Fun-4-All files for Chapter 11

[Phillip Chapman]

Saw this over at the Palisades board...

NEW YORK — Citing unspecified "developments that negatively impacted the company," toy manufacturer Fun-4-All Corp. has filed a voluntary petition with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Chapter 11 reorganization protection.

"This was a difficult decision and a wide range of alternatives were explored before making this choice," said Scott Bachrach, Fun-4-All CEO, in a letter sent to its retail partners and to Playthings this morning. "However, the company determined that reorganization under Chapter 11 was the correct course of action for the long-term future of Fun-4-All Corp."

Today the court approved an interim cash collateral order with the consent of the toymaker's lenders. While operating under Chapter 11, Fun-4-All expects to achieve "an orderly and timely restructuring of our debt and allow for the current payment of bills."

"With this assistance in hand, we have the full intention of continuing to move ahead expeditiously," Bachrach asserted.

Fun-4-All has been best known for arts & crafts products and novelties bearing licenses from the likes of The Wiggles, Crayola, Garfield, Cabbage Patch Kids, Sesame Street and Astro Boy.

[Fozzie Bear]

Too bad for them, but I wonder what this means about the SS action figures? I would like for Palisades to be able to get SW to agree to let them do the stuff now, but I suppose we'll see what happens?

Just becasue they are now bankrupt doesn't mean they can't make the toys, I suppose.

[pxlforge]

no, but we can hope

[muppetbear]

i didnt like their view on the toys. the license belongs to palidises. they have proved to be able to handle the legegy of jim henson.

[AndyWan Kenobi]

Well, if it really delays the action figures I'll be disappointed. I was looking forward to adding them to my collection!

:(

[Fozzie Bear]

i didnt like their view on the toys. the license belongs to palidises. they have proved to be able to handle the legegy of jim henson.

And I hope Disney keeps this in mind!!

[LadyVader]

Here We go kiddes another roller coaster ride throue Sesame Street Action Figure Land. Will Fun-4-All keep them or loose them could Palisades make there move and grab it. it all hangs in the blance. stay tuned to next week when we will hear Big Bird say "Palisades wwwwhhhhoooooPpppppEEEEEE!"

[pierat]

Phil,

Thank you for keeping us up to date but sorry to hear they lost it! :(

Hmm, Maybe Fisher Price could pick it up like old times!

De rat

PS I miss the old days with chat rooms
:)

[LadyVader]

I think the people at F4A knew that they were haveing trouble and thought Sesame would save them. Just a few quick figures and boom money money money. They didn't count on everyone haveing such high standards thanks to Palisades who raised the bar on action figures of this type. So now it was going to coast F4A more than they planed and poof. Thats all they wrote.

[Fozzie Bear]

F4A isn't out of business, yet, so it's likely they'll continue on with the making of the SS figures. I hate it for the guy who started the company, though, because you know that making toys was a life-long dream of his, and who's to say they aren't big SS fans to begin with?

I was just recalling some information that was given us a long time ago that Sesame Workshop gave them a character bible with Cartoons of the charcters from SS rather than the puppets, so F4A has been stuck doing those.

[KermMorningstar]

Their website says "Coming soon" and "Heading in a new direction" along with "Summer 2004". So maybe they are reorganizing and hoping to start getting new products out... hopefully...

Unfortunately, I don't think they will be losing their license, unless they voluntarily work it out with Henson. It's one of the few positive assets they have currently, and they don't want to sell it, because they wouldn't get its value in return. So I think we're stuck with waiting until they get their act together.

Yeah, I'd like to see Palisades do this, but Palisades probably doesn't want to limit its own options as well. They're already trying to diversify, so that they're not only known as "the Muppet company", although I know that they appreciate the fact that that line really put them on the map. Perhaps Palisades could still do a SS line sometime in the future. Maybe even with the Street playsets.

Man, that would be so cool...

-kerm

[KermMorningstar]

I was just recalling some information that was given us a long time ago that Sesame Workshop gave them a character bible with Cartoons of the charcters from SS rather than the puppets, so F4A has been stuck doing those.

If that's true, then Palisades could still (ostensibly) put ut a line in the future based on the puppets...

It would be materially different from the "cartoon" lineup...

But F4A probably has a time window that they own the rights to produce figures, and anyone else would have to wait...

-kerm