the View-Master Ideal Group, merged with Mattel Inc. in 1997. View-Master was placed organizationally in Mattel's pre-school division and is now marketed under the Fisher-Price imprint, who continues emphasis on juvenile content. In 1998, during the purchase of the Tyco Toys-owned plant by Mattel, EPA investigations began on the View-Master factory supply well for the toxic chemical trichloroethylene (TCE). The plant was shut down in 2001. In March 2009, the Fisher-Price division of toy maker Mattel announced that they had stopped production in December 2008 of the scenic reels depicting tourist attractions. These reels of picturesque scenes and landscape scenery were descendants of the first View-Master reels sold in 1939. Fisher-Price announced they would continue to produce reels of animated characters. In late 2009, Alpha-cine announced it would take up scenic reel production under an agreement with Fisher-Price. 2015–2019: Virtual reality In February 2015, Mattel announced a collaboration with Google to produce a new version of View-Master called the View-Master Virtual Reality Viewer, based on virtual reality using smartphones. The new View-Master is an implementation of the Google Cardboard VR platform, and is accompanied by a mobile app that was built using its SDK. Content is displayed on a smartphone screen; the phone itself is inserted into the back of the unit. Instead of being inserted directly into the View-Master, reels are scanned using an augmented reality interface which enables access to content from the reel, such as 360-degree panoramas, 3D models, and minigames. Greenbot considered the View-Master to be the best low-cost Cardboard viewer, citing its build quality and comfort over models actually constructed from cardboard, but noting that the latch mechanism for securing the phone inside was not tight enough, and that there was no headphone jack access. It was felt that the View-Master VR was "the kind of thing you might grab as a gift for the kids, but if you're curious about VR on your phone, chances are you'll use it as much as they do." In 2016, an updated iteration known as the DLX was released; it features improvements to its compatibility with smaller phones, a more secure latch for the phone compartment, and also adds focal adjustment and a headphone port. Both editions of the View-Master VR were discontinued in November 2019, and the Experience packs can no longer be installed by new users. In 2019, Mattel partnered with MGM to announce an upcoming