Friday, November 20, 2009

Muppet Star Wars PVC Figure Review



Muppet Star Wars

PVC Figure Review





Ryan Dosier
- Back in 2008, a set of Muppet Star Wars PVC toys was released in Walt Disney World and Disneyland to coincide with their annual "Star Wars Weekends" at the parks. These figures are still available exclusively at the park and through eBay and other outlets.

The set includes six figures: Kermit as Luke Skywalker, Miss Piggy as Princess Leia, Fozzie Bear as Chewbacca, Gonzo as Darth Vader (Dearth Nadir), Beaker as C-3PO, and Rizzo the Rat as Yoda. 

SCULPT
These figures are easily distinguishable as Muppets, but at the same time they have a cartoony, Disney-ish feel to them as well. Some of the sculpts are better than others--Gonzo stands out as the best in the bunch--but for the most part they are all solid sculpts of a wonderful parody.

Kermit - 3.5/5
Miss Piggy - 2.5/5
Fozzie - 3.5/5
Gonzo - 4.5/5
Beaker - 5/5
Rizzo - 4.5/5

PAINT
The paint on these is applied pretty sloppily when compared to the beautiful paint jobs of the Palisades Toys action figures released a few years ago. There is hardly any detail met with the paint and it just looks to have been thrown on. It adds to the cartoony feel of these figures and makes them appear to be animated characters as opposed to fuzzy, felty Muppets.

Kermit - 3/5
Miss Piggy - 3/5
Gonzo - 5/5
Fozzie - 2/5
Beaker - 3/5
Rizzo - 4/5

SCALE
It's interesting to note the scale of these figures when compared to figures from other collections. I own an R2-D2 figure from a mainstream Star Wars figure collection, and he is in almost-perfect scale with Beaker and the rest of the characters, which is fun if you are a Star Wars buff with a lot of figures. It could lead to some great posing opportunities.

Disney has also released some figures of other characters playing Star Wars roles. For instance, Goofy as Darth Vader, Mickey Mouse as Luke Skywalker, Minnie Mouse as Padme Amidalla, etc. One of the figures is Donald Duck dressed as Han Solo--whose character is not parodied by the Muppets here. Donald is perfectly in scale with the Muppet figures and makes a great addition to the set to pose next to Fozzie/Chewbacca.


Finally, the question on everyone's mind, is the scale with the Palisades Toys action figures. I'm disappointed to say that these are nowhere near scale to the Palisades figures. Most of the PVCs are just over half the size of their Palisades counterparts. See the picture included for comparison.



FUN FACTOR
This is my favorite section, because I get to point out just how fun these figures are. Although they are basically glorified plastic statues, these figures are just a lot of fun to have around. I keep them displayed on a shelf with my R2-D2 figure and my Donald Duck as Han Solo figure. It's just great to look over and smile at these fun figures. They may not be the most beautiful pieces of Muppet merchandise you can buy, but they really are a lot of fun.

Also, since Disney neglected to do so, I want to give the Star Wars characters the Muppets play names to match...

Kermit - Luke Skyhopper
Miss Piggy - Princess Oinka
Fozzie - Fozzwocka
Gonzo - Dearth Nadir (duh)
Beaker - C-3MEEPO
Rizzo - Rizzoda

If you ever find yourself a Muppet fan in the Disney parks, be sure to pick up this set!















The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier