Toy OTD: Vandor Horton Hears a Who Elephant Bird Lamp (2002)

Just as Vandor released merchandise to take advantage of the live-action Cat in the Hat movie, they also whipped up a batch of tie-ins to coincide with the computer-animated Horton Hears a Who! film. As before, the results were uneven, but there were some gems in the line. My favorite of these: probably the resin Horton elephant-bird lamp.

It's a small lamp, intended for a child's bedside. The design and execution are just about perfect - the sculpt is very true to the original drawings, and the eggshell is cleverly used as the base and shade. There's some small paint issues, as not all of the polka dots are painted, but in general it's a beautiful piece. Taking advantage of the resin's translucency in the shade is another great touch.

There's some significant practicality issues, too - a resin lamp wouldn't last long in a toddler's room, and the shade comes off very easily. Combine that with a hot lamp bulb, and you may want to think twice about keeping this in your child's room once they start crawling. Keep it out of reach in a baby's room, and it'll work just fine. Maybe it was only intended for collectors - it's difficult to tell.

Unfortunately, I didn't hang onto the lamp's packaging, but I remember it looking about average for this kind of licensed product - not awful, but not dazzling, either. It wasn't crowded with detail, and the colors seemed appropriate for the Seuss palette. There wasn't much in the way of artwork on the box - mainly the book logo and Seuss text in the expected fonts. The patterns were simple, but not nearly as striking as some of the book artwork would've been. Like the Enesco Rudolph pieces I reviewed earlier, I think the manufacturer expects retailers to unpack one for display, rather than making the box design do the work.

You can still get this lamp online for a decent price. It's for sale at dogwoodvalley.com for $75.00 (including shipping). Snap it up!

New, AWESOME Dr. Seuss Toys Coming Soon!!

VINYLPULSE.COM: Dr. Seuss -- Horton Hears a Who! from Super Rad Toys
Feb 25, 2008

Dr. Seuss mesmerized generations (and continues to do so) of children with numerous books filled with his unique drawings and memorable rhymes. Horton Hears a Who!, one of his most popular titles, tells the tale of the well-known elephant and his ability to hear the tiny and therefore unseen Who's. The lovable Horton who reminds us all 'That a person is a person, no matter how small", will soon be released as a vinyl art toy from Super Rad Toys.

The 10" rotocast vinyl figure features an inquisitive Horton eyeing the tiny world of Whoville (situated on a 'speck' atop a pink flower). In addition to the White Classic Book edition pictured here (production sample -- final may vary) , Horton will also drop in Orange, Classic Gray,and a Blue 'Night' edition. Logo versions of a few colorways will be available as well. Looking further out, look for several artist editions from Jeremyville, Joe Ledbetter, Mike DeFeo (Blue Sky Studios), Tragnark and more. Horton will drop around the time the children's book hits the big-screen on March 14th 2008 as a CG animation film from 20th Century Fox / Blue Sky Studios (the people behind Ice Age). In addition to the large 10" version, Super Rad Toys will also release 3" and 1.5" keychain versions down the line. Click through to see the many shades and sides of Horton.

Horton is the first of several Dr. Seuss figures coming from Super Rad Toys. Expect to see toys based on Cat In The Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, Yertle the Turtle, Fox in Sox and more.

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