Hey what's up gang?! Tonight's post is a page update to my Onward Funko "POP!" collection review. Even though I was originally going to pass on getting this Hot Topic exclusive "Limited CHASE Edition" version of the unicorn (which has a blue horn instead of the standard purple horn), I decided my collection felt incomplete without it and thought "why the heck not". Yah, it's not the most exciting Funko Chase out there—I mean, it's almost the exact same at the standard version—but it was the last one I needed and doesn't sell for too much these days anyway (only around $15-$20 on eBay). I actually asked for this for my birthday from my parents in-law back in May, so it was no skin off my back regardless ;) A big thanks to them for hooking me up!
Be sure to check out the original post featuring the [now] complete collection HERE. What are you thoughts?
Well this was a surprise! Most of you won't find this as exciting as me, but I'm still thrilled to share this. After all these years, I stumbled upon a Buzz Lightyear variation that I had no idea about—Running Buzz Lightyear!
I don't know how I managed to miss him, but I'm so glad I stumbled upon his image
while doing some research recently as I try to complete my collection
here. Luckily there was one on eBay for $20 that I snatched right up!
Sure, his pose isn't too different when compared to all the other Buddy
Pack versions of Buzz out there, but it's certainly it's own unique
sculpt and not a repack. This Buzz is inspired by Toy Story 2
when Buzz is running through the airport baggage system to rescue Woody.
Given that the back of the package mentions the "Butte" sticker that
Buzz has stuck on his rear during that moment, I fully expected this
figure to have that. Sadly, I was disappointed (that would have been brilliant)! No Butte sticker here,
but I'm happy to have him regardless since I've been determined to find
every last Toy Story Buddy Pack figure out there.
To make sure my original "Toy Story Buddy Packs Complete Guide" post is as comprehensive as possible, I've added this info there as well with more photos. Check it out HERE and be sure to share your thoughts down below!
Check out this scare-riffic Monsters University "Opening Day 2013" dangle style pin—a Disney Parks exclusive, limited edition of 2,000! This commemorative pin was released on June 21st, 2013 (the day MU arrived in theaters). My good friend Gabby was nice enough to gift this to me recently and I was SO excited when I saw how cool it is. I'm not a huge pin collector, so it wasn't on my radar to track down or anything all these years later, but man am I happy to have it now as part of my collection. It went right on my Pixar pin board and looks fantastic.
I love the character art here (which ended up being on many MU products at the time), designed by the amazing Eric Tan at Disney Consumer Products. He's one of my absolute favorites! All the characters on this pin— Mike Wazowski, Sulley, Don, Art, Squishy and Randall— are adorably stylized.
What are your thoughts? Do you have this pin in your Disney/Pixar pin collection? If you're wanting to snag it, you can find it very easily on eBay for almost nothing these days. Let me know any comments or questions you might have down below and stay tuned for more right here on the blog daily!
Following my post from Saturday, today I'm looking at another Mattel Cars 1:55 scale diecast as part of the new "Welcome to Radiator Springs" series now available at Target—Radiator Springs Lightning McQueen (with video phone accessory)!
I had no idea this was even coming this year, since this "Welcome to
Radiator Springs" assortment wasn't even on this year's poster; so when I saw it
at Target a week or so ago, I was SO excited! Not because of the Radiator Springs Lightning McQueen diecast (I already have him), but because of the video phone accessory. That phone was previously only available in THIS 10-Pack and I wasn't about to fork out all that money just to get that little accessory (especially since I already had all the other cars in that set). I'm glad I held off and got it here with this McQueen for a couple bucks!
This release also comes with a brand new "I'm not speeding, I'm qualifying" bumper sticker.
Here's the weird thing though... "Radiator Springs Lightning McQueen" is from the first Cars film (the very end) and the video phone appeared only in Cars 3 (screen shot above). It's weird they would combine the films like that, but hey, it works for me since I just wanted the phone anyway.
You can see Rusty and Dusty on the video phone, just like in Cars 3.
There are five other (six total) single cars in this little sub-series
(like McQueen here, they all come with a brand new/unique bumper sticker): Blowing Bubbles Mater (with hay bail), Sally with Tattoo (with dinner table), Ramone (with
oil can), Doc Hudson (with Piston Cup trophy) and Sheriff (no
accessory). You can see them all HERE. There's also a Sarge (with traffic cone) available in THIS "Welcome to Radiator Springs" 4-Pack. Again, all of these are available at Target right now, so be sure to get them while you can!
What are your thoughts? Let me know what you think and any questions you might have in the comment section below.
As a longtime Disney·Pixar Cars collector, I'm absolutely thrilled with this re-release! Mattel has finally brought back their 1:55 scale diecast "Blowing Bubbles Mater" for the first time since 2010 (when he was available as a single in the "Final Lap Collection" and as a lenticular release in THIS 3-Car Gift Pack). I missed out on him originally and have been trying to track him down for a decade now. He got up there in price on eBay, typically selling between $30 and $50, so I could never justify it. I'm glad I didn't have to!
I had no idea this was even coming this year, since this new "Welcome to Radiator Springs" series wasn't on this year's poster—so when I saw it at Target a week or so ago, I was so excited! If you compare this one to the 2010 version though, it's not 100% the same (there are some minor updates to his eye expression and coloring), but it's close enough. What's really cool is that he even comes with a hay bail accessory now (which seems to be the same as the one that was available in THIS 5-Pack; good for me since I never got that set) and a brand new "Tow Mater Towing·Salvage" bumper sticker.
As shown in the screen shot above, Mater can be briefly seen blowing a bubble while getting bored listening to Sally's long spiel about the importance of Radiator Springs during Lighting's court sentence scene.
There are five other (six total) single cars in this little sub-series (like Mater here, they all come with a brand new/unique bumper sticker): Radiator Springs Lightning McQueen (with video phone; I'll be showing that one here soon), Sally with Tattoo (with dinner table), Ramone (with oil can), Doc Hudson (with Piston Cup trophy) and Sheriff (no accessory). You can see them all HERE. There's also a Sarge (with traffic cone) available in THIS "Welcome to Radiator Springs" 4-Pack. All of these are available at Target right now, so be sure to get them while you can!
What are your thoughts? Let me know what you think and any questions you might have in the comment section below.
Tonight's post is a quick page update to my Soul Funko "POP!" write-up! I've just added the last three characters I needed—Mr. Mittens, Moonwind (Soul World) and Mr. Mittens (Soul World)—which complete my collection as of now. Check out the original post HERE for more details!
Just released on July 28th from Random House Publishing, here we have Pixar's latest Little Golden Book—Bao, based the 2018 theatrical short film! This is only the fifth time (after Presto. Mater and the Ghost Light, Your Friend the Rat and Jack-Jack Attack) that a Pixar short has gotten the Little Golden Book treatment. More please!
Synopsis: In Bao, an aging Chinese mom suffering from empty nest syndrome
gets another chance at motherhood when one of her dumplings springs to
life as a lively, giggly dumpling boy. Mom excitedly welcomes this new
bundle of joy into her life, but Dumpling starts growing up fast, and
Mom comes to the bittersweet realization that nothing stays cute and
small forever. This beautifully illustrated Little Golden Book retells
the short film from Pixar Animation Studios and director Domee Shi,
which explores the ups and downs of the parent-child relationship
through the rich, colorful lens of the Chinese immigrant community in
Canada.
This particular Little Golden Book was wonderfully Adapted by Aimee Murata, Illustrated by Sophie Li, Designed by Winnie Ho and based on the film's story directed/written by Domee Shi. It's hardcover, 25 pages long and retails for $4.99.
What I really enjoyed while reading this for the first time is having words associated with what's happening in the story, since the film doesn't have any dialogue or exposition (not that the film needs that, it's perfect visual storytelling, but it was still interesting here). It also may help some younger kids understand things better if they were confused about certain aspects while watching the short.
The illustrations are, once again, outstanding and really capture the classic and timeless Little Golden Book feel with a bit of that retro flair. Take an exclusive look inside below and see for yourself!
What are your thoughts? Anyone else out there as excited as I am about
this release? Will you be adding this to your Disney/Pixar library? Shout it all out down in the comments and hopefully we can
get a conversation going.
If you're interested, you can pick this up today at Barnes & Noble HERE or Amazon using the link below (available as a hard copy and as a digital book).
After a decade, I finally added the Mattel Toy Story Evil Dr. Porkchop Buddy Pack figure to my collection! I found one on eBay recently and could not pass it up for the price (only $12 free shipping with a mint package—usually it sells for $30-$50). I'm thrilled about this one as it's been a whole in my collection for a long time. Check out my full, detailed write-up on the entire Mattel Toy Story Buddy Pack Collection HERE. I just updated it to include new thoughts and reorganized it to make the guide more clear. Enjoy!
I have been chosen! A huge thank you to Mattel for gifting me this super[nova] cute, brand new Comic-Con 2020 Exclusive Pixar Alien Remix Pizza Planet Truck Driver in celebration of the 25th anniversary of Toy Story this year. I feel honored to have received this product for free and thrilled that I have the chance to review it here for you all! I could not believe how fast this thing sold out. It was literally gone within just a few minutes after the link went live. So yes, I am eternally grateful.
This brilliantly executed figure was revealed on the "Mattel Creations" Instagram page on July 14th and dropped there to purchase on July 23rd as a "Comic-Con Exclusive" (since there was no actual Comic-Con this year) for $20. I knew right away that this was a must-have for me. Though I've been on the fence about collecting all of Mattel's Alien Remix figures (mainly just due to the lack of display room these days), I wasn't going to pass this one up. It was just too unique and awesome looking—plus limited/exclusive merch is always more enticing due to the chase. That's the collector in me! The collector in me is also a "completest", so you know what that means. Yup, now I'm going to have to snag Mattel's entire Alien Remix collection. ;)
First of all, like usual, I have to give huge props to the team who designed the packaging. SO good! Mattel always has spacetacular packaging and presentation, especially for their con-exclusives. This box is inspired by what a Pizza Planet pizza box could have looked like if we had seen it on screen in the film. I love how on the back (seen below) it reads "Out of this world flavor" and "Lightspeed delivery across the galaxy" with the asterisk of "*Deliveries guaranteed in 30 minutes within the Tri-County area." Brilliant stuff! It's hard to tell in my photos, but take a closer look and you'll notice a bunch of fake "pizza grease" stains throughout the box as well.
The "Space Toppings" on the side of the box are so clever too! As someone who uses food puns in my work every day (I respond for Subway social media), I really appreciated the effort that went into these. Really fantastic work.
OooOOoooOOooo...check it out!! Ok is this not the coolest? If you didn't know, this figure even comes with a detailed cardboard Pizza Planet Truck (with plastic rocket) to really help take your Alien Remix display to the next level! The delivery driver figure comes displayed (and attached) inside the driver's seat, but can be easily removed.
Take a detailed, out-of-box look below! The truck measures approximately 9" L x 7" H (that's to the top of the rocket) x 4" W.
The trunk has a large open window and space for one (possibly two) Alien Remix figure to fit inside (it would be sweet if both Buzz and Woody could fit; I'll have to test it out). There are some fun printed movie accurate details as well, such as the tool chest, Pizza Planet cup and grape soda can. Lots of "grime" and "dirt" all over the truck too! Even the license plate/number is straight from the film.
There is a clear, thin sheet of plastic on the passenger side window and the windshield. The driver's side window does not have any plastic. As mentioned, the rocket on the top of the truck is also plastic. I really like that touch.
Underneath the truck is a little perforated hatch. Pull this open and then twist off those two little doodads—that will release the driver from being attached to the truck.
Here's a closer look at the truck's "cockpit" (as Buzz calls it) once I removed the figure.
And here's the driver himself! He's seriously OUT OF THIS WORLD CUTE. I love his hat, little outfit (the fact that one side of the shirt is untucked is adorable) and the Pizza Planet pizza box he's holding. He stands just a little over 3" tall. Such a [inter]stellar design!
Well I think that about covers it, everyone. What do you guys think? Do you love this as much as I do? Were you one of the lucky few to snag one the day of release? If you missed out, no worries. Though not ideal, there are plenty of listings on eBay currently if you're willing to pay around $50-$60 for him. If you're a serious collector (and if you're collecting all the other Remix figures), I'd say this is totally worth it and a must-have.
Shout out any questions or comments you may have down below and be sure to stay tuned right here regularly for more from my ever expanding Pixar collection!
UPDATE—My YouTube unboxing/video review is now live on my channel. Linked below!
Here's just a quick little something I picked up during my visit to BoxLunch Gifts last week—this awesome Pixar ball button! I had finished browsing the store, made my purchases and was on my way out when I spotted this. I had to grab it and get back in line as soon as I saw it because 1.) PIXAR BALL and 2.) it was only $1.99. How could I not?
When I got home I found the perfect spot for the button...doesn't it look great on the strap of my Pixar Playtime backpack?! I'm a fan.
Unfortunately none of the buttons you can find in-store at BoxLunch or Hot Topic are sold online. If you have a BoxLunch near you though, definitely check it out to see if they have this one in stock! There were a lot of cool designs, but this one was the true standout. Be sure to let me know your thoughts down below. Did you pick one of these up for your collection? Where do you display your Disney/Pixar pins and buttons?
Wall·E fans— you ready for an awesome collector's piece? Check out this planter featuring a faux succulent and modeled after the iconic boot from the film; a BoxLunch Gifts exclusive! This was such a clever idea and I knew as soon as I saw it that I had to get it to help round out my home office Wall·E shelf. It fits perfect there and looks as good as I hoped it would.
Sure, do I wish the plant was actually modeled after the one seen in the film? Yah of course. But regardless, you get the idea here and it totally works. You can see this product and know right away what it is; most people will still go "hey, the boot from Wall·E!", especially since the boot itself is stylized just as it should be and there's at least some kind of green plant coming out of it.
The boot is ceramic and the entire product measures 4 3/4" long x 6" tall (that's including the plant) x 2.5" wide. It's the perfect small size for a desk or shelf. Retail price is $19.90. I was excited to have found it in-store when visiting a BoxLunch in Maryland last week!
Check it out unboxed below.
This is still in stock on the BoxLunch website, so be sure to snag it while you can! You can purchase it RIGHT HERE. I'd love to hear what you think down below! Have you picked one up for your collection?
If you're visiting my blog, you've most likely seen Pixar's 2009 masterpiece, Up. And if you've seen Up, you probably remember the Paradise Falls savings jug seen briefly in the film's opening "married life" sequence (as Carl and Ellie attempt to save enough money for their dream vacation to Paradise Falls in South America). It's interesting how an object with such little screen time can become so memorable and iconic—that's the mark of a GREAT design!
Anyway, this animated "prop" has always stood out to me and I've always hoped one would get made in real life so I could display it with my other Up "props" on my home office Up shelf (along with my Grape Soda pin and "My Adventure Book"). Well, my wish has [basically] come true! While this isn't an exact replica (I'd say it's more "inspired by" the jug from the film), it's close enough and is actually the perfect size to display.
The main differences compared to the film version are:
This ceramic bank has an iridescent finish instead of being clear glass
It appears to be much smaller here than in the film (this bank measures about 5 3/4" tall x 3 3/4 wide)
The handle is on the opposite side
The image of the Up house with balloons has been added here
Ultimately though, despite the differences, this bank looks fantastic and really captures the spirit of what you see on screen. Even though it's not a 100% match, you know exactly what it is right when you see it!
Take a closer look at this super pretty bank out of the box below...
This is available right now at Hot Topic (purchase on their website HERE) for $19.90. I actually got it in-store at BoxLunch, but it doesn't appear to be on the BoxLunch site currently. If you're any kind of fan of Up, I can't suggest this enough! It is such a cool display piece and a welcome addition to any Disney/Pixar collection. Be sure to snag it while it's available and let me know your thoughts down in the comments.
Check back real soon for more from my Pixar collection!
