toys

If you're a fan of Pixar's many wonderful movies--and who isn't?--you've no doubt spent years caught up in the studio's terrific storytelling. But you've probably also been glued to your seat again and again by Pixar's terrific artistry.

Now, you can dig deep into the history of that work. With the new book "The Art of Pixar," Amid Amidi takes us inside the creative process behind Pixar's long list of hit films--"Toy Story," "Finding Nemo," "Monster's Inc.," "Ratatouille," "… Read more

It's not so easy to shop for "tech toys" anymore--not in the age of the iPhone and iPad, where convergence devices fill multiple needs and 99-cent apps substitute for impulse purchases. Still, there are a handful of amusing--and, in some cases, quite useful--ideas for the shopper who's stumped. … Read more

You know what the world needs? More bugs.

It's not enough that they already outnumber us 100 million to one. Toy company Hexbug has decided to make little robot larvae, which could hatch into the hottest stocking stuffer this holiday season.

Now, I know I'm not being completely irrational when I say I find these plastic larvae creepy. I can see how they could be the perfect gift for tech-savvy kids with an interest in robotics.

But come on, bugs? Who likes bugs (other than entomologists and those creepy people who buy dead bugs in frames)?… Read more

Buzz Lightyear is flying into high fashion, and he's taking Woody, the Aliens, and the rest of the Pixar-inspired crew with him, thanks to a new "Toy Story" fashion line from Bossini of Hong Kong.

A set of photos on Bossini's Facebook page show off the new line, which includes dresses, men's shirts, kids' costumes, and accessories.

Obviously, clothes that tap into the "Toy Story" motif are nothing new, as Disney and Pixar merchandise their movies faster than Kim Kardashian seeks out divorce lawyers. But from what I can make of Bossini's captions, it's laying out prices as high as $1,000 per three-eyed-alien tunic. … Read more

We predicted that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 release would cause some trouble, but there's three stories in particular we report today that put a dent in Jeff's argument that video games don't cause violence in real life.

If you're looking for a way to distract your kids while you play said games, though, Toys 'R Us is offering an Android tablet made just for kids that can browse the Web, read e-books aloud, among other time-wasters. It can even play 1080p HD video using a dual-core processor and a build-in Wi-Fi antenna.

Other stories leaked from today's podcast episode include Ashton Kutcher finally taking a step back from Twitter, the strange celebrity photos from the SKYRIM launch party, and the start of super-inflated hard drive prices as a result of the floods in Thailand.… Read more

Rock 'Em Sock 'Em robots are back, and they're bigger and more kick-ass than ever.

Just in time for the holidays, Hammacher Schlemmer is selling a pair of bumper cars designed to look and act much like the Rock 'Em Sock 'Em robots we loved as kids. The Bionic Bopper cars feature a steel-cage cockpit where the driver can sit and use two joysticks to maneuver the robot's arms and deliver metal-crushing uppercuts to the opposing robot's head.

The cars measure 74 inches high by 59 inches wide by 62 inches deep. Each is equipped with a display in its midsection to keep tally of the score (one hit equals one point).

Three wheels underneath the 850-pound machines allow you to move forward, backward, left, and right at a breakneck speed of 3 mph, and rubber bumpers along the bottom of the vehicles ensure that the fighters are at "optimal distance for scoring." Also, prepare for some epic battles because the Bionic Boppers' gas engine promises up to five hours of continuous use. … Read more

From Hot Wheels to Legos, this stop-motion video by French Web designer and animator Micael Reynaud provides a wonderful trip down memory lane.

The two-minute clip, titled "The King of Lego Land," is simply brilliant. And I'm ecstatic that Magic 8 Ball made it into the roundup, along with Nintendo games, Transformers, and of course, Legos.

How many of these toys did you play with as a kid? … Read more

Our guest today is Robin Yang of Toy Studio, one of Barnes & Noble's premier gaming publishers for the Nook Color tablet. She'll help us out with the rundown that includes stories about the real 53 percent, the long-awaited Facebook app for the iPad, MacBook Air competitor Ultrabooks from Asus, and how to run Android apps on a PC.… Read more

It's understandable that many people who buy a digital SLR would not want imperfect photos. Why spend all that money just to get out-of-focus, soft shots? Well, sometimes, it's just fun to think about your photography in a different way. And that's where the Digital Holga lens comes in.

The base Holga lens is just a simple plastic lens with an effective aperture of f8 and a focal length roughly equivalent to 60mm with a manual zone focus. (It's based on the lens design from the plastic Holga film cameras.) The Kitchen Sink kit I tested--available for Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax, and Olympus digital SLRs--included this base lens, three close-up, two macro, fish-eye, 2.5x telephoto, and wide-angle lenses. All of these additional lenses just slide onto the front of the base lens. … Read more