WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. (DWA) said Thursday that it has acquired the IP for the iconic Troll franchise from the Dam Family and Dam Things of Denmark.
In support of the brand's enormous global potential, DreamWorks Animation has named American Girl veteran Shawn Dennis as head of brand development to cultivate that classic franchise.
Dennis joined DreamWorks Animation to oversee its Trolls franchise in addition to other businesses within the company's vast portfolio of branded intellectual property.
The Troll doll phenomenon was born in 1959 when Danish fisherman and woodcutter Thomas Dam, too poor to afford a Christmas present for his young daughter Lajla, carved a doll for her based on the legendary Scandinavian troll. The Troll dolls soon became one of the biggest toy crazes of the 1960s. The Trolls experienced a resurgence in the 1990s, and in 2003, the Toy Industry of America named Trolls on its list of One Hundred of the Century's Most Treasured Toys. Their uniquely endearing faces and shocks of colorful hair continue to capture the hearts and imaginations of fans with rare Troll dolls still being coveted by collectors around the globe.
DreamWorks Animation is now the exclusive worldwide licensor of the merchandise rights for the classic Troll Dolls with the sole exception of Scandanavia, the birthplace of the Trolls, where Dam Things will remain the licensor.
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