Remember when movie marketing consisted solely of movie trailers, teaser posters and maybe a cardboard standee in a theater? OK, me neither, but I still say we now live in a golden age of clever movie marketing.
Case in point: the above video for “Lots-o’-Huggin’ Bear,” a new character in next month’s Toy Story 3. The video was made to look as if it’s yet another converted VHS recording of a 1980s commercial, in the vein of My Buddy or Teddy Ruxpin.
Oh, and don’t miss the Japanese version.
One thing I love is the classic, cartoonish space alien aesthetic–green tentacles, eyeballs on stalks, clanking robots, bulbous glass helmets with antennae, ray guns with fins, colorful fungus-covered landscapes, and so forth. This “retro-future” can be found in shows like Futurama and Ren & Stimpy, videogames like Day of the Tentacle and Toejam & Earl, Mattel’s new “Space Mutants” logo and 1950s Batman comics. It can also be found in toys such as the once-and-future Outer Space Men and the subject of today’s review, the Toy Story 3 Space Alien.
“The Claw chooses who will go and who will stay.”
I loved these little guys the first time I saw them, nestled by the dozens in a claw machine at Pizza Planet, a Chuck ‘E Cheese like restaurant in the original Toy Story. The aliens serve as the Planet’s mascots, bearing the company logo, a pizza with a Saturn-like ring around it. While there have been some injection-molded toys of the character over the years, what I’d always wanted was a vinyl figure like the squeeze toys in the film. (more…)
Like many contemporary collectors, the action figures that got me into this glorious hobby were the late-90’s McFarlane Toys offerings: Movie Maniacs, Sleepy Hollow, Austin Powers and everything in-between. With the combination of amazing sculpting and detailed paint, Todd McFarlane’s company had upped the game for everyone. But for me, the best thing McFarlane Toys offered was the chance to have my own miniature world of characters I knew and loved, in my own little universe, doing whatever I want.
Along with sculpt, paint and (occasionally) articulation, the other thing that McFarlane upped was the scale of their action figures. In the 1980s and ’90s the vast majority of action figures were either the 3¾”-5″ tall. McFarlane Toys bumped the scale up to 6″, with its appealing proportion of one real-world foot=one toy inch, separating themselves from products aimed at children while allowing for more realistic sculpting. (more…)
I could be jumping the gun here. But if the confidence of this eBay seller and my cursory Web search constitute a preponderance of evidence (which they don’t), the one figure I’m really interested in from Toy Story 3, the decently-articulated 3 ¾” Twitch, is going to be very hard to find. This auction is the only evidence I’ve found that this figure even exists.
No doubt he’s packed one to every ten cases.
Prove me wrong, Mattel. (Please) prove me wrong.
While removing a bullet from a witness to a crime, Dr. Charles McNider was blinded by a grenade meant to silence his patient. During recovery from his injuries, McNider was startled when an owl crashed through his window. Removing his bandages to investigate, He could see in perfect darkness. He later found out that he could not see in daylight and developed special goggles and “black-out” bombs to help him see in light and fight crime. He adopted the owl, “Hooty,” and joined the Justice Society of America to continue his fight against evil. (more…)
Seriously. OK, so the articulation isn’t great, and Batman really should have black and not blue highlights (and if you don’t think DC Direct will be selling that repaint at some point, have I got a bridge for you). And of course, DCD’s overly-cautious nature has them striking when the iron is red-hot, a good fourteen months after the game’s debut and months or perhaps years before the sequel hits.
But that doesn’t make these figures any less supremely awesome. I’m already thinking this entire set may be worth a pre-order. Thoughts?
DCUC Wave 15 has been revealed, and the preorders are popping up.
Enchanted Toy Chest has the eight-figure set (with the normal Martian Manhunter head) for pre-order here, and the nine-figure set with the variant MM here.
Entertainment Earth has individual pre-orders for Wave 15:
EE also has Wave 16 for pre-order:
