Move over Luke Skywalker and grab your jet-set Buzz Lightyear, there’s a new top toy in town.
Buried in an investor note released Tuesday by The Walt Disney Company is this tidbit: Mickey Mouse’s own teddy bear, Duffy, is one of the company’s best-selling products, with annual merchandise sales of $500 million.
The stuffed toy is the best-selling toy at Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo Disney resorts. The product is also sold at the company’s Aulani hotel in Hawaii and is sometimes sold on its website and at fan events.
The character was created by Disney theme park designers known as “Imaginators” introduce In 2002, the company opened its Once Upon a Toy store in Orlando, Florida. It was later taken to the Aunt Peg’s Village store at Tokyo DisneySea Resort, where it was sold exclusively for four years, often selling out.
The designers created a backstory for Daffy: Minnie Mouse made the stuffed bear as a gift for Mickey Mouse, a sailor who was about to leave Cape Cod on a long voyage. After noticing that guests were purchasing multiple Daffys and giving them new names and costumes, Disney conceived additional characters, including his friend Shirley Mae, a cat named Gerald Tony, and a A rabbit named Straloo.
Now there is a Tamiflu Show and dinner Tokyo Disneyland and Duffy festival This month at Shanghai Disneyland.
Daffy hasn’t appeared in a TV series or movie yet, but will soon.The character is expected to appear in six episodes animated series The Disney+ streaming service will launch next year.
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