Kenner Products

Kenner ProductsStar Wars: The Ultimate Action Figure Collection was a post-World War II era American toy company founded in 1947 by brothers Albert, Phillip, and Joseph L. Steiner, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Under subsequent ownership of the General Mills Group Kenner Products acquired a master license from Lucasfilm Ltd. to produce all toys, games, and crafts based on the 1977 Star Wars film.
Kenner, named after the street where the original corporate offices were located, manufactured a wide range of Star Wars–branded toys, with the most popular being their line of basic 3¾-inch action figures.
==History==
The Star Wars toys were a big part of the wider commercial success of the merchandise, planned for early 1978. In the holiday season of 1977, there was a big demand for toys, and Kenner sold empty "Early Bird Certificate Kits" for $16 that would be filled once the toys became commercially available. That year Kenner sold 42,322,500 units, with $100 million in revenue, making an impact in the subsequent licensing industry of the present times.The Secrets of Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire The enormous popularity of Star Wars contributed to the doubling of the company's sales since 1975 (more than $200 million in '78). 
The success continued in 1980, with The Empire Strikes Back line, and by 1983 more than 300 million Star Wars toys had been sold.
The action figures were hand-crafted and articulated. Some figures wore fabric capes. There were 96 action figures released in the movie figure lines, though the final card back promoted a full line of 92 action figures. This is because when Kenner produced new versions (with new, unique product numbers) of R2-D2 and C-3PO action figures, they discontinued previous versions. One version of C-3PO and two versions of R2-D2 were discontinued. Also the Yak Face figure was never available in the United States and was not pictured on the card backs.
By 1985, Kenner had sold over 250 million figures.Star Wars Year By Year: A Visual History, New Edition In 1985, Kenner Products merged with Parker Brothers to create Kenner Parker Toys, and Kenner Parker Toys was subsequently acquired by the Tonka Corporation in 1987.
On February 1, 1991, Hasbro Inc. acquired the Tonka Corporation, including Kenner, and let the Star Wars license lapse due to a perceived lack of interest in Star Wars. Following a long hiatus, Hasbro relaunched its Star Wars line under the Kenner brand in 1995, with the release of a revived The Power of the Force collection. These new figures were designed to be more appealing to children, with more active and aggressive poses. The capes were higher-quality vinyl.
The next year Kenner produced figures for Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire project, elevating the Star Wars lines to second most popular (after Batman) for a whole year.
After The Power of the Force and other subsequent releases, the Kenner logo was finally replaced with Hasbro branding in 1999. 
Hasbro closed the Cincinnati offices of Kenner in 2000, and Kenner's product lines were merged into Hasbro's. In later years, Kenner branding was revived for products with packaging reminiscent of the original toys, including Star Wars: The Vintage Collection and other series.
==In popular culture==
In the 1982 film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Star Wars action figures are included in a scene in which lead character Elliot introduces the alien "E.T." to objects in his everyday life.
In the 1994 The Simpsons episode "Lisa's Rival," Ralph Wiggum says "I bent my Wookiee" when he falls on his figure of Chewbacca. Ralph also enters a diorama of repackaged Star Wars action figures in a contest. His collection includes Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Chewbacca.
==Collections==
*Star Wars (1977-1979)
*Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980-1982)
*Star Wars Micro Collection (1982)
*Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983-1984)
*Wicket the Ewok (1984) 
*Star Wars: Droids (1985)
*Star Wars: Ewoks (1985)
*Star Wars: The Power of the Force (1985)
*The Epic Continues (1986) 
*Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire (1996) (Under Hasbro)
==Games==
*Star Wars: Electronic Laser Battle Game
*Star Wars: X-Wing Aces Target Game
*Star Wars: Electronic Battle Command
==Sources==
==Notes and references==
==External links==
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Category:Subsidiaries of Hasbro Inc.
Category:Toy companies