Toy OTD: Musical Banana Splits Plush: Snorky

Here's yet another late '60s Hanna-Barbera show that I don't like all that much, but still feel compelled to collect the merchandise! What can I say? I like Iwao Takamoto's character designs, like many of the other H-B programs.

The show was essentially Laugh-In for kids. The Splits (animal musician costumes created by Sid & Marty Krofft) would 'perform' songs, which were broken up with animated segments (The Three Musketeers), live-action serials (Danger Island) and various non sequitur comedy bits.

There was a fair amount of toys spun off from the series, but Splits figures haven't been made all that often. So when a set of eight-inch 'beanie' plushes surfaced in the UK, I snapped up the best-looking one: the drummer, Snorky!

As you can see, my love for these characters transcends my finicky nature - it's not very accurate to the later Snorky, much less the early version of the design. The trunk, hands and feet are inexplicably dark, and the eyes seem small and poorly mounted. Simply changing the eyes' pupils, lowering their position on the head, or maintaining better alignment would boost this toy's appeal in a big way! The polka dots on the ears seem too large and too close together, and the fur seems to be a bit too dark. The proportions are fine otherwise, and the plastic hat is a great touch.

Ideally, it'd be wonderful if this toy could stand or sit on its own - my biggest issue with plushes is that the majority of them can't - but that doesn't detract from things all that much.

There's also a musical feature - squeeze Snorky's tummy, and he (she?) plays the Banana Splits theme song. Kids will probably enjoy it, but the novelty wears off quickly. It's a nice detail, but personally I'd rather that the effort had gone into the plush itself.

I still can't find these for sale in the U.S, but you can get Snorky right now (not to mention the other band members) on eBay.uk starting at £2.99 + £2.00 shipping. Good luck!

Toy OTD: Monsters On Ice Toys: Smitty & Needleman Plushes

These plushes are some the rarest Monsters, Inc. toys that I have - I think they were only sold at the Monsters On Ice show that toured a while back, and I've never seen them again. Not at the theme parks, not on eBay... they just disappeared!

I really love Smitty and Needleman, so I bought these toys in spite of the fact that they're just okay, quality-wise. In a way, though, they feel a little like hand-crafted toys - they've got a naive charm to them!

The basic shapes and colors are there, and most of the simplified features look fine. The fabric 'hardhats' and Needleman's pinched upper lip are the most awkward details. I'm not sure Needleman really needed his chin hair, but it's an interesting touch. To their credit, the designers and manufacturers didn't add anything to the characters, either - at least they're not dressed with/holding extraneous clothing or props that the characters didn't own or wear in the film.

Neither of them stand up very well, there's no wire armature inside to make them posable, and there's no accessories (not that I really need any). Some plushes manage to balance on feet loaded with heavier plastic 'beans', but no such luck here.

I have no idea who manufactured these - the tag only has licensing information on it. These were sold loose at a handcart (or maybe a kiosk) outside of the show, and I think they were both less than ten dollars each.

I still can't find these toys for sale online anywhere - all I can say is keep that eBay favorite search running... good luck!

Toy OTD: Ideal Magilla Gorilla Plush ('60s)

You don't see this construction approach used often anymore, but I like it: a vinyl head or face attached to a plush body. You can play to the strengths of both materials, each to its advantage: the precision of vinyl to get a more on-model face, and the cuddliness of a plush. I'm assuming it's too hard to anchor down a vinyl head to meet today's safety standards - or maybe it's simply a lot more expensive.

For a plush, there's a lot of detail: the tie, pants, suspenders, differently-colored shoes, 'shoelaces', even the little bars on the suspenders! The colors may not be spot-on, but they're close enough to evoke the character properly. The head sculpt is appealing, and the paint work is pretty tight, considering the era that the toys was made. Of course, the 'airbrushed' highlights in the mouth and ears are particularly nice!

If you buy plushes, you're probably going to have balance issues, and sure enough this toy can't stand or sit on its own. It's a shame that the design couldn't commit to one or the other, but the looks is so fun and colorful (not to mention accurate) that it helps to make up for it.

If you want to get a Magilla of your own, you can buy one at gasolinealleyantiques.com for $95.00 + shipping. Have fun!

Toy OTD: Applause Rover Dangerfield Plush (1991)

It's obscure character time once again here at Toy of the Day! How many of you remember the 2-D animated feature gold rush that started to build in the late '80s with The Little Mermaid and Who Framed Roger Rabbit? And who also remembers that Rodney Dangerfield once starred in his own cartoon movie?

If you were working in the feature realm, and weren't on salary somewhere at that time, chances are you probably worked on it (I was still part of the Not-Ready-For-Feature-Length Players, so I didn't). Many of the the non-Disney films from this period quickly vanished into the mists, leaving only a few toys in their wake.

I'm a big Rodney Dangerfield fan, and I always liked how the design looked like him, so I'm still drawn to the toy even though I wasn't that fond of the movie. I think Applause did a nice job of capturing the design in a simple, even-more-streamlined plush form. The colors are striking, the construction is solid, and it has a cute, sad-sack quality to it.

This toy is long out of stores, but since there isn't a lot of demand for Rover merchandise, it'll be very affordable - in fact, there's one for sale on eBay right now for $24.95 + shipping. Snap it up!

Toy OTD: Applause Jetsons Doll: Elroy (1990)

This is an older toy that I've had since my days at Tiny Toons (we're talking early nineties). Warner Brothers TV Animation was in the Imperial Bank building, right next to the Sherman Oaks Galleria. Naturally, we'd pop down there at lunchtime to shop and play video games. One of the neastest stores in the mall was part of a chain called Cartoon Junction.

Animated features and television shows were getting better again after a big dry period in the late sixties through to the mid-eighties. They also started to make money, and a new generation of cartoon geeks were growing up and began earning disposable income. The means to manufacture toys had improved drastically since the last peak in the late fifties/early sixties. The success of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? inspired many studios to re-examine their classic licenses. The time was right for a new wave of animation-based merchandise, so chains like The Disney Store and Cartoon Junction began to emerge.

Anyway, this is one of the toys I bought at Cartoon Junction when merchandising began to pick up. Applause released a line of vinyl/plush Jetsons toys, and though the line was pretty uneven in terms of quality, I snapped up George and Elroy!

It's an appealing combination of materials, the vinyl allowing for a far more accurate facial sculpt. The plush body makes it a bit cuddlier, plus it gives the feeling of a cloth costume, since the extremities are vinyl, too. In the minus column, it's not all that posable, plus it doesn't balance very well. The plush collar is very thick, so it might have been better to cast it with the vinyl head, and then segue to the cloth body. Otherwise, it's a cute, affordable toy.

This figure isn't in big demand, so it shouldn't cost you a lot of money to buy. There's an auction for one on eBay right now starting at $9.95 + shipping, complete with its original tags. Good luck!

Toy OTD: McDonald's Happy Meal Premium: Chibi-Style Jack Sparrow

It's interesting how fast-food premiums can manifest themselves. Of course, it's not at all surprising that the Pirates of the Caribbean films had tie-in items; but it is intriguing to see how the toys themselves sort out.

One idea that one would think was a 'gimme' would be to make Jack Sparrow action figures to sail the Happy Meal armada throughout America. If you'll forgive the oversimplification, a Jack action figure for the boys; and a cutesy Elizabeth Swan doll for the girls.

The surprise, then, is that the only Jack Sparrow toy in the line is a cute, Hello-Kitty-style plush doll. It's not as blatantly made for girls as many McDonald's toys, but it's not blatantly for boys, either. I realize that Cap'n Jack has a lot of appeal for young (and not-so-young) ladies, but it's unusual for Happy Meal toys to be (relatively) genderless.

All that aside, it's just a nice little toy. The design is really appealing, and it's a great simplification of the character (though the likeness to Depp has pretty much evaporated). I'm sure it's not the most durable item, but it seems solidly constructed for a free premium.

I suppose it's really not fair to expect stand-alone support from a free plush, but the biggest minus is that it can't stand up (and I don't think doll stands come that small). The only other fault is that there isn't a corresponding Elizabeth, Will Turner, or Barbossa toy. I would've loved to have seen how those characters would've been designed!

Even though this line of toys is long sold out, this toy isn't terribly hard to find. You can buy one on eBay (along with four other toys from different promotions) right now for $3.99 + 5.00 shipping. Good luck!

Toy OTD: Mattel Bear In The Big Blue House Plush: Tutter

The best Henson character designs are perfectly suited for merchandising, as they're practically toys already! The cast of Bear In The Big Blue House hearkens back to old-school Muppet design - bright colors, and bold, simple shapes. That puts you on second base already, but it still takes a good licensee to bring the design home in a great toy.

Mattel's done a fine job of adapting Tutter into a appealing, affordable plush! It's very cute and faithful to the source. A wide variety of Bear merchandise was available, but this toy was definitely my favorite!

I originally bought this at a Target for ten dollars (or less). The toys aren't sold in stores any more, but you can get Tutter and his buddy Treelo for $10.16 right now on eBay.

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).

Toy OTD: Gemmy Industries Hocus Pocus Plush

Here's a simple beanie-plush from Gemmy's Frosty The Snowman line, I'm assuming that there's two reasons why plastic 'beans' are added to the majority of small plushes - 1) it helps them stay upright; and 2) it lumps them into the Beanie Baby category, which I'm sure helps them sell better. Maybe, anyway - I'm not sure there's any heat left to the beanie craze.

This is a pretty basic toy, but it's a good likeness of the character. The embroidered eyes help preserve some of the original 2-D design. The shapes and texture are nice and straightforward, and there's no gratuitous branding or labeling to clutter it up - a really nice job for the price point.

I can't find this toy for sale online right now, so you'll have to cast your net on eBay and see what turns up. Good luck!

Toy OTD: Dakin Dream Pets: Mimi Octopus #16, Flying Tiger #6 (2004)

This line of plushes began in the late fifties and ran for over twenty-five years, spawning thousands of different characters. Some of them were revived as inexpensive replicas a few years ago, and I love them! Simple designs with appealing colors and shapes - here's a couple of them, along with an excerpt from cuddlycollectibles.com:

The year was 1957. R. Dakin & Company began importing electric trains. The early trains were packed with six small (quirky) velveteen stuffed critters whose intended use was to cradle the trains on the long journey. Unexpectedly, these sawdust-filled funsters created more excitement than the trains they were intended to protect. R. Dakin's packing material, Dream Pets - the Original Stuffed Toy - were about to become a cultural icon adored by everyone around the world. As popularity and demand for Dream Pets grew over time, so did the Dream Pet community. By the mid-seventies, there were over 2000 different Dream Pets born, to fulfill the fantasies and capture the imagination of millions. Dream Pets were a phenomenon for over a quarter of a century. Today R. Dakin & Co. is very proud to welcome Dream Pets back into the world and into your hearts.

These sold for about $8-$10 in 2004, but I don't think they sold all that well. They were quickly remaindered for just a few dollars each, so if you run across any these days, they'll probably still be pretty cheap. As you might expect, cuddlycollectibles.com has both of these for sale - and plenty of the others - for $9.99 + shipping each. Not rock-bottom dollar, but they haven't risen in price, either - a great design value!

Toy OTD: '60s Ideal Peter Potamus Doll

This is a really nice vintage doll I found on eBay a while back. It's unusual that a plush can stand on its own, so it gets big points just for that (I think there's a bendable frame within the stuffing)! It's still cuddly, and quite well made - the designers made the head out of plastic so that material could do the heavy design lifting. Nice colors and simple details - the leg wrinkles even work for the character! Good proportions, too.

I think this toy cost around $60.00 or so. There's one for sale at gasolinealleyantiques.com for $79.50 + shipping, but it's not in very good shape. I see the phrases rare! and hard to find! thrown about by dealers so often, I never really know when to believe it.

Toy OTD: Modern Pets Wind-Up Baton Poodle

This is a tricky item to research - I'm not sure if Modern Pets is the name of both the manufacturer and the line, or just the line. At any rate, this is the current Japanese equivalent of the Dakin Dream Pets toy line, consisting of a completely different series of animal designs.

This character is called "Baton Poodle", and it's somewhat unique - while there are many plushes and some vinyl figures of the various designs, this is the only wind-up toy in the line (that I'm aware of). As you'd expect, it shakes its batons about when wound up.

I bought mine for around $18 or so at Super 7 in San Francisco, but they don't have them in stock any longer. If you can read Japanese, you can buy a wind-up Baton Poodle here for 1,344 Yen (or $11.59 USD) + shipping.