Toy OTD: Wendy's Mighty Mouse - The New Adventures Premiums (1988)

Since I worked on Ralph Bakshi's The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse (and being my first job in animation), I was very excited about any merchandising tie-ins related with the show! Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot to be had (especially by today's standards), and most of it wasn't very good. The best of the lot - and the closest thing to action figures the show got - were the Wendy's kid's meal premiums.

I'm not sure I understand the play concept behind this line. Maybe the suction cups were simply intended to be bases - but it's not really used consistently, as you'll see. They're not exactly action figures, nor are they really window clings (like the enormously popular Garfield items were in the '80s), so the functionality of the toys is somewhat awkwardly conceived.

The character choices for the line make a lot of sense - since it was probably cooked up during the first season, all the toys are first season characters. Fortunately, they're all pretty prominent and popular. I wonder what Wendy's got to see from the show while creating the figures... partial episodes? Model sheets?

The sculpts are decent for a fast food premium. The characters are reasonably on-model, and some of the poses are asymmetrical. Unfortunately, the scale is all over the place: The Cow (the biggest character in the cartoon) is the smallest toy, and Scrappy's scale in the hierarchy is reversed, too. It's a shame, because individually the toys aren't too bad.

The paint work is pretty good, too - the colors are accurate and emphasize the sculpts' details well. The facial paint is reasonably clean and sharp. Mighty Mouse's eyelashes are fairly crisp, and bonus points for the highlight on Bat-Bat's sidekick, Tick.

There's no articulation at all, being the size the toys are, but at least the figures balance okay. I should say the standing figures balance well - which brings us to the bigger flaws.

All of the toys have a suction cup molded onto their feet, ostensibly to stick onto a surface like a dashboard or a window pane. The problem is that some of the figures are sculpted standing upright, while others are horizontal, in a flying pose. As a result, they don't display together well at all. Additionally, the suction cups don't stick very firmly, especially after prolonged use.

Like most fast-food premiums, the packaging is minimal and not all that compelling to look at. It's exactly what you'd expect - clear plastic bags decorated with some single-pass graphics. Inexpensive and practical, which makes sense for giveaways. Each toy did include a trading card of the character, which added a little more color.

Since these figures are over twenty years old, it may take a little while to get the whole set. You can get three of them (Bat-Bat, Pearl & Petey Pate still bagged) on eBay for $4.99 + shipping, and Mighty Mouse sells for $1.29 + shipping on eBid. At the moment, Scrappy isn't for sale online at all - odd, as I'd guess that he's the least popular of the characters. Good luck!

Toy OTD: Galoob Inspector Gadget Figure (Straight Armed Version - 1983)

I wasn't watching a lot of new cartoons in 1983 - I stuck with Looney Tunes, Hanna-Barbera and Return of the Jedi. I just wasn't interested, so I never became (as I imagine many folks now in their mid-thirties did) an Inspector Gadget fan. Not surprisingly, I was blind to all of the merchandising as well. Of course, having little-to-no disposable income didn't help.

In fact, it wasn't until ToyFare did one of their 'best toy ever' lists that I finally noticed how cool this deluxe Gadget figure really was! Most of the time, I prefer accuracy over play value, but sometimes play value is just overwhelming.

The accuracy isn't bad on this toy, but even considering the original character design, the head seems overly large. The figure has a skinny, stiff feel to it, but since the character's a robot, it works. The head sculpt is nice, though, with an appealing expression. It goes a long way in adding to the overall charm.

There's little paint used here - most of the colors are the plastic colors themselves, which is nice. The colors aren't spot-on with the cartoon version, but they're close enough to get the idea across.

What this figure lacks in warmth, it makes up for in articulation. We're not talking Hot Toys or Sideshow here, but considering that it's a domestic toy from the '80s, you can pose it pretty well! And that's not even the best part...

Rather than include a bunch of replaceable, specialized limbs (or sculpt non-removable ones), Galoob decided instead to make arms and legs that were internally spring-loaded. They lock into place, but pop out at the press of a button. Cool!

There's a lot of nice touches - the fabric trenchcoat, the handcuffs (that really open) linked by a metal chain, and the poseable 'extra hand' accessory that can hold either an umbrella or the classic cartoon mallet. But the coup de grace is the iconic helicopter prop that can fit atop Gadget's hat - there's even metal handlebars for them, just like in the cartoon!

The packaging here is pretty standard, but at least there's lots of photos to show off all the accessories, not to mention a giant clear front panel that almost displays the entire toy! There's a flap on the left of the box that allows multiple boxes to be nested together, but still increases shelf presence. Considering how much love was put into the toy, I have no problem with the box being more functional.

Note - I just found another package design... if you're into collecting toy boxes, you should probably shoot for this version. I think this box looks much better - it keeps all of the pluses of the other box, but adds a little extra boldness by displaying the character as if 'bursting' through a wall! The telescoping neck may be another unique feature of this version, too.

You may want to keep your eyes peeled for a specific version of this figure - some versions have arms without elbow joints (like mine), while another variant has bendable arms. I can't imagine this change saving all that much money in production, so I'm not sure why it happened. Regardless, be sure to ask your seller which version they have - it's always good to know exactly what you want to avoid disappointments later on. Unfortunately, the box may always have bent-arm stills on it regardless of which figure it contains, so don't use package photos as proof!

Also, check to make sure the spring triggers are still working well... worn limbs may pop open very easily if they've been played with a lot.

I've also been advised that the plastics used to make this toy are very vulnerable to fading, so make sure to display it in an area that's not getting pounded by direct sunlight. Display cases and UV-proof glass can only do so much!

As you might expect with a toy loaded with accessories, it's expensive to find it complete, and still more to get one with its original packaging. There's a complete figure in its box at actiontoys.com for $279.99, and a loose/incomplete one (no helicopter handles) for $141.99. There's another incomplete one (no umbrella handle, one helicopter handle missing, but with box) for $75.00 at whatacharacter.com. You may want to set up an eBay favorite search if you're determined to get a complete set-up... most of these prices are really high. Good luck!

It's Mighty Mouse Drop Day!

That's right, the day I thought would never come has arrived - Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures comes out on DVD! You can get it at Amazon.com for $28.99 + shipping, or at your local DVD retailer.

You'll get all the original episodes, plus a new documentary featuring interviews with lots of the show's creators (including me - it was my first job in animation way back in 1987)!

After twenty-two years of waiting, why wait any longer? Pick up a copy today!

Comic-Con Hosts Red Fraggle!

It's official! Red Fraggle herself will be at San Diego Comic-Con on Sunday, July 27th! Come and watch Red dance her cares away right in front of you!

Red's going to be there (along with the always amazing puppeteer, Karen Prell) to beat the drum for the Fraggle Rock DVDs (especially the upcoming season four box - the last set of the series!):

2:45-4:15 Fraggle Rock— Help celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Fraggle Rock and learn more about this fall's newest DVD release! Join Red—making a personal appearance—as she sneak peeks the DVD special features and some other DVD surprises! Room 6B

See you at the 'Con!

Toy OTD: Sababa Fraggle Rock Plushes: Wembley, Red, Boober, Gobo (2004)

It's hard to believe that these toys are four years old already! These plushes were released a little before (or alongside) DVD collections of the show that have now culminated in the full-season box sets we enjoy today. They're affordable, accessible versions of the characters, and as such, they work quite well. The toys are good likenesses of the characters, and the colors and clothing are pretty accurate.

The biggest minus here is the pom-pom antennae the some of the characters sport. There's no internal support for them, and the fluffy tips seem too limp most of the time (I worked hard to get them to look right in this photo). I'm sure it's for safety reasons, but Red suffers the most from these choices, and it's the one aspect where you might wish there was a version made for older fans.

The next minus is that a couple of primary characters are missing - Mokey and Traveling Matt. I'm sure that there's fans who want an even bigger line, but not producing all the main characters is disappointing (especially since I think Matt is one of the neater looking Fraggles). Hopefully that'll change if the DVDs continue to sell, but the gap between this toy line's release and now is pretty big at this point.

You can get all four toys - Wembley, Red, Boober & Gobo - at toysrus.com easily. Don't ask me why, but Wembley and Boober are $11.99 + shipping (each), and Gobo and Red are $12.99 + shipping (each).

And So It Goes

VARIETY: Singleton hunts for 'A-Team' team
Fox in early talks with director on remake
By TATIANA SIEGEL - Posted: Sun., Dec. 16, 2007, 8:00pm PT

Director John Singleton is gearing up to direct a bigscreen version of 1980s TV series "The A-Team" and talking about the casting possibilities all over town.

Twentieth Century Fox is in early talks with the helmer to resuscitate the gang, but the studio said no deal is in place, and the project is not envisioned as a pre-SAG/DGA strike affair.

Ice Cube, who starred in Singleton's debut, "Boyz N the Hood," has been rumored as a potential B.A. Baracas (played by Mr. T in the NBC series), but Fox denied that possibility.

Latest incarnation, penned by Jayson Rothwell, revolves around a group of Iraq vets wanted by the U.S. military for a crime they didn't commit. Their adventures combine helping the innocent while running from the law. Story has been given a modern twist by involving oil tycoons and laser technology.

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Nothing says 'modern' to me like lasers and oil barons.