Sky Dancers

Sky Dancers are a line of toys that were popular in the mid-1990s and were the basis for an animated series. The toys consisted of a pull-string base and a doll with foam wings. When the doll was inserted into the base and the string was pulled, it would launch into the air and spin its wings like a propeller as it flew, similar to a helicopter.

Toys
Galoob launched the toys during the 1994 winter holiday season, and were greatly successful. Galoob later released a similar toyline aimed at boys, Dragon Flyz.

The toys were re-released in 2005 with an adapted design, manufactured by Play Along Toys.

Recall
Although the dolls had foam wings to prevent injury, more than 100 injuries were reported, ranging from temporary blindness to facial lacerations requiring stitches. Galoob, the manufacturer of the toys, recalled them in June 2000 after less than six years on the market; nearly 10,000,000 were recalled.

Animated series
In 1996, the toys were the basis for an animated television spinoff produced by Gaumont Multimedia in association with Abrams Gentile Entertainment. The series premiered on France 2 on April 12, 1997, and had twenty-six episodes. The series follows five students at the High Hope Dance Academy under Queen Skyla, who work to defend the kingdom from her brother-in-law Sky Clone. Sky Clone killed his brother Skyler, Skyla's husband, as revenge for him being selected as king over him, but was unable to gain control of the Sky Swirl Stone, which gave the Sky Dancers their powers.

Characters

 * Jade (voiced by Kerry O' Malley ) is a prima ballerina at High Hope Dance Academy who has the power to turn invisible. Jade gets along well with the Sky Dancers, but often argues with Slam; they have feelings for each other, but are afraid to show them. Though caring and compassionate, Jade can be stern and aggressive when she wants to prove a point and tends to not avoid verbal confrontation, though her powers lend themselves more to indirect physical confrontation. Jade is close to her father, a scientist who raised her mostly by himself after her mother, who had been teaching her to dance, decided to become a professional ballerina and left her family. Jade has brown eyes and long black hair with an orange streak which she often wears in a ponytail and wears a fuchsia dress and white boots. As a Sky Dancer, she has fuchsia wings and wears a pink and white outfit.
 * Slam (voiced by James Michael ) is High Hope Dance Academy's "Hero of Hip Hop" and controls the gravity beam in the Sky Realm. While he lacks the focus, interest, and patience for traditional dance classes, he excels at breakdancing and hip-hop. Slam is egotistical, reckless, and competitive and hates ties, claiming that "the only thing a tie means is that I didn't win." He is also blunt, often coming across as insensitive and lacking empathy. Despite this, Slam is loyal to his friends and is always there for them. Throughout the series, he is shown to have feelings for Jade, but his "tough guy" exterior and their frequent arguments hold him back, as do their different personalities and tastes in dance and music. Little is known about Slam's family or past; it is implied that his finances are directly tied to his mother's, and that he sees himself as the only person in his neighborhood who can make it big. As a Sky Dancer, he has spiky red hair and black and yellow wings.
 * Angelica (voiced by Andrea Burns ) is High Hope Dance Academy's "Queen of Country Rock" and leader of the Sky Dancers, and has the power to temporarily stop time. She is optimistic and often flirts with Breeze and becomes jealous when another girl flirts with him. Angelica is somewhat spoiled by her parents and her love for dancing late at night clubs often gets her into trouble. Her cardinal rules are "Never miss a rehearsal, a dance step, or a jammin' party!" Angelica has blonde hair with pink streaks.
 * Camille (voiced by Donna Daley ) is High Hope Dance Academy's "Modern Dance Aficionado" and has the power to create any shape out of clouds. Her parents, who work as lawyers, do not approve of her dancing, and she is reluctant to tell them that she wants to follow her dreams instead of following in their footsteps. She is responsible and smart and often acts as the group's voice of reason, but can seem overly dramatic due to taking her relationships seriously. While forgiving and generous, she is not afraid to stand up for herself and her friends. Camille has curly brown hair with a blue streak that she wears in a ponytail.
 * Breeze (voiced by T.J. Benjamin) is a Native American who has the power to control wind and nature. He is romantically involved with Angelica throughout the series, often flirting with her and complimenting her. He is quiet and shy and is the most level-headed member of the group. While he does not get into many arguments, when he does, he takes them personally. Little is known about Breeze's family. His tribe seems to have some degree of reserve land for ceremonies, and Breeze mentions that his grandmother lives in Chicago. He also states that he feels he has been gifted with the wisdom of his late grandfather. Breeze attended Lincoln High School and later puts on a free performance for them.
 * Queen Skyla (voiced by Donna Daley ) is the queen of the Wingdom and the dance headmistress of High Hope Dance Academy, where she is known as Dame Skyla. She is Skyler's wife and Sky Clone's sister-in-law. On Earth, she has blonde hair and wears a green dress, and in the Sky Realm her hair has pink and blue streaks and she wears a white and green dress. Whirl and Twirl have been her pets since childhood; as a child, she grew up in the palace with Skyler and Sky Clone, though her connection to the royal family is unclear. However, as a teenager she was called "Princess Skyla", suggesting that she is a ward of the royal family. She often mourns her husband Skyler, who Sky Clone supposedly killed.
 * Sky Clone (voiced by Johnathan Khan Davis) is Skyla's brother-in-law and Skyler's older brother and the main villain of the series. He is determined to defeat the Sky Dancers and take over the Sky Realm. He killed Skyler as revenge for him being selected as king over him, and now seeks revenge against the Sky Realm because Skyler took his flight.
 * King Skyler is Skyla's husband and Sky Clone's younger brother, who sacrificed himself to use the Death Spin to defeat him and take away his flight. While he was presumed dead, it is later revealed that he is not dead, but trapped in another dimension. He is often seen in Skyla's flashbacks, and often comes to her aid when she is in danger.
 * Whirl and Twirl are Skyla's canine companions, who can use their ears to fly. They are white dogs that respectively have green and red hair along with their eye color.
 * Muddle, Jumble (voiced by Donna Daley ) and Snarl (voiced by Thomas Cannizzaro ) are Sky Clone's minions.
 * Caroline (voiced by Donna Daley) is a high school reporter dedicated to "getting the story". She falls in love with Breeze after meeting him at a school carnival, causing bad feelings between her and Angelica. After she follows the Sky Dancers into the Sky Realm, she annoys them by trying to interview them. After Sky Clone kidnaps her, he also gets annoyed with her and lets her go to get rid of her.
 * The Tinker is Queen Skyla's friend, who aids the Sky Dancers by providing them with information and through his skills as a tinker.
 * Brandon is a student at High Hope Dance Academy who is egotistical and enjoys playing pranks on the other students and is paid to trick Slam into quitting the academy.
 * King Skyhawk is Sky Clone and Skyler's father and the former king of the Sky Realm. The Sky Dancers meet him when they travel back in time and he hires them as companions for Sky Clone, Skyler and Skyla. Skyhawk is very kind and trusting, and Skyler bears a strong resemblance to him.

Other materials
In 1997, Sky Dancers had a children's book series based on it. A board game was also made, which is seemingly based on promotional material or earlier drafts of the series. In 2005, a game was released for the Game Boy Advance.