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Play Along Toys was a Florida-based toy company, and a wholly owned division of Jakks Pacific.[1]
In 1999, the founders of Play Along (among them Charlie Emby, Jay Foreman, and Larry Geller) chose the Britney Spears Doll line as the first licensing venture with their new company.[2] The choice proved successful and was followed by other celebrity dolls including Aaron Carter, Venus Williams, Serena Williams and Mandy Moore. In 2001 Play Along partnered with toy design studio Art Asylum for production of the studio's toys. Then, in 2002, Play Along decided to bring back one of the plush doll lines of the 1980s, the Care Bears. This brand, for which Play Along was awarded "License of the Year 2002" by the Licensing Industry Merchandisers' Association (LIMA).
As the company's toy lines continued to grow, so did the Play Along team, having grown from a staff of five into a company with more than 100 employees, both in the U.S. and Hong Kong, producing toys for multiple brands including the Care Bears, The Dog and Friends, The Lord of the Rings: Armies of Middle-earth, The Cat in the Hat, Teletubbies, Curly Q's, Doodle Bear, Sky Dancers and the Cabbage Patch Kids.
Jakks Pacific acquired the privately owned company in 2004, and Play Along ran as a division within Jakks.[1] In the same year, the company relaunched a line of Cabbage Patch Kids.[3]
In Fall of 2007, Play Along released dolls and playsets based on Disney Channel TV series, Hannah Montana, and movie, the Cheetah Girls. The lines were very popular during the Christmas season. As of Fall 2008, more products have been added onto the Hannah Montana line, including the 2008 Holiday Popstar doll and Malibu Beach House playset; also, dolls based on the Disney Channel movie, Camp Rock, were launched. In 2009, the last doll line was made and the company closed.
