Action Figures and Play Sets for Walt Disney's "Lancelot and Guinevere"

To: Jill Shmoe, Head, Mattel Merchandising Department
From: Joe Schmoe, Creative Director, Walt Disney Corporation
Re: New toy lines

Greetings to you. I hope this memo finds you well. Since Disney is releasing the new animated movie “Lancelot and Guinevere,” (loosely based on Chretien’s “The Knight of the Cart”) we have several ideas for play sets, dolls and action figures featuring Arthurian characters and familiar scenes. Please peruse this brief summary of possible toy ideas and get back to us immediately if there are any problems or suggestions. Otherwise, I authorize production to begin and expect the toys to be on store shelves in time for the holiday season. We think this will be a highly profitable line for both of our companies.  

Dolls and Action Figures

Guinevere:

Queen Guinevere has long, blond  hair and big blue eyes with long eyelashes and arched eyebrows. She has a loving look and a smile. She comes dressed in a green velveteen dress with a maroon cloak and gold belt. Another dress comes with Guinevere. This second dress is less formal and is a blue tunic with brown detailing. The colors match her horse’s saddle blanket and bridle (horse sold separately, of course) She also comes with a fake wool and marmot cloak. Accessories: comb, hand mirror.

Lancelot:

Lancelot has curly brown hair and blue eyes. He has a square jaw, dimples, a friendly expression and relaxed stance. He comes with full armor and a sword, shield, and lance. His set also includes a horse and saddle. Lancelot’s set also comes with the vermillion shield and armor given to him before he jousts in the tournament. Accessories: Several helmets to wear in battle scenes.

King Arthur:

Arthur has light brown hair and brown eyes. He has a stern expression. He wears a red velveteen  cloak trimmed in fake white fur. He also comes with gold armour with more detail than Lancelot’s. Accessories: Crown, throne, sword.

Playsets

The Cart: ‘Wooden’ cart with one brown horse to pull it. The cart should look old and broken-down. There should be a bench in the cart where children can seat the Lancelot figure, as well as barrels and sacks for children to put in the cart. This set also comes with the cart-driver, a handsome young man with blond hair and blue eyes who is wearing tattered clothes because he is a poor orphan. He later becomes Lancelot’s sidekick/squire; we will be sending you another memo about his action figure. (Note: We decided that the dwarf was not politically correct to include here. Our customers/Disney viewers would not have enjoyed his character. It is important to have marketable toys and attractive characters because they appeal to a broad audience).

Meleagant’s castle: This playset features the room in Meleagant’s castle where Guinevere is being held captive. Includes grey walls with fake brick and iron barred window that Lancelot pries open to rescue her. It should also come with another window to insert that has the bars bent and broken. These pieces can be used interchangeably during play. The room will be furnished with a simple ‘wood’ bed. Guinevere is in this room alone in our film, not with Kay sleeping there also, because that clearly wouldn’t be appropriate for, and possibly may confuse, young viewers. We also aren’t including the incident where Lancelot cuts his hand and bleeds on her sheets, because this is a time when we can introduce Guinevere’s cat (an addition to the medieval story). The playset will come with this cat, which scratches Lancelot in the Disney film. Little girls love cats, and we have several figures and playsets in mind to appeal to this market. This approach worked well in Cinderella and The Lady and the Tramp.

Battle scene between Meleagant and Lancelot: A playset designed for the two male characters in the final scene, where children can have them play-fight. There should be two ‘stone’ towers that each have two stories. There should be a floor and window on the second story, so children can seat the figure of Guinevere at the window to look down at the fighting men. This set comes with heavily armored horses and special lances, swords, and shields.