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Fridge Pigs, Carpet Skates, Other New Toys

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Perhaps your toys don't need a makeover. Perhaps it's you. Get ready to play the home version of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. I'm not sure how you play this new board game, but decorating your bachelor pad with Budweiser posters is always a bad move.

In the ultra-serious, highly competitive world of child's play, there are few sure things. Spider-Man, however, is one of them. Marvel Enterprises and Sony Pictures have earned more than $1 billion off the cartoon crime fighter. With a movie sequel coming in July, you'll see another wave of stuffed animals, video games and sleeping bags spinning into stores.

You'll also see a new improved "Web Blaster" — a glove that shoots a web just like Spidey — which proved to be one of last year's most popular toys.

More and more, the toy business is a game of licensing, and many of the characters are from SpongeBob SquarePants, Lord of the Rings and Shrek. Manufacturers are also betting heavy on Halle Berry's next movie, Catwoman.

Of course, many new toys aren't really new. They're the same knapsacks and pencil boxes with a new TV or movie character emblazoned on the side. In fact, one company is banking on a stuffed cat that sings the "Meow-Meow, Meow-Meow" cat food jingle.

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