 1984 film. You can see our Ghostbusters fire station - with our Ecto-1, of course. It can park here and drive out and when the ghost alarm goes off, it sets off - with light and sound effects. It's important to us that we stay very close to the original, but of course we also want everything to be compatible with our Playmobil world.

New play worlds from Playmobil at the International Toy Fair

Simone Dericks: How did you come up with the new Ghostbusters theme world? Claudia Auer: Of course, we are always on the lookout for new themes and ideas that will develop our range in a meaningful way and we have received many inquiries and requests from children for licensed themes, so we set out to find them. It's important to us that they are long-lasting themes that really fit in well with our brand. Ghostbusters was right at the forefront of this. Simone Dericks: I find it really exciting that you say children. That means you really respond to the children's wishes. You communicate with them and then pick out exactly what the children want, what they would like to play with. Claudia Auer: They are the focus for us. We receive lots of letters and wishes from the children every day. We call them inventor letters and we evaluate them really intensively. We take a very close look at them and use them to constantly develop our range. Children are our target group and are close to our hearts. Simone Dericks: Probably the harshest critics too? Claudia Auer: Yes, even the harshest critics.

Simone Dericks: What age is the Ghostbusters package intended for? So who plays with it? Claudia Auer: It starts at the age of 6 - that's our recommendation. But of course there is no upper limit. We also get a lot of inquiries from adult fans. On the one hand, these are Playmobil fans, but of course Ghostbusters also has a large fan base. Simone Dericks: So if the original film was in '84, and they were teenagers back then, then they're already adults who will play with it, aren't they? Claudia Auer: Exactly, they'll be playing with it. They can't wait for it either. Simone Dericks: It's great that adults are embracing it. Claudia Auer: Yes, we're getting a great response on social media now that we've shown the products, it's going down really well. Simone Dericks: But is there anything else special that you have brought to Playmobil this year? Claudia Auer: Yes, I would like to show you something else. It's also based on a movie, "Taming Dragons Made Easy", and it's just around the corner. Simone Dericks: Oh. I remember that one too. I would like to see that.

Dragons Playworld Playmobil

Claudia Auer: Here we are with our dragon. This is Dragon Taming Made Easy. It's based on the second part of the movie. The Vikings live peacefully together with the dragons, here in the Viking fortress on this rock. This is our main article and of course all the friends we know from the movie and the series are there again. For example, Hiccup with Toothless, who is of course the main character. Of course, he has his best friend, Astrid, with him. She flies on the Storm Arrow and is always there to help and advise him. Simone Dericks: It's practically a must for anyone who loves this movie. Claudia Auer: This is a must for anyone who loves this movie and a must for anyone who loves dragons.

Simone Dericks: You said the Viking castle is the basis. What do you get with the castle - what is included in the package? Claudia Auer: Everything that is practically in the middle here on this pedestal is included. That comes to €119.99 and can of course be supplemented with many different items. In total, there are 7 items that make up the game world. What is of course very important is that you need a villain to fight against if you already have such great weapons. He's here on this dark ship. Simone Dericks: From what age do children play, especially here with Dragon Taming Made Easy? Claudia Auer: Because of our small parts, children under the age of 3 are not yet allowed to use the game, but from the age of 4 onwards it's all about playing. In essence, children aged 6-8 are the ones who are most interested in it from our point of view. Simone Dericks: But I would say that Playmobil wouldn't be Playmobil if you couldn't connect everything together. There are no limits to the imagination. Isn't it? Claudia Auer: That's right, you can combine all the play worlds with each other. For example, dragons can appear in the riding school or the ghosts in the house. Then the Ghostbusters have to come and save the party - there are no limits to the imagination. Simone Dericks: And that's a good thing! Claudia Auer: The children do that too and we don't want to tell you what to do. Simone Dericks: Then thank you, Ms. Auer. Claudia Auer: Thank you too. I'm very pleased that you were with us.

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