Merchant Spotlight: The Voltron Webstore Headquarters

Q: World Events Productions has a very rich 28 year history - can you give me some background on the entertainment company?

Tiffany Ilardi: Our founder, Ted Koplar, originally created World Events Productions (WEP) to generate content for KPLR-TV in St. Louis, which was one of the largest independent television stations in the country. Actually, WEP originates from a program called "World Events '82," which was a news magazine show that highlighted some of the landmark events in 1982 including the illustrious Paris Air Show and the 40th Anniversary of the D-Day Invasion in Normandy, among others. The show even gave a young Bob Costas a featured role so we like to say we helped launch his career!

In 1984, Koplar was seeking animation content to syndicate and came across a series of Japanese-produced robot shows, Dairugger, Dailtanius, and Albegas. WEP had planned to combine all of these into an overarching series under the name Voltron but through a tape mix-up (perhaps something lost in translation?) WEP was sent a show called Beast King Go Lion. Koplar was immediately impressed with this show for its iconic robot lions and simplistic yet engaging storyline.

WEP went on to produce the animated series Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs, an action-adventure series set in a space-western environment and Denver: The Last Dinosaur, a softer animation show that was endorsed by the National Education Council for it's themes and lessons. Not to mention both have incredibly infectious theme songs by Dale Schacker that fans still remember today!

Q: How have animated television shows evolved over this period?

Tiffany: It's cliche to talk about the sheer number of entertainment options for kids today that have exploded to the point of saturation but its staggering! Kids seem to be growing older faster and seek out programming that challenges them. If you compare the storylines of today's cartoons to those that were around when I was growing up, I think you will find a noticeably higher level of sophistication. In addition, production techniques and the CGI revolution of enhanced computer graphics have heavily influenced the way we create product and the way it is enjoyed so both sides of the screens have changed dramatically.

Q: There has been a resurgence of interest in Voltron throughout the past few years with rumors swirling around a live-action film and a new animated television series. What makes the character and show so appealing and ripe for a twenty-first century renewal?

Tiffany: While Voltron has always had an active global fan-base, excitement is definitely building as we approach new events like our upcoming animated series and live action movie. Part of it is probably due to entertainment life-cycles, and certainly some of it has to do with the resurging success of peers like Transformers and GiJoe. But Voltron's continued appeal comes down to a timeless story of fantasy and mechanics as well universal themes of unity and teamwork but also, an incredible wish-fulfillment concept of being able to pilot giant robotic lions and come together with your friends to form the biggest hero in the universe. It's empowerment personified! That's just eternally playground-friendly stuff that we hope to really enhance with the new series.

Q: Will the web store be outfitted with new products for the new television series?

Tiffany: Absolutely! The Voltron.com web-store was essentially created by fans for fans. When fans demanded to see Saber Rider on DVD and we hadn't yet found a U.S. distributor, we created the DVD in the office ourselves with the fans choosing what episodes they wanted to see. Same thing with Denver the Last Dinosaur and a slightly obscure Voltron team-up special entitled Fleet of Doom. For a long time Voltron.com was the only place you could find these and while we only made fairly small runs, we just wanted to make sure anyone Googling around for the DVDs had a place to find them. It wasn't about making money as much as it was about getting the fans what they wanted. It's almost like a Mom and Pop Voltron shop around here but we're proud to help contribute to keeping the love alive.

While our main goal with the site is to keep our hard-core fans happy, we look forward to bringing items to our new, younger audience. On the store we always make sure all of our licensed products are available online, whether it be DVD's or toys. And then we are also looking to produce several new items exclusively for the online store this year including a Voltron: The Third Dimension 3-disc set as well as some exclusive T-shirts. Basically we patrol the fan forums and if an item keeps getting mentioned we look into what it would take to make it.

Q: What are your most popular lines of television series memorabilia?

Tiffany: Obviously the Voltron DVD collections have been a huge hit over the past couple of years and fans have snapped up all of our Voltron.com exclusive DVDs like Saber Rider and Vytor, which was a sort of collectible series we produced. For the Voltron DVDs, fans really treasure the fact that they can get the entire original series, totally remastered and presented in amazing tin packages, highlighting each individual lion. Fans have also been really receptive to the amazing collectible toys released by Toynami. Now with Mattel on board there are even greater things to come!

Q: How has demand for Voltron memorabilia evolved throughout the past couple of decades?

Tiffany: We've found that our core group of fans really desires something premium and is willing to pay to get it. I think it has something to do with the fact that the original Voltron toy was such a playground idol and the King of the toy-box! It was made of die-cast metal so each individual lion was hefty in itself so to assemble Voltron was quite a pricey endeavor at the time. But it's also what made it great in that we often hear many memories of fans having to make new friends as not everyone had each Lion so it's nice to see the unity message of the show spilling over into the playground.

Now that generation has grown up and have real jobs and a little bit of disposable income and it's time to go back and claim some trophies from their childhood, which of course must include a die-cast fully-assembled Voltron toy. But as we look to the future you are going to see more products aimed at today's kids like our iPhone videogame or products based on the new animated series.

Q: You've announced a partnership with Mattel to produce a new line of toys for an upcoming Voltron movie. How do you think this partnership will help create a new generation of Voltron fans (while also thrilling fans of the original series)?

Tiffany: Mattel has been a tremendous partner, bringing new perspective to the brand and identifying the core pillars that kids really connect with. And Voltron fits so nicely into their spectrum, filling an all-important boys-action niche. We're really excited to debut the collector line to our core fans but also feel the new generation of Voltron fans is going to love the toys based on the Voltron Force animated series as well. From what we have seen so far, these will easily be the best Voltron toys yet.

Q: How have you worked to draw attention to the online store, both on- and off-line?

Tiffany: We are constantly directing fans and anyone wanting to know more about Voltron to our site. This is a place where fans can really learn about the history of Voltron and its evolution over the years. From press mentions to t-shirts to clips of shows, you can find anything you need at our site. As Voltron is re-launched with a new animated series and live-action movie, we are gearing up for a spike in traffic!

Q: What else would you like to share with us about Voltron or other WEP animated properties?

Tiffany: In addition to Voltron, WEP also is home to several other hit series from the 80's. We have a steady flow of online shopping for both Denver the Last Dinosaur and Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs products. With DVDs, apparel, plush and figurines available, fans of these shows have an outlet for merchandise from all of their favorite WEP shows. If you want to see a particular item on Voltron.com, don't hesitate to contact uswe've got our ears to the ground!