Coco: Miguel & Dante Figurine (By Enesco)

Check out this beautifully sculpted Coco inspired Miguel & Dante figurine/statue produced by Enesco (as part of the Disney Showcase Collection)! This is currently being sold on the ShopDisney site for $59.95. I was muy emocionado to have gotten this from my parents for this past Christmas—a huge thanks and shout out once again for being so generous!

I absolutely adore the style in which this thing is sculpted; a great combination of smooth and jagged edges (for example, what I'm referring to is really noticeable in Dante's face/ears and Miguel's jeans). Perfecto! Check out my plethora of photos below so you can appreciate all the incredible details for yourself. They really nailed the look, personality and charm of each of these beloved characters!

Just look at that intricate detail and weathering on Miguel's guitar. Wow! 

The tallest part of this figurine is obviously Miguel, who measures around 6" tall (that includes the base). Dante is about 3.5" tall and the base itself is about 7" in length. The characters are crafted from a stone resin material and are hand painted, so naturally they're very fragile. It goes without saying (even though I'm saying it now) that this is an adult collector's item only. 

This is a high quality product that has my highest recommendation! If you're a fan of Coco and a collector of Disney/Pixar products like this, then you'll most certainly want to pick this one up. As mentioned, you can purchase it currently on the ShopDisney site HERE or the Enesco online shop HERE.

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below!

Mini Toy Story / Luxo Jr. Ball (Pixar Studio Store Exclusive)

Back in 2015, I posted a guide to all the different versions of the iconic Pixar/Luxo Jr./Toy Story ball that have been available to purchase over the years. View that post HERE if you missed it! Today I'm checking out yet another version that I acquired more recently during my trip to Pixar this past fall. Check out this mini version of the ball (only about 10" diameter), available now exclusively at the Pixar Studio Store!

This was also given out to a few select guests at this past year's 2017 D23 Expo (which I wasn't able to attend this time around) near the Pixar booth during random times. Shout it out if you one of the lucky guests who obtained one there!

As you can see, this little guy is a pretty adorable size that fits right in the palm of my hand. A perfect shelf display piece! And I love how shiny it is (just like it should be). In my opinion, you can't have too many Pixar balls floating around. ;)

I believe this was around $5 or $6 there at the Studio Store. Not bad at all! Keep an eye out for this one (and the bigger, more movie accurate version—which I posted on HERE), if you're ever able to shop there. Both were available when I visited!

If you really want this one now and are willing to pay a steeper price, someone is selling a couple on eBay currently for $50. Check out THIS DIRECT LINK if you're interested.

Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below and stay tuned for more from my personal collection of Pixar toys and collectibles!

The Art of Coco Book Review

After some delay, I'm finally here for my review of Chronicle Books' latest Pixar offering, The Art of Coco! If you know me or have been following along here for any amount of time, you'll know that I'm a huge fan of this series which dates back to 2001 with Monsters Inc. Since then, there has been an "Art of" release for every Pixar feature film and I've had a blast collecting each one!

Before I get into my inside look, I have to say a huge congratulations to the entire Coco cast and crew! If you didn't know, Coco took home the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film last night and I couldn't be more thrilled for everyone involved. In honor of that, I felt today was the perfect time to finally get to this review. Note: You can watch Director Lee Unkrich's acceptance speech HERE.

Like usual, the cover art for the sleeve and the sturdy book itself are both fantastically done. It's always exciting to see which concept art image will make it to the cover with each subsequent release. Miguel and Dante on the marigold bridge was the perfect choice with this one! Take off the sleeve and the book itself is black with embossed guitars taken straight from the film's iconic logo.

As with the best of the "Art of" releases, this beautiful hardcover book is full (162 pages to be exact) of concept art, digital renderings, research photography, clay sculpted maquettes, storyboards and written insights from the creators. The only things this time around that seem to be missing are any kind of color scripts and deleted scenes (which at least should be on the home video release), but all the standard content is here and looks absolutely fantastic. Each page is as vibrant as the next.

After John Lasseter's Foreword (always well written) and two powerful introductions (one by Director Lee Unkrich and one by Co-Director Adrian Molina), this book wastes no time getting into what you want to see—all the stunning art from the earliest of ideas to the more finalized designs! The book closes out with some acknowledgments (special thanks) by the producer of the film, Darla K. Anderson.

A special memory I have with this book is when I went out to Pixar this past fall to view the film for the first time, I was honored to also open this book for the first time afterwards with my friend Daniel Arriaga— who was the Character Art Director for Coco. It was such an amazing moment, sitting there with him and his wonderful family in his living room flipping through these pages and getting first hand insights into the art and artists. I'll never forget it!

When you look through this book, keep an eye out for much of Daniel's work. It's everywhere! Below you can see a photo of him holding a xolo dog for research.  

Now here's your peek at some of the many wonderful pages you'll find inside. And don't worry—if you haven't seen the film yet (I know it still hasn't opened in the UK), there will be absolutely no spoilers in the art I chose to show you here.

 

Here's a cool insight you might not know! Below is some concept art for Miguel with his skeleton face paint and two photo references. The boy in the photos is none other than Daniel Arriaga's son!

Well there you go—and that's just a small taste at what you can expect inside. Per usual, this is a really beautiful tribute to the incredibly talented artists who worked so hard at making the film what it is today, yet who too often go unnoticed. Do you have a favorite Pixar artist whose work you look forward to seeing?

If you're a fan of Coco or animation in general, you won't want to miss this one. It's a great learning tool and a feast for the eyes. There are so many details in this book that you really could look through and study it for hours. If you're interested in adding this to your collection, I recommend picking it up at Barnes & Noble or on Amazon using the direct link below.

Look forward to my next "Art of" book review, "The Art of Pixar Short Films", soon! Then come June, I'll of course be taking a look at "The Art of Incredibles 2." Stay tuned for those!

Size: 11.4" x 9.4"
Retail Price: $40 (though it's always on sale for less, usually around $27)
Original Release Date: October 10th, 2017
My Rating: 9/10

Pixar Animation Studios Wood iPhone 6/7 Case

After being away this weekend, I'm back. And with another fun blog post for you all! I'm excited to share this one with you as this has to be one of the coolest phone cases I've ever seen. Check out this Pixar Animation Studios engraved bamboo wood iPhone 6/7 case, sold now exclusively at the famed Pixar Studio Store there in Emeryville, CA! I was able to pick this up for $30 during my visit to the studio back in November.

This case is made by the company Recover (you can check out their shop HERE for their latest products—they seem very high-end). The front panel/exterior of the case is a thin sheet of genuine bamboo (engraved with the Pixar Studios emblem, possibly lasercut?), which is essentially inlayed into a durable polycarbonate bumper with soft, rubberized edges for a solid grip. Holding this thing feels fantastic overall and you can definitely tell that it's real quality hardwood. No two cases there at the store were 100% alike.

I love it—very minimal. Very classy.

This same case also came in a darker wood (walnut), so keep that in mind if you're able to shop there at the store anytime soon. You might even prefer that one! I went back forth for a while as to which one to get, but I ultimately went with this lighter wood for the stronger contrast. Both are great looking though, you can't go wrong.

Below is the case out of the package with my phone installed. Snapped in perfectly and feels nice and sturdy!

Both this bamboo case and the walnut version without the engraved Pixar emblem are available on the Recover website. So if you just like the look of the wood and want a quality case, there's that option for you. Other than that, if you're ever lucky enough to shop there at the store, I can't recommend this one enough to all you Pixar fans!

What are you thoughts? I'd love to hear what you think in the comments below.

Coco: Miguel & Dante Water Bottle

Hola amigos! Today I'm checking out this Miguel & Dante water bottle, another fun item I got for this past Christmas! This started appearing at Disney Parks around mid October (I specifically saw reports of it at the World of Disney store in Disney Springs) and then on ShopDisney.com during the first week of November. Surprisingly, it was never available at actual Disney Store locations.  

I honestly don't know how much I'll actually drink from this, I just loved the look of it. Got it more for a display piece on a possible future Coco shelf! The bottle/bottom portion of this is stainless steal (BPA free), while the head (which screws off) is plastic. It's pretty tall, measuring 9 1/2'' H  (that's including the lid) x 2 3/4'' Diameter. Holds 18 oz.

Note: According the ShopDisney description, this is not dishwasher safe and is not designed for hot liquids (which is a shame, cause I would have used this more as a hot chocolate thermos). And more obvious (since it's metal), this is also not microwave safe.

Overall this thing looks pretty awesome! The stylized design of Miguel's painted skeletal face is fantastic and, given that the top is sculpted, the head, hair and hood have a 3D look and feel. It's also neat that the bottle is Miguel's torso and that scrappy Dante screen art inclusion is pretty cute as well.

Here's a look into the bottle itself—

You can pick this up on the ShopDisney site currently HERE for $14.95. If you're a fan of Coco and in need of a new water bottle (or maybe you just like the look of it to display, like me), I definitely recommend picking this up before it's gone! Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below.

Coco Tsum Tsum Collection UPDATE

Today's blog post is an exciting update to my original Coco Tsum Tsum collection write-up! A non-skeleton Miguel and a surprise alive/non-skeleton version of Hector have just starting hitting Toys R Us stores. Read my full thoughts in my original post HERE!

Share your thoughts or any questions you might have in the comments below!

Pixar Animation Studios Ceramic Mug

Who doesn't love a good Disney/Pixar mug? I feel like I have more than I can count at this point, but this one was a real stand out to me while shopping at the Pixar Studio Store this past November. I couldn't resist it, especially given that it's a Pixar Studios exclusive.

If you're ever able to make it there, I highly recommend picking one of these up (I believe it was around $17). And as you can [just barely] see in my photo below, this mug also comes in navy blue, burgundy and red—it was hard to choose, but I ultimately went with this nice forest green color. I just love the simplicity of the design and shape with the tasteful Pixar Animation Studios emblem (featuring the iconic Luxo Jr. and Pixar ball) front and center.

The overall quality and make of this mug is top tier and feels very much handcrafted by a master potter (it's made of a sturdy, high quality ceramic sealed with a protective coating—giving it that nice shine). Again, definitely be sure to pick one of these up there if you ever end up shopping at Pixar! It's the perfect memento of my visit, which I'll think about with each sip I take from this mug.

What do you think? Let me know your thoughts on this mug in the comments below! Have you picked one of these up for your collection?

Toy Story Tsum Tsums—Alien with Claw & Zurg (2017 Disney Parks Tomorrowland Collection)

Happy New Year everyone! It's hard to believe another year has come and gone. It's also crazy to think that I'm entering into my fifth year of blogging here. For all those who have stuck with me all these years, thank you so much for your support. For those of you just finding me now, I invite you to stick around and follow along for more from my Pixar collection! My posts continue daily.

Today I'm taking a look at these two new mini Toy Story Tsum Tsums—recently released as part of a Disney Parks exclusive Tomorrowland themed collection! Here we have a Pizza Planet Alien (with CLAW) as well as the Evil Emperor Zurg. In addition to these two, this set also features five other [non-Pixar] characters: Stitch, Astronaut Mickey, Astronaut Minnie, Rocket Ship Goofy and Tomorrowland Speedway Racer Donald. These were all first available at Disneyland Paris back in October before officially coming to US Disney Parks just a few weeks back.

I love it that these two got included in this lineup, especially since this is the first ever Tsum Tsum release of Zurg! Since I don't think we'll be seeing a whole new Toy Story Tsum collection any time soon, this was the perfect way to get Zurg produced. And though I already have a few alien Tsums (like the one featured in the original Toy Story series and the rocket ship 3-pack), this one is a unique and clever variant. Having the claw attached to his back is such a funny touch!

Check them out a little closer below...

Pizza Planet Alien (with claw)

Zurg

As usual, I love the designs of these guys and the embroidered features/different soft materials used are top notch! Zurg in particular looks extra cool (the cape is fantastic and his signature Z underneath him was a perfect added detail).

Can't make it to the parks anytime soon? No worries. These are currently available on the ShopDisney site AND the Shop Disney Parks app! Each Tsum is the standard 3 1/2" size and retails for $5.99.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!