Cars: Mater with Oil Can

From Mattel, here we have the 1:55 scale diecast of Mater with Oil Can! This variation of everyone's favorite tow truck was released in 2009/2010 in the "Final Lap" lenicular eyes series (#130). He is a "Chase" edition, which means he was harder to come by back in the day (though nowadays, he's very easy to find for cheap online).

As shown in the screenshot above, this version of Mater is based on the hilarious scene in Cars when he spits out his oil and exclaims, "He did what in his cup?!" This diecast really captures that moment well (and even comes with a movie accurate oil can accessory to help recreate the scene).

Check out his "lenticular eyes" in action in my brief video below-

 Looking to add this Mater to you Disney·Pixar Cars collection? Find it on eBay HERE (link to current listings) or on Amazon using the direct link below. 

The Good Dinosaur: TOMY Galloping Butch

Back in October of last year, I reviewed the entire line of TOMY The Good Dinosaur action figures in three parts (Part 1, Part 2 & Part 3- check 'em out!); but you might have noticed one was left out. Well, here he is at last- the fantastic Galloping Butch!

Though I also purchased the basic "extra large" figure of Butch (see in Part 3), that one is a lot smaller and does not have any sounds or action features; So I couldn't resist getting this one as well! Last summer at the D23 Expo, a representative at the Good Dino TOMY booth mentioned to me that the Galloping Butch here is actually much more accurately in scale with the rest of the action figure line and is meant to be included with that assortment.

This Butch is about 15" tall and 18" long. It's pretty massive! It's made of a sturdy plastic, requires three AA batteries (included) and retails for $39.99.

HOW IT WORKS 
Just hold onto Butch while pressing the button on his tail and watch his legs move in a galloping motion! As he "gallops", Butch also lunges forward with chomping action and with various galloping sounds, roars and movie phrases. You can also hear his sounds without the galloping (but with an opening mouth) by pressing down on his little T-Rex arms.

On the side of Butch, there is a switch with three modes: ENG, Sound FX (a little speaker icon) and Off. ENG is, I'm assuming, referring to English. That's where you'll here most of the movie phrases. When switched to the little speaker icon, you'll hear mostly sound effects (such as roars and growls).

Below are all Butch's sounds and phrases:
 
"ENG" MODE

• "Head off those longhorns!"
• "We got longhorns to round up."
• "Rustlers...we gotta move. Hee-ya!"
• "At first light, we ride."
• Various roars

 SOUND FX MODE (speaker icon) 

• Various roars 
• Growl 
• "Hee-yaaa!"
• "Whoaaa..." 

Check out my brief video below to see it in action! You can also view TOMY's official promo video for the toy HERE.



A common misconception with this toy is that he gallops around the house all on his own. This has led to numerous silly negative reviews, as many have purchased it with that in mind. I've seen many reviews actually say that they were disappointed because when they stood him up on his own and pressed the button, he fell over (expecting him to start galloping around). SO I just wanted to clarify here: you have to be holding Butch while pressing the button in order to achieve the galloping effect (as seen in the promo video and on the back of the package).

All in all, I think this is a really cool dinosaur toy. A lot of young kids will have a blast with it for sure! My age recommendation for this is for kids 4+ (since it is relatively heavy to hold while simultaneously pressing the button ).

You can find this in stores now (I've seen it all over at stores like Target and Toys R Us) or on Amazon using the direct link below!



UPDATE
Thought you would want to see a comparison pic showing the size difference between the standard Butch and the Galloping Butch! Here you go- 

WALL·E: LEGO Set

From concept to store shelves, this LEGO WALL·E by designer Angus MacLane was a long time coming...

A BRIEF HISTORY
Angus MacLane, directing animator at Pixar for 2008's WALL·E (as well as the director of Toy Story of Terror and co-director of the upcoming Finding Dory) is not only a huge fan of LEGO, but an expert builder as well. In fact, his Twitter bio even states, "Cartoon director by day, LEGO builder by night." Over the past decade or so (ever since animation began on WALL·E in 2005), MacLane built and rebuilt the famed robot using LEGO, perfecting its design with each incarnation.

That leads us all the way to 2013, when MacLane submitted his creation to the official LEGO Ideas site (where LEGO fans from all around the world can submit their ideas for possible wide production). In order for the LEGO team to seriously consider the project, however, it first needed to reach 10,000 votes from the public (you know he got my vote!). During that period of gaining supporters, MacLane continued to tweak the model's look.

On July 29th, 2014, the WALL·E project made it to the 10,000 supporters mark. But that wasn't the end! It still needed to be evaluated and approved by the LEGO review board.

Flash forward to February 4th, 2015 when it was officially announced that the WALL·E set was approved for production (see official announcement HERE)! How cool right? What a big accomplishment; MacLane must have been ecstatic. On June 12th, 2015, the final look of the product (as well as the box's design) was revealed.

The product was first available at the 2015 D23 Expo (which took place in August), but not for purchase. A few lucky people actually won the set and were able to have it signed by Angus MacLane himself! On September 24th, 2015, WALL·E was finally released to the public in North America for fans to enjoy. Phew- What a journey!

BUILDING WALL·E

I had an absolute blast building WALL·E. Check out my unboxing and some of the different building stages below! 

 

Instruction booklet is 127 pages in length

After approximately six hours of building time (roughly two hours a day for three days or so) and 677 pieces later, he was complete! Though some may build him much faster than that, I feel like I was going at a pretty average pace (plus I had a good amount of interruptions)- so plan on spending about that on building him. 

WALL·E measures about 7" high, 6" long and 6" wide. He features working treads (works best if pushed along a carpet, rather than hard surfaces), an opening compactor and articulated hands, fingers, arms, eyes and neck! Of course I love the plant detail as well.

The only slightly negative thing I found with this (for me personally) was that the bags weren't labeled by number like they usually are these days, so you'll have to have all the pieces out at once (which was a lot to sort through when trying to find specific bricks). The best thing to do in this case is to sort them by color before starting; that helped move things along a bit quicker I feel. It all worked out fine though!

Anyway, time for some detailed pics- photo shoot!

There you go! What a fantastic set.  For all you LEGO and Disney·Pixar fans- this is a must have! Perfect for young and adult collectors.

Interested in picking this up for your collection? Then head to Amazon using the link below! Retail is $59.99.

The Good Dinosaur: Disney Store Plush Collection

Over the past few years, I've become a big collector of the Disney Store/Parks exclusive Pixar plush toys. Ultimately it started with just picking up a few of the Pixar Studio Store exclusive Short films plush and then it kind of took off from there. When two new Pixar films were set to arrive in 2015, I knew I had a lot of plush to look forward to!

Even before the release of The Good Dinosaur merchandise this past fall, I knew the character designs would lend themselves perfectly to plush toys- so I looked forward to their inevitable release. On September 28th, I got what I hoped for when they hit shelves along with the rest of the Good Dino merch.

Plush toys can be hard to get right, as far as likeness is concerned, but the "Disney Authentic" ones usually do the characters justice. With that said, I was definitely not disappointed with this The Good Dinosaur assortment! Though Arlo is by far my favorite here, the whole collection looks really good. There are lots of nice details, such as Butch's scar/rotten tooth and Forrest's pet bird Debbie.

Each character is a really decent size. They're all considered "medium" size plush, except for Spot who is classified as "small". Every dino feels very durable and well made using a variety of soft, premium materials and fabrics with embroidered features.

Check them out in more detail below with specific sizes, prices and links to buy!

Arlo

(19 1/2" - $19.95 - Purchase HERE)

 T-Rex Butch

 (13" - $19.95 - Purchase HERE)

 Spot

(9" - $14.95 - Purchase HERE)

Forrest Woodbush w/ Debbie

(13" - $19.95 - Purchase HERE)

 Thunderclap 

(28" Wingspan - $19.95 - Purchase HERE)

 Additionally, I wanted to note that there is also a baby Arlo "Hatch and Reveal" plush (which will be reviewed here soon) and a large size Arlo (which measures 23" rather than 19 1/2", if you'd rather go the next size up).

I highly recommend these to any fan of the film! Whether for a kid or for a collector, you really can't go wrong here. If you'd like to grab these dinos for your collection, be sure to head to your local Disney Store to check for availability. If you'd rather just pick them up online, you can use any of the direct links to the Disney Store's website above...hurry though! Since there's a pretty quick turnover rate there at the Disney Store, with so many new movies coming out constantly, these won't be available forever.

Get them while you can!

Toy Story: 20th Anniversary Tee

Yee-Haw! In commemoration of Toy Story's 20th anniversary this past fall (yes, it's been that long; feel old?), the Disney Store released this fun tee for a limited time! This was only available during the week of November 16 through November 22, 2015.  

Though I ordered this during that time frame, it took over a month to come (looking back, the page did state that it would take an extra three to five weeks for delivery for whatever reason); so it wasn't actually too long ago that I received this in the mail. I was beginning to think it wasn't coming!

I really loved the design of this tee when I saw it, so it was a must for me being the massive Toy Story fan that I am. All the iconic elements (the logo, the clouds, the Luxo ball...) combined with the big "20" is just perfect. Getting this tee for me was a fun way to celebrate such a big milestone! It's a great collector's piece as well.

On the back of the tee, near the neckline, you can see the official Toy Story 20th Anniversary logo with the Pizza planet Alien (which is a nice little added detail).

Another cool thing (that I actually hadn't noticed until tonight), is that it also says "Andy" (in Andy's signature backwards style) on the inside of the shirt near the bottom. Really cool stuff! 

Though this isn't in stock anymore, you can visit the original Disney Store page still HERE. Other than that, if you're looking to track this down, keep a look out on eBay. One's bound to show up there sooner than later! Best of luck.

The Good Dinosaur: A Friend in the Wild

Here we have another fantastic The Good Dinosaur children's book..."A Friend in the Wild", written by Brandi Dougherty and illustrated by Denise Shimabukuro & Maria Elena Naggi!

This is an adorable, simply written book filled with stunning illustrations. I don't know who's in charge of seeking out artists for Disney publishing, but they especially found some great ones in regards to The Good Dinosaur. Almost every Good Dino book that's been released features illustrations that perfectly match a particular style that I'm drawn to; but they've also all been distinctly different.

The illustrations here are very unique as they're mostly made up of very straight lines and basic geometric shapes. Really beautiful stuff... And as you can already tell with the front and back covers, the overall color pallet is incredibly soft, yet so striking and vibrant. 

The story is written in the style of a survivor guide and is 32 pages in length. It doesn't follow the film's story per se, but there are many familiar characters and elements that you'll recognize (like the gophers, T-Rex, fireflies, etc).

Check out some of the pages below!

Also included with this nice hard cover edition is a digital Disney eBook version as well! Something to keep in mind- that should definitely be useful someday.

Have a little Good Dino fan in your life? Then this might be exactly what you're looking for! Highly recommended.

Find it on Amazon using the direct link below and enjoy:

Toy Story: Hatch 'n Heroes (Part 2- Bullseye & Rex)

Check out part 1 HERE!

Last February, during the 2015 Toy Fair, Bandai revealed "Hatch 'n Heroes"- a new collection of small, plastic, egg shaped toys based on some of your favorite Disney & Pixar characters! Appropriately, they arrived in stores right around Easter.

The first batch of [Pixar] characters released in the initial wave included Buzz and Woody from Toy Story and Nemo and Dory from Finding Nemo. Cars characters were then made available late last year (see HERE and HERE). Now, a new wave of Hatch n' Heroes based on Toy Story (celebrating its 20th anniversary) has just hit shelves- Bullseye, Rex, Buzz Lightyear (newly designed) and a Pizza Planet Alien!

Today I'll just be taking a look at Bullseye and Rex, but stay tuned for the other two right here soon.

These are fun and unique little toys. They start off in the shape of an egg, but as you fold out the various tucked away parts (very similar to Transformers), you begin to see the character take shape! A cute, simple concept.

Lets take these out of the package for a closer look at what I mean...

Bullseye 

Rex

Hatch n' Heroes Pros: Admittedly, yes, these are a bit random- but I like 'em. The designs are cute and quite creative! I had fun transforming them and seeing how the many parts were able to be packed into such a little oval shape. It's actually pretty impressive.

My [almost] three year old nephew LOVES these. We call them "eggies" ("eggie Buzz", "eggie Woody", etc.). He literally played with all of them for over an hour last night (transforming them back and forth between the egg and the character) and asks to play with them every time he comes over; so they do seem to be very entertaining. 

Hatch n' Heroes Cons: Many of the parts can pop off very easily, which especially might frustrate parents and the young kids they're made for. However, once you've done some experimenting and get the hang of how to transform them, parts pop off less frequently.

The characters can also be a little hard to transform for kids in their designated age range. Though the packaging recommends these for ages 3+, I would say they're better suited for 4 or 5+ (but of course it totally depends on the kid).                                                                                                                             

I found these at Toys R Us (just today actually), so I would check there if you're looking to track them down! They were around six or seven bucks. If you'd rather just pick them up online, eBay or Amazon might be your best bets.

Have fun!