Mattel Inc. (MAT) offered a sneak peek at its 2011 toy line-up on Wednesday, which featured big news for the iconic Barbie doll, an overhaul of its recently lackluster Hot Wheels cars and a burping, flatulent dog.

After a star turn in the animated smash Toy Story 3 movie last year, the Ken doll, lately a bachelor, is making a full-out press to win back his on-again-off-again gal pal of 50 years, Barbie. On Valentine's Day, she will give in to the wooing--which will include a special cupcake "designed by Ken" at famous New York bakery Magnolia--and take him back.

To compliment the story line, Mattel is introducing a new, talking Ken doll, complete with a hairdo modeled after teen heartthrob Justin Bieber, and on Valentine's Day will begin selling a Barbie and Ken doll set, which will retail for $5 for a limited time.

Mattel also designed Barbie hair that can be fed into any inkjet printer and customized with any number of designs, providing personalized clip-on hair for both Barbie and her owner.

Hot Wheels will launch products designed to recapture the minds and dollars of boys of any age. For bigger kids, novelties include a race track that attaches up any wall using paint and wallpaper-safe clips designed by 3M Co. (MMM).

It also will sell for the first time a car with an embedded video camera that will allow 12 minutes of video recording. The car can attach to bicycle helmets and skateboards, providing users the ability to film themselves doing their own, real-world, life-sized stunts.

To engage kids from 3 to 5 years old, Mattel will launch a Hot Wheels-themed version of its Fisher Price unit's Trio build-it-yourself sets of bricks, sticks and panels.

Perhaps most shocking is a new plaything designed to capitalize on the popular gross-out craze. The Tough Talkin' Dirty Dog, complete with plastic slobber, mucus-filled nostrils and sound effects that include burping, flatulence and a song entitled "Fart is in the Dog," to the tune of "Farmer in the Dell." It will retail for around $80 when released in the fall.

Mattel expects to have fully functioning versions of most of these toys, rather than the prototypes on display Wednesday, at the toy fair held in New York City next month.

Mattel's Fisher Price kids brand is also introducing new a new toy based on Thomas & Friends, the popular children's series starring a locomotive, as well as an iPod case meant for infants and a Rock Star Mickey animatronic, music-playing Mickey Mouse.

Also set for release this year are new toys for the second years of its popular Sing-a-ma-jigs singing plush dolls and Monster High dolls with zombies-and-vampires-meet-high-school themes.

-By Maxwell Murphy, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2171; maxwell.murphy@dowjones.com
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