[Sean C]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jester

I’m not exactly sure how it worked. Apparently the Kenner people were given creative control over the G.I. Joe brand after the acquisition, for one thing.

Not right away. In 1991, Hasbro acquired Tonka which owned Kenner. In fact, it was Tonka going into debt to buy Kenner than led to them getting bought by Hasbro. At some point Hasbro management decided to pit the Kenner division against their own Hasbro boy's toys division. (This is why GI JOE made knock-off concepts that competed with Kenner's ALIENS, Jurassic Park and stuff) For some reasons I've never been clear on, the Kenner team won. GI JOE's 1995 line was cancelled, except Sgt. Savage. Even though it sold well enough, Kenner wanted to do their own thing and made GI JOE eXtreme, which bombed.

In 2000, Hasbro closed their Ohio Kenner division entirely in 2000 due in part to the overproduction and failure of The Phantom Menace toys. Over 4/5th's of the Kenner people were laid off, including the Jurassic Park design team.

Of course Hasbro still owns the Kenner brand.