TLL Staff
Disney has given Mattel its royal seal of approval, renewing its multi-year global licensing agreement covering the Disney Princess and Frozen franchises.
Those two brands are two of the most successful doll lines in the world, even rivalling Mattel’s own Barbie franchise, so the renewal is a major—although fully expected—deal for Mattel.
Through the agreement, Mattel will continue to develop Disney Princess dolls based on Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Brave, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, Moana, Mulan, Pocahontas, The Princess and the Frog, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Tangled and Raya and the Last Dragon, along with the Disney Princess live action theatrical films. The agreement also includes Frozen and the upcoming Frozen 3 film.
“Disney Princess and Disney Frozen capture hearts around the world, and we’re thrilled to extend our relationship,” said Nick Karamanos, Senior Vice President of Entertainment Partnerships at Mattel. “We look forward to continuing to bring Mattel’s industry-leading expertise in dolls to these timeless stories and characters through new and imaginative collections.”
The extension builds on Mattel’s robust entertainment partnerships portfolio, which also includes Pixar’s Toy Story and Cars brands. For Disney, the move underscores its strategy of deepening long-term relationships with key licensing partners who can deliver both creativity and global scale.
The partnership has proven highly lucrative since Mattel regained the Disney Princess and Frozen license in 2022, following a multi-year stint at Hasbro. The renewed agreement ensures Mattel remains the steward of some of the most beloved characters in children’s entertainment, and cements its leadership in the competitive fashion doll category alongside Barbie.
“Disney and Mattel share a rich legacy of bringing imagination and play to life,” said Paul Gitter, Executive Vice President of Global Brand Commercialization at Disney Consumer Products. “This renewal reflects the strength of our long-standing relationship and the enduring appeal of the Disney Princess and Frozen franchises, which continue to inspire and connect with fans around the world.”
Given Mattel’s remarkable success with its doll division in recent years, the renewal would seem to be an obvious choice for Disney, but it’s worth remembering that Mattel lost that license not so long ago.
Disney and Mattel initially struck their deal for Disney Princess dolls in 1996, and the Princess line became one of the highest selling doll line globally over the years, sometimes second only to Barbie.
But in 2016 Disney shocked the industry when it shifted the license from Mattel to Hasbro, citing Hasbro’s strength in storytelling and digital media integration. The move came during a turbulent time for Mattel, as Barbie sales were in decline and the company faced executive turnover.
That partnership lasted for six years, but many toy industry analysts concluded that Hasbro never quite matched the sales of the Princess lines under Mattel.
Mattel announced in January, 2022 that it had regained the global licensing rights to both Disney Princess and Frozen. The new agreement, effective 2023, restored Mattel’s position as the master doll licensee for two of Disney’s most powerful franchises.
The deal was part of Mattel’s broader turnaround strategy under CEO Ynon Kreiz, who focused on rebuilding relationships with major entertainment licensors, including Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros.
Sales of both the Disney-inspired dolls and Mattel’s other lines, particularly Barbie, have been very strong over the past two years, so the renewal did not come as any surprise, but was still very welcome news at the U.S. toy giant.