The first toy maker to enter The Toy Box is Babak Forutanpour of Arya Ball.
The Arya Ball reimagines the classic soccer ball by combining it with a football, basegolf, putter head/bat and flying disc. One ball is five times the fun. According to their website, their “passion is to help parents turn their kids on to as many sports as possible, as early as possible, in hopes of promoting good health, teamwork, and tenacity so they can lead full and meaningful lives.”
The mentors are immediately impressed. Jim Silver likes the sports innovation but he does not like the packaging. Dylan Lauren and Jen Tan believe he is underselling the age range and they all think it needs to be bigger and easier to open. Components are definitely missing, but the judges like it enough to pass it on to the next round.
In the Toy Box, the kids are excited to see the surprises contained in the soccer ball. The four judges give it a try and Sophia Grace Brownlee immediately admits that she would buy it. Their concerns center around how much of their allowance would need to be put towards it and its ease of use, but they like it overall.
Ultimately, the kid judges loved the Arya ball and receives a “Yes, definitely” from the Magic 8 ball, moving onto the finals.
Hosted by “Modern Family” star Eric Stonestreet, “The Toy Box” helps inventors make their toy creation dreams become a reality. According to their website, the inventions are brought before mentors, including Dylan’s Candy Bar owner Dylan Lauren, toy guru Jim Silver and Pixar creative director of Consumer Products, Jen Tan. If they pass phase one, they then have the opportunity to face the ultimate toy-loving panel of judges: kids. The panel features Sophia Grace Brownlee, Aalyrah Caldwell, Toby Grey and Noah Ritter. The kids determine which toys make it to the finals and, ultimately, the one winning toy that will sold at Toys“R”Us.
A new episode airs each Friday at 8 p.m. on ABC.
Would you buy the Arya Ball? Sound off in the comments section below!