Lego's Screaming Cat gets attention at 2017 Toy Fair

The 2017 Toy Fair in New York wrapped up on Tuesday (February 21), drawing to a close a showcase for more than 1,000 toy producers, distributors, and sales agents scouting for the next big thing in the competitive toy market.

While there were many trends to choose from, a analyst told Reuters the most prominent trends included movies, technology, and collectibles.

"Just a couple of years ago, we started seeing very, very small toys, and maybe little blind bags, you didn't know what you were getting, and it was kind of interesting and new, and now it's everywhere," said industry expert Trae Badge.

Lego, a market leader known for its iconic building blocks, showed its own line of collectibles.

But making the biggest noise - literally - was its Screaming Cat, an audible representation of Lego's newest platform called Boost. It allows children build toys with Lego blocks and code them with motion and sound using iPad.

"Lego Boost because it's putting digital together with physical play in a way that only Lego can do," said Lego's senior director of brand relations Michael McNally.

"We're super excited about Lego BrickHeadz, which is a very collectible platform, a whole new way to build characters with Lego. We're also really excited about the growth that we're a seeing in Lego Friends, which is our growth platform, also encouraging them to build across our portfolio with things like Star Wars and Creator."

Other producers, like Wicked Cool Toys, also showcased collectibles and technology, bringing back Teddy Ruxpin, the iconic talking bear from the 1980s.

The 2017 Toy Fair showed once again toy industry is on the up and up.

According to The NPD Group's Retail Tracking Service, the U.S. toy market grew to $20.36 billion in 2016, which is a 5 percent jump in sales from 2015. — Reuters