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If you were a little girl in the 1980s, you probably hugged a Care Bear before you went to bed, slept on Rainbow Brite sheets, and watched the "My Little Pony" cartoon before you went to elementary school.
If you were a little boy in the 1980s, you probably played with GI Joe action figures, thought Optimus Prime was the coolest name, and didn't know Michelangelo, Leonardo, Donatello and Raphael were actually famous Italian artists and not teenage crime-fighting turtles.
Twenty-somethings who fondly remember their childhood toys are in nostalgic heaven, as this year sees the reissue of all the above toys and more.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Transformers, Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake, My Little Pony, Rainbow Brite, and the Masters of the Universe series are all being reborn, in both classic and updated incarnations, and are expected to be the Furbys and Tickle-Me-Elmos of this year's holiday season.
The difference is that, often, these toys are not being bought for children.
"Care Bears are going crazy--it's hard to keep them on the shelves," said a toy associate at Wal-Mart Supercenter in Central Park. "And it's mostly 20-somethings who are buying them."
"I'd say more than 50 percent of the people who buy the retro toys are adults buying for themselves," said Shannon Lien, assistant manager at Hot Topic in Spotsylvania Mall. She said all the retro brands the store carries are selling extremely well.
The relaunch of these beloved toys, most of which were retired by the early 1990s, is part of a general 1980s pop culture saturation. From VH1's hugely successful "I Love the '80s" series, to J.Lo re-creating Jennifer Beals' "Flashdance" look in a recent music video, to a New Wave influence in the music of current bands like Interpol and Stella-starr*, the era of shoulder pads and neon ankle socks is back in a big way.
Executives at companies overseeing the relaunch of these retro toys and employees of toy stores see many reasons fueling the trend.
"Post-9/11 there has certainly been a move toward things that are safe and comfortable," said Jedd Gold, director of brand marketing and promotions at DIC Entertainment, the new parent of Strawberry Shortcake. "The 1980s resurgence is bringing back very comfortable and safe brands that people love."
"These toys are comforting in trying times, and we're living in trying times," said the toy associate at Wal-Mart. "It's like comfort food."
In the past few years, little girls especially were being bombarded with edgy, aggressive marketing campaigns for fashion and makeup and images of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera baring their midriffs as much as possible. The '80s toys are about the joy and innocence of simply being a child.
"For Hasbro, My Little Pony was about celebrating the moment that the little girl lives in," wrote Valerie Jurries, who does marketing for the brand, in an e-mail.
Gold said Strawberry Shortcake celebrates the same thing.
"She's about letting little girls be little girls, not trying to have them be older and cooler and trendier," he said.
Brands like Care Bears are celebrating their 20th anniversaries this year, making 2003 an ideal moment for a relaunch.
Also, Gold added, market research showed that children who grew up with these toys are now at the age where they are starting to have their own children, and they want to pass on their fond memories.
"Little girls are our target market, but we know of plenty of moms that enjoyed My Little Ponies when they were children, growing up in the early '80s," Jurries said. "For these moms, MLP is a really special experience. Mom can give her little girl the friends that she knew and loved."
Several of the lines, like Strawberry Shortcake and Care Bears, are being relaunched in two phases. The classic toys, appearing as today's 20- to 30-year-olds remember them, are available at specialty stores like Hot Topic and Gadzooks, while updated versions are selling at larger venues such as Target, Toys "R" Us, and Wal-Mart.
"We thought the classic program would wane and be replaced by our new original model, but there's been such a huge demand for both that we've got two extremely successful programs running concurrently," Gold said.
For Strawberry Shortcake, the biggest change is in the artwork. The original, who was the first scented doll and appeared on the market in 1980, wore a pink, puffy bonnet, a red dress with an apron, bloomers and green-and-white-striped stockings.
"She had a very '80s feel," Gold said. "In order to reintroduce her to a new generation we had to make her relevant."
The new Strawberry has the same winning, wide-eyed face and red curls, but she's wearing jeans and a striped shirt and has a sweater tied around her waist.
"She's still the same sweet and fun and spunky little girl that people remember, but she's cool now," Gold said. He added that in test studies most people looked at the new doll and immediately recognized her as Strawberry Shortcake, despite the changes.
The new line includes a state-of-the-art Web site with a storybook, e-cards and interactive games that are aimed directly at little girls. Four Strawberry movies were released last year, and Gold said four more are in production.
All this is so that the new Strawberry Shortcake outlasts the '80s trend, which will come to an end as all trends do.
"We've gone out of our way to successfully position her in the marketplace so that she's an evergreen brand," Gold said. "We want little girls to take her as their own."
Care Bears also have undergone some changes to prepare them for the 21st century. The original bears hit the market in 1983, and they were hugely successful. The pastel-colored bears each had a design on their tummy depicting their special area of caring: Friend Bear, Love-a-lot Bear, Cheer Bear and so on.
Like Strawberry Shortcake, the Care Bears relaunch has two programs, a classic and new line. The classic bears are just like those of the '80s that kids remember, but the new line of bears have colored feet and some new friends. For instance, now there's a Birthday Bear and an America Cares Bear.
Modern-day squeamishness over health issues also necessitated some interesting changes. The Share Bear of the 1980s had a tummy picture of a sundae cup with two straws. For 2003, this symbol was redesigned to depict twin lollipops.
"Because people today tend to be more sensitive about health concerns, it was felt that two lollipops set a better example for sharing than the sundae with two straws symbol," states the Care Bears Web site.
Even with the changes, the rate at which the retro toys are selling shows that people are happy to see these familiar faces again.
"It's not just kids buying them but adults," said Buddy Haught, manager of KB Toys in Spotsylvania Mall. "People are reliving the '80s. They want their kids to experience the fun they had."
To reach ADELE UPHAUS: 540/374-5434 auphaus@freelancestar.com