Mattel's PIXAR "Minis"—SERIES 2 Review (with Blind Bag Codes)!

IT'S ABOUT TIME! At long last, I finally got my hands on Mattel's "PIXAR" Minis—Series 2! The first series—"PIXAR" Series 1—came out last spring (soon after being revealed at the New York Toy Fair) and this second series should have followed shortly after that. So what happened?? Well this Series 2 was in fact released last year, but only internationally (I believe only in Mexico, Japan and possibly other countries; I've heard the UK has gotten them recently as well). I have no idea why the US never got them (at least I've never heard of anyone finding them here). I waited over a year hoping they would finally get distributed here, but no such luck. So how did I get them? Well, I finally gave in and bought them overpriced on eBay of course! Since at this point there's no guarantee they'll ever show up here in the states, I wanted to secure them while I still could (even if I had to pay $7 for each one). Ultimately it was totally worth it to me since I've been such an avid collector of Mattel's Minis; I couldn't stand missing an entire series.

If you're unfamiliar with Mattel's "Minis", let me share a little more about them. The line began with Toy Story "Minis" Series 1 blind bags (and a 10-pack) back in 2016 and, was so popular, it continued on up through Series 5 in 2018. In 2019, after a bit of a hiatus, the "Minis" made a comeback in a new Toy Story 4 centric collection—which had several series of its own in 2019 featuring previously released characters and new ones from Toy Story 4. Because of the success of these mini figures, Mattel expanded the "Minis" style figures last year in 2020 to Onward (seen HERE), more Toy Story (seen HERE), Soul (seen HERE) and a general "PIXAR" series (seen HERE, which is the "PIXAR Series 1" I referred to above). 

Earlier this year, a surprise "Pixar All-Star Rivals" series came out (seen HERE) which is separate from "PIXAR" Series 1 & 2 (though it is similar to "PIXAR" Series 2 here since both feature hero and villain pairs). Pixar's next film Luca will also be getting its own Minis series as well. You can see all the Minis in my collection by exploring the "Mattel Pixar Minis" label to the right of this page.

BLIND BAG CODES—
Ok now for what many of you are here for—the blind bag codes! What's really neat about any of the blind bags that Mattel puts out is that you don't have to guess which character is inside if you have the right info and know what to look for. There's a code (a series of numbers/letters) on the back of each bag near the top. The last letter is what you're looking for as it will correspond to a particular character. For example, the bag I have down below (I circled the letter you want to pay attention to) is bag L (who is Alpha from Up). It's that simple! Here's the full list:

• A- Zurg
• B- Buzz Lightyear
• C- Boo
• D- Randall
• E- Remy
• F- Chef Skinner
• G- Mr. Incredible
• H- Syndrome
• I- Miguel 
• J- Ernesto de la Cruz
• K- Dug
• L- Alpha 
  

 

All of the Minis in this series are brand new, except Buzz Lightyear (who's a repack from the Toy Story 4 Minis) and Zurg (who's a repack from the original 2016 Toy Story Minis). Mr. Incredible was also released in the Pixar Minis Advent Calendar I got recently (seen HERE). So yah, I didn't rebuy Buzz, Zurg or Mr. Incredible since I already got them previously, but I included them here in this review so your can see the collection in its entirety. 

I should also note that even though Randall here is the same sculpt as the Pixar All-Star Rivals Series version from this year (seen HERE), this one in "PIXAR" Series 2 is actually a different version version as it doesn't have the translucent legs/tail.

Check them all out in more detail below!

 

 BUZZ LIGHTYEAR

ZURG

BOO

RANDALL

 

MR. INCREDIBLE

SYNDROME

REMY

CHEF SKINNER

 

DUG

 

ALPHA

 
MIGUEL

ERNESTO DE LA CRUZ

I think that just about covers it! I absolutely love the unique and diverse selection of characters Mattel gave us here with this series. While I don't feel Buzz and Zurg were necessary to include here (not only have they already been released, but Toy Story has had many series of its own; I would have loved to see two new characters here instead), it's still an awesome group.  

 

"PIXAR" Series 3 was also suppose to come out last year, but it never happened. Has it been canceled or just delayed? As seen at last year's Toy Fair, it was to include Merida & Bear Cub from Brave, Kevin & Russell from Up, Fear & Disgust from Inside Out, Heimlich & Flik from A Bug's Life and Jack-Jack & Elastigirl from The Incredibles. Luckily we still ended up getting Flik in the Pixar All-Star Rivals series and Elastigirl in the Pixar Minis Advent Calendar. I'm still holding out hope that Series 3 still gets its proper release as planned! 

Which character here is YOUR fave? What other Pixar characters would you like to see Mattel make in a future series? Shout out your thoughts down in the comment section below and stay tuned for more from my Pixar collection right here soon! 

Follow me on Instagram @danthepixarfan