TECH TOYS FOR TOTS DISNEY'S NEW LINE EMBRACES TECHNOLOGY.

Byline: Brent Hopkins Staff Writer

GLENDALE - Mickey Mouse has plugged in.

At a time when the toy industry faces tremendous challenges, Walt Disney Consumer Products has elected to push hard into the ever-changing business. As it revealed its holiday slate of products Tuesday, the company showed off an array of increasingly high-tech gadgets for youngsters.

From talking Cinderella mirrors to Disney Princess digital cameras, the company has licensed out its name and characters to span a broad range of consumer products, with nearly everything including some electronic component.

``We're really looking to integrate technology even more into toys,'' said Joe Lawandus, vice president of global toys for the Glendale-based subsidiary of the entertainment giant. ``It's almost the cost of entry into the toy world. Kids are so used to technology everywhere, if they don't have it in the toy, they'll find it lacking.''

This has been a growing trend in recent years, as children become increasingly interested in video games and personal electronics such as digital music players and cellular phones. Disney began a slow push several years ago, offering televisions and personal computers, but now its electronics and toy lines have become increasingly similar - and omnipresent.

Starting at infancy, parents can surround their kids with Winnie the Pooh bottle warmers and beehive-shape CD players. In a few years, the children graduate to Mickey Mouse portable DVD players and karaoke machines shaped like Cinderella's carriage. Even traditional toys such as its Twinkle Lights Cinderella, licensed by Mattel Inc., have electronic sensors that cue lights when a wand is waved over them.

``As technology advances, the toy industry must keep up,'' said Jennifer Caveza, assistant chair of toy design at Otis College. ``The toy industry is competing with the video game industry to capture children's time. Kids are very savvy, so they want the iPods and cell phones younger and younger.''

Indeed, the company offers cell-phone service through another division and plans to introduce a kid-priced MP3 player in the fall. With children already turning into computer whizzes by the age of 5, Disney intends to leverage its brand awareness and push into as many areas as it can.

``It's a kids market, so there's no reason why Disney can't do it,'' said Chris Heatherly, vice president of global electronics. ``There are certain packets of the electronics business dominated by kids, so why not? We're a much more relevant brand for that age.''

Brent Hopkins, [phone]

brent.hopkins(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Disney Consumer Products is forging into the craze for technology with toys like its Twinkle Lights Cinderella, which has sensors that cue lights when a wand is waved over it.

(2 -- color) Disney is introducing a line of personal DVD players in a variety of styles and character themes for kids 4 and older.

(3 -- color) The Disney Dream Sketcher is a new hand-held activity center that lets kids draw, color and play games.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer