A Bug's Life: Complete Action Figure and Vehicle Collection

Here is the full set of Mattel's A Bug's Life action figures to go along with that awesome anthill play set posted earlier! Like the play set, these are all my original figures and vehicles I got Christmas 1998 still with all of their accessories. 

First is Tuck and Roll with spider web trampoline! They can "tuck" and they can be attached together to "roll." 
 

Enemy Molt...With "head butting action!"
 

Princess Atta with warrior gear! Includes staff launcher, warrior wings and shield. Obviously this gear never appeared in the movie, but it works here with the figure.
 

Enemy Hopper! Press the button on his back for "kick striking action!"
 

Warrior Flik with "battle nut weapons" (again, not seen in the film). Press the nutshell on his back for "nut-chuck" (Ha! Totally just made that up) swinging action! Includes a rack to hang the weapons on when not in use. 

 

Francis and Slim 2-pack! Open up Francis's wings to reveal "twin blasting launchers!" Comes with two nails to fire at attacking grasshoppers. Slim is the holder of the nails when not in use, Ha! Where did Mattel come up with some of this stuff? 

 

This is probably the most movie accurate Flik of the bunch (just the figure alone), Inventor Flik with "launching catapult". This device made up by Mattel is, again, not seen in the movie but resembles his harvester machine seen at the beginning of the film. 

 

Hang Glider Flik with leaf hangs glider and "berry blaster"(also not seen in the film).

 

The Battle Bird! Based off of and similar to the bird built by the ants in the film but not 100% accurate. It's still a very fun toy though with firing cherry bombs and flapping wings action (squeeze legs together)! Seats two figures. 

 

This Circus Battle Wagon is also based off the movie and is not the exact cookie box wagon you see P.T. Flea driving in the film. It has an exclusive (and removable) P.T. flea figure and hide away/firing weapons (pull down lever and they pop open). Also, push it along to see the "wobbly wheel action!" The wagon bobs up and down to give the effect of a loose wheel.
 

 Store the projectiles in the wagon when not in use.
 

In addition to the main action figure collection, two other "army builder" 3-packs were also released that go along with this line. Each set includes two ants and one grasshopper-all in fighting mode. First was called Bug Battalion and the other was called Scout Squad. These are more "basic/simplistic figures" and do not have any action features.

Bug Battalion 

 

Scout Squad (Added to my collection on 9/17/14)

It brings back memories to now have one of these sets still in the package. Below you can see how the whole collection was shown on the back of the box.

When this figure collection was released, I remember wondering (even at eight years old) why they didn't release some of the other main characters from the film in this line! It really bugged me (wink), so I found these other Mattel "bendable" figures (called "Bend-eez") at the store to go along with this action figure collection. It gave me the chance to get some of the characters that were not released any other way...and they go perfectly fine with the other ones! Here we have Dim, Manny, Heimlich, Rosie and Dot. Also released in the Bend-eez collection were Slim, Hopper, Princess Atta and Francis (which I didn't get since I had them represented in the standard action figure line).

The only main characters that I still wish were part of either of these figure lines are The Queen and Gypsy...why didn't they just make them?! The gang here feels incomplete with out them. I remember actually calling Mattel when I was around eight years old and asking them if they ever planned on releasing them...the answer was no. The Queen totally could have made a cool action figure! I pictured launching Aphie from the Queen's crown or something.
 

A Bug's life, I feel, is sometimes underestimated or forgotten...But is one of my favorite Pixar films to date (well, they're all my favorite, but still)! It has the Pixar magic and heart we love and is definitely an animated classic—not to mention a breakthrough in animation. My inspiration for this post (to give A Bug's Life some love here on my blog) came from the current "Pixar Perspective" over at the Pixar Times...head over there for their thoughts on the film and remember the legacy!

A Bug's Life: Anthill Playset

 Here is the classic A Bug's Life "Giant Light-Up Anthill" playset from Mattel! It is to be used with the Mattel line of A Bug's Life action figures and vehicles which I'll be showing in the next post.

I was eight years old when A Bug's Life came out. I remember how excited I was for it, as I knew it was coming from the creators of my favorite movie Toy Story. I asked for this play set for Christmas 1998 and we still have the home video of me opening it from my Grandparents. I was so thrilled! This is the original one I got for Christmas that year with all of the original pieces.
 

 Love how it lights up in the back with the shadows of the bugs battling.
 

This is a great play set with lots of fun features including: opening leaf doors, launching projectiles, a trap door and a catapult. Check my Vine soon for some videos of this play set in action.

Pixar Collection: DVDs and Blu Rays

 Here I'm using the bookends from my blog post earlier today to display my Pixar DVD and Blu Ray collection! I am currently trying to slowly upgrade each DVD to Blu Ray. My DVD of The Incredibles and Ratatouille do not have audio commentaries (bummer) and from what I understand, the Blu Ray editions do... So I'm looking forward to those : ) Can't wait to add Monsters University to my collection this fall!

UPDATE: The Monsters University Blu Ray has been added to my collection. Visit my full write-up and review HERE.

Toy Story 2 Bookends

Right around when Toy Story 2 came out (I was nine), my parents surprised me with this great set of Toy Story bookends! I believe they were available at the Disney Store and Parks—from what I remember, I actually think they got this set for me at Disney World back in the day. Anyway, I'm so glad I kept them nice as they have become one of my favorite collectibles. These extremely well made but also fragile. 

Both of these bookends have great detail; I especially love the nods to some of Pixar's early short films like Knick Knack, Red's Dream and Tin Toy. Back when I got this, I never knew about those films and didn't realize what those "book titles" were referring to. Finding Nemo had not been released so most of the world had not seen Knick Knack yet and I didn't see the other two films mentioned until the Pixar Shorts Volume 1 DVD was released. Does anyone know if the other three book titles here are referencing anything else? 

 

This is an extremely rare hard to find set. I have looked everywhere online and have yet to even see an image of this. If anyone sees it somewhere, let me know! I'm just curious to see if anyone else is aware of this.

 

A similar bookend set was released in 2010 at the Disney Store and was based off Toy Story 3. It featured Lotso, Chunk and Stretch along with Woody, Jessie, an Alien, Buzz and Bullseye. If you're a Toy Story fan, keep a look out for either of these bookends! It's a great way to display your Pixar library or Blu-Ray/DVD collection!

Pixar Collection: Stamps!

Here is my collection of Pixar stamps! These were available at post offices everywhere within the last couple of years. This series started with the "Send a Hello" stamps released in 2011 (see a above left)  and was followed by the "Mail a Smile" stamps in 2012 (above right). 

Though not sold at USPS currently, you can still easily find these on Ebay. The set I got included first day issue envelopes with each stamp attached. I'm no stamp collector, but this was a great addition to my Pixar collection... and I just may even have them framed sometime!
 

WALL-E: Disney Store Figure Set

 This is a (now) hard to find WALL-E pvc figure 6-pack set exclusive to the Disney Store! It was released along with the movie in 2008 and is now a little tricky to track down. I don't have many WALL-E figures and wish I had collected them when they were available -so this set will have to do.

Starting from the back row and left to right we have: L-T (Light bot seen in the repair ward in the film), SECUR-T (security bot), VAQ-M (vacuum bot)...

...and front row: EVE, WALL-E and MO of course.

This is a really nice, detailed and well made set...great for any WALL-E/Pixar collection!

Pixar Collection: Little Golden Books

Here is my collection of Pixar Little Golden Books! These are great. I love the style of the illustrations (most of the style is consistent but Brave and Monsters Inc. are a different look from the rest) and the authors do a very good job at condensing the films into short stories. These will be fun to read to my kids someday and look great with any Pixar collection. There is one representing each film except The Incredibles (as you see though, Jack Jack Attack is included) and A Bug's life. If you see these around, flip through them! They're pretty adorable.
 

 UPDATE: 2/10/14

Another welcome addition to my "Little Golden Books" collection, here is Mater and the Ghost Light! This book is based on Pixar's 2006 short film which is included on the Cars DVD and BluRay as well as the Pixar Short Films Collection: Volume 1.

Some cool tidbits on this short: 

• It was co-directed by Monsters University Director Dan Scanlon
• It was co-written by Joe Ranft before he passed away (his last project)
• It was Paul Newman's (voice of Doc Hudson) last project before he passed away

I really love all these books, from the short/simplified stories to the illustration style. I'm looking forward to giving them to my kids someday to read! Look for another post soon on the very last one in my collection and thanks to my parents for this Christmas present.
 

UPDATE: 2/20/14

Here's another cute and simple "Little Golden Book." This one is based on the classic Pixar short film Presto, which was released in 2008 along side Wall-E in theaters.  It's a cool one to have since there really aren't too many Presto items out there (I'm still looking for that Presto Alec Azam bunny plush that was sold exclusively at the DisneyStore.com & Pixar). As you may know, anything out there that's Pixar short film related, I'll grab in a heartbeat!

This one is especially cool since it was illustrated by Pixar's very own, Teddy Newton. He was one of character designers for the actual short and has worked on many projects there at the studio. Besides his work in the art and animation departments, Teddy was also the director of the great short Day & Night and has had many voice cameos throughout the films since his work as the newsreel narrator in The Incredibles. Click on the IMDB link above to check out his whole filmography, you might be surprised at some of the characters he has voiced.

If you're interested in grabbing this book for your collection, you can find it on Amazon (which also has a pre-order for the Kindle edition coming out on February 26th) or eBay below for very cheap prices:

Presto Little Golden Book

 UPDATE: 3/01/14

Today's post is my final update to my Pixar Little Golden Books collection until they happen to release more. Here is You're Friend the Rat based on the short film that was released with the Ratatouille home video release back in 2007. 

 This book was written by Jim Capobianco who was also the director, writer and the narrator voice in the short. He was also involved with the original story of Ratatouille, Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Lion King. He was also a story artist on many of the earlier Pixar films.

The book is also illustrated by 10 Pixarians! There's Willy Hwang, Teddy Newton, Jeff Pidgeon, Jamie Frye, Sanjay Patel, Bob Scott, Craig Foster, Scott Morse, Nate Wragg and Sam Marin.  

 

 As usual with all the Little Golden Books, this one is great. It is simply written (a great little summary of the full story) and has the classic and cute LGB style illustrations. If this isn't part of your collection, be sure to grab it on Amazon here! There is a hardcover edition like mine shown here or there is also a Kindle electronic edition.

Or if you'd like to buy it off eBay, check out the current listings in the link below:

Your Friend the rat Little Golden Book

Toy Story 3: Disney Store Hamm Replica Piggy Bank

Here is Hamm, the Disney Store exclusive bank! It was released in 2010 and was pretty short lived. It sold for $20 for a limited time and now sells for well over $100 on eBay and such. If you didn't snag one then, it may be hard to track one down now.

From what I can tell, this is the most accurate Hamm in regards to the look and scale (it measures about 11" L x 6.5" H)...But this Hamm, unlike in the Toy Story films, is made from a breakable material (called resin) instead of plastic. Even though it is sturdy, very durable and well made, it is not a toy. The paint job is amazing and the detail is top notch. It works as an actual bank even has a real cork in the bottom which is removable. This is a great Hamm and is a must have for your Toy Story collection! 

Up: 9 Inch Up House Vinylmation

 

From the talented artist Maria Clapsis, here is my amazing Up house Vinylmation from the "Park" series six that I was lucky enough to purchase! It stands at nine inches tall and is wonderfully executed for a Vinylmation. The Up house with all the balloons tied to it flying through the clouds is one of the most memorable and iconic movie images on screen and I'm so excited and happy to have it represented here. 

There is just something so magical about this imagery in Up and it has always reminded me of something that would appear in a classic children's storybook. If you are an Up fan, Pixar fan or Vinylmation fan (or a fan of all of the above like me) you will want to track it down! They do appear on eBay now and then so keep an eye out. However, given that this was a limited edition of only 1000 pieces made, be prepared to spend typically $185 and beyond for it. Best of luck on the hunt and feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.