NEW YORK -- Toy Fair opened amid a fierce New York snowstorm Sunday, with "Superman Returns," "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" and "Cars" the biggest hits in licensed toys and technology and role-play toys the hottest industry categories overall.

Despite the two feet of snow that covered New York City, toy industry officials said attendance was strong and it was business as usual on the official opening day of Toy Fair Sunday. But attendance did appear to be somewhat lower than last year's opening day.

Warner Bros. Pictures' "Superman Returns," opening in theaters June 30, created enormous excitement among toy retailers with its own share of electronic role-play toys like a flying radio remote-controlled Superman that can soar up to 300 feet in the air for two minutes of non-stop flying. "It's the first time ever kids can make Superman fly," said Geoff Walker, vp of entertainment marketing for master toy licensee Mattel.

Other innovative Superman role play toys include the Inflato-Suit, which uses a battery-operated mini fan to fill the suit with air to mimic the muscular physique of Superman, and Punch n' Crunch gloves, which mimic the sounds of punching and crunching metal when kids bend a toy steel bar sold along with the gloves.

"We've tried to build in as much as we can in terms of the themes of Superman, the role playing and the things that Superman does so kids can experience that in the toys," said Brad Globe, president of Warner Bros. Consumer Products.

Superman is also soaring into the technology space. There's an S-shield-shaped educational laptop from Oregon Scientific that pops open to the Superman theme song when kids wave their hands over it and an extensive line from Kids Station Toys International that includes an MP3 player, a digital camera, TV sets, DVD players, CD players and long-range heat vision headset walkie-talkies. There will also be a second line of products for girls featuring Supergirl.

"The new Superman movie coming out this summer is going to be hot because it will propel action figure sales and role play products throughout the summer and fall," said Reyne Rice, toy trend specialist for the Toy Industry Association.

For its part, Disney, which missed the boat with the first "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie in terms of toys, is now hoping to turn "Pirates" into the main boy franchise for the studio. "It's a long-term opportunity like Disney Princesses is for girls," said Joe Lawandus, vp and general manager of Disney toys. "Our hope is it's going to live in the aisle for at least two years. We're managing it for the long term."

Zizzle, founded by Tiger Electronics veterans Roger Schiffman and Marc Rosenberg less than two years ago, is on board as the master toy licensee for "Pirates," with the most sculpted and detailed action figures in Disney's history, Lawandus said.

The highlights of the extensive "Pirates" line include the Black Pearl Play Set, a 2-1/2 foot version of Johnny's Depp's pirate ship; a smoking cannon that shoots a cannonball along with a puff of water-based smoke; and a $300 pinball machine for the home that is two-thirds the size of an arcade pinball game.

For Pixar's "Cars," Disney has teamed up with Mattel, makers of Hotwheels and Matchbox cars, putting the studio in the toy vehicle aisle for the first time. Toy industry specialist Rice said there is "pent-up demand" for "Cars" toys after the movie's release date was pushed back from last November to this June.

The lead item from "Cars" is the Fast Talkin' Lightning McQueen vehicle with a mouth that moves as it says one of more than 30 phrases recorded by Owen Wilson, who plays the lead car in the film. The extensive "Cars" line also includes several racetrack sets based on scenes from the movie.

With Disney launching two major new movie franchises in "Pirates" and "Cars," as well as a Disney Fairies toy line based on the world of Tinkerbell and a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse toy line based on the new CGI-animated preschool series premiering on the Disney Channel in April, Lawandus said this is probably the biggest toy fair for the studio in a decade.

He predicted that of the four new franchises, "Pirates" would probably be Disney's biggest because of two new "Pirates" movies this year and next. Disney's new toy line surrounding the October platinum edition DVD release of "The Little Mermaid" was also showcased at Toy Fair.

20th Century Fox's "Ice Age 2: The Meltdown," was another strong movie property with an extensive line from Mattel, including a Scrat character that hops around and chases after his acorn. Fox also introduced a targeted collectible line for its holiday release of "Eragon."

Other film properties to make a showing at Toy Fair were Warner Bros.' "Happy Feet," Universal Pictures' new release "Curious George," DreamWorks Animation's "Over the Hedge" and New Line Cinema's "Tenacious D In: The Pick of Destiny."

Warners announced that it awarded the global master toy license for "Happy Feet" to Thinkway Toys; DreamWorks signed a master toy and games licensing agreement with MGA Entertainment for the Shrek franchise beginning with the release of "Shrek 3" in spring 2007; and New Line inked a deal with NECA for action figures, bobbing head figures and other licensed products for "Tenacious D."

The NECA line, as well as "Tenacious D" Halloween costumes and masks on exhibit at Toy Fair, are targeted at the same audience as the movie –-17 and older, said Dave Imhoff, senior vp of licensing and merchandising at New Line. "The interesting thing about toy fair is there are two audiences in terms of the toy market right now. The traditional toy market keeps getting younger and younger while college kids and adults are collecting action figures and collectibles," Imhoff said.

Sony Pictures had limited product at Toy Fair such as games and puzzles for "The DaVinci Code" and hand-held games for its first animated feature "Open Season." The studio also planned a launch party tonight for its second animated feature "Surf's Up," scheduled for release in June 2007.

Paramount also had a limited showing of collectible plush toys for "Charlotte's Web."

In the TV space, "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" is launching a new interactive board game from CSI creator Anthony Zuiker that is being manufactured by SBG/b Equal. Zuiker said he conceived and created the board game called CSI: Senses Board Game and wrote all six of the game's Vegas stories. He described the game, whose pawns are the characters in the show, as "CSI meets Cranium meets Clue." "If you're a CSI fan, this is the ultimate board game," Zuiker said.

"American Idol" is launching an interactive DVD game from Screenlife called American Idol All Star Challenge that incorporates clips, music and trivia from the show, said David Luner, vp of licensing Americas for Fremantle Media Enterprises. There is also a new mini digital video camera with software that allows you to create your own American Idol themed music videos.

Nickelodeon is focused on new preschool properties "Go, Diego Go! And "The Backyardigans" as well as "Avatar, The Last Airbender" for kids 6-11, with new extensive toy lines for each. Naruto, a new anime hit on Cartoon Network, is a big focus in Mattel's television entertainment portfolio, along with "The Batman" animated series. A new 15" missile-launching Ultrablast Batman is the biggest Batman ever, according to Mattel.

Toy industry experts said this year's toy fair, which runs through Wednesday, demonstrated the strongest areas of growth in toys is now in technology – both embedded into traditional toys and as standalone technology products specially designed for kids.

The embedded technology has also led to the strong growth in role play toys, a huge boon for superhero franchises like this year's "Superman Returns" as well as last year's "Star Wars" and "Batman Begins."