Retail chain takes on Disney in a battle of cartoon caricatures.Retail chain takes on Disney in a battle of cartoon caricatures Fred Flintstone Frederick F. "Fred" Flintstone, also known as "Fred W. Flintstone" in at least one episode, is a fictional character who originated in the popular television animated series The Flintstones. Fred has since appeared in various other cartoon spinoffs and commercials. , caveman of Hanna-Barbera making, has declared war on Walt Disney Noun 1. Walt Disney - United States film maker who pioneered animated cartoons and created such characters as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck; founded Disneyland (1901-1966) Disney, Walter Elias Disney rodent Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse Famous character of Walt Disney's animated cartoons. He was introduced in Steamboat Willie (1928), the first animated cartoon with sound. Mickey was created by Disney, who also provided his high-pitched voice, and was usually drawn by the studio's head animator, . The new battleground: Southland shopping malls. Hollywood-based Hanna-Barbera is opening up gift and novelty stores, hoping to snatch some of the same success Disney has had in the retail world. "Our challenge was not to knock off to cease, as from work; to desist. - De Quincey. To force off by a blow or by beating. To assign to a bidder at an auction, by a blow on the counter. To leave off (work, etc.). See also: Knock Knock Knock Knock The Disney Stores but to do something better than The Disney Stores," said Jerry Gelsomino, Hanna-Barbera store designer. Gelsomino led a team from the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. office of Space Design International to design the new stores, one 2,800-square-foot shop in the Westside Pavilion The Westside Pavilion is a shopping mall located in West Los Angeles. It is owned and operated by The Macerich Company. It is a three story urban-style shopping mall with 150 shops and is anchored by a Macy's (formerly May Company and later Robinsons-May) and a Nordstrom. and one 2,000-square-foot space in the Del Amo Shopping Center in Torrance, where one of The Disney Stores is already located. The Disney Store wouldn't comment about competition from Hanna-Barbera. In June, the original Hanna-Barbera outlet opened at the Universal Studios theme park in Florida. Its success prompted the beginning of a nationwide chain that will take 10 years to build, said Gelsomino. The new challenge will be to sell merchandise without benefit of an adjacent location to a Hanna-Barbera entertainment attraction, as exists in Florida, said Gelsomino. "We needed to stores to stand on their own," he said. The stores sell clothing, toys, video cassettes, original animation cels and a wide selection of novelties. The most expensive item is a $3,750 original animation cel featuring the entire cast of Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters, from George Jetson to Scooby-Doo. The best-selling items are adult clothing, which range from $13 T-shirts to $250 embroidered em·broi·der v. em·broi·dered, em·broi·der·ing, em·broi·ders v.tr. 1. To ornament with needlework: embroider a pillow cover. 2. jackets. The stores carry about $500,000 worth of merchandise. Gelsomino and his team designed video jukeboxes that resemble George Jetson's futuristic desk. Customers can push buttons to see their favorite cartoons on a screen. The storefront is made of boulders resembling those in Bedrock, the Flintstone's home town, and have space-age antennas from Jetson's Orbit City. |
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