Warner Bros. Consumer Products has announced a multi-year licensing agreement. It names Neca the master toy, gift and specialty product licensee for the Harry Potter series throughout North America, Latin America and the Asia Pacific.
Harry Potter themed merchandise will roll out in conjunction with the film Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix scheduled to hit theaters in July 2007.
The company will develop a range of gifts, toys and specialty products including collectible action figures, plush, mugs, wall d?©cor and more, all inspired by the characters, creatures and themes from the Harry Potter stories. Mattel was the previous licensee.
As the Harry Potter series has matured with each subsequent film, so has its audience. The assortment of products being created by Neca will therefore be geared to appeal to older, loyal fans that have followed the stories over the years, while still offering something for younger fans that are new to the series.
In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry returns for his fifth year of study at Hogwarts and discovers that much of the wizarding community is in denial about the teenager’s recent encounter with the evil Lord Voldemort, preferring to turn a blind eye to the news that Voldemort has returned. Fearing that Hogwarts’ venerable Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, is lying about Voldemort’s return in order to undermine his power and take his job, the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, appoints a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher to keep watch over Dumbledore and the Hogwarts students.
But Professor Dolores Umbridge’s Ministry-approved course of defensive magic leaves the young wizards woefully unprepared to defend themselves against the dark forces threatening them and the entire wizarding community. So, at the prompting of his friends Hermione and Ron, Harry takes matters into his own hands. Meeting secretly with a small group of students who name themselves �Dumbledore’s Army,�
Harry teaches them how to defend themselves against the Dark Arts, preparing the courageous young wizards for the extraordinary battle that lies ahead. Neca designs, manufactures and markets of fine collectible products.