Man, Disney is #@%#^&$* awesome. One of the biggest companies in the world and they do Halloween better than anyone ever gives them credit. Disney's Halloween Treat is still a favorite of the wife and I (we literally have every single version of it... there's a lot of versions) and we're all over everything Disney and Halloween. We hope to make it out to the Not So Scary Halloween party next year because that just looks super amazing. This old Micky Mouse cartoon has the mouse exploring a most radical haunted house with skeletons that play songs on each others butts.
Star Wars has been a constant my entire life and directly to blame for all my interests. Thanks to being a small child during the original saga, it's also forever mentally linked to holidays. Halloween in this case specifically as my older brother wore a Gamorrean Guard mask at Halloween for several years. For whatever reason, he loved that mask. I actually held onto it for a very long time until it finally decomposed to a state that it had to be thrown away. That was a sad moment for me personally. Most people from certain age groups probably have strong memories of seeing Star Wars costumes while trick or treating. Star Wars was just everywhere back then and being one of the biggest properties on the planet has tons of merchandise, especially at holidays. So of course there's Halloween Edition figures every year! My wife always gets me the Droid Factory toy each year. Sometimes they even do a Black Series figure (there's always a Christmas one) at Halloween and she got me this super cool Clone Trooper a while back.
I've always had an affection for Storm Troopers/Clone Troopers. They're just so cool looking and it's awesome to see a group of them appear. Considering the variety of them, they're a good fit for a special Halloween themed armor. This one is a skeleton and freaking awesome looking. As you can see, the armor is completely black with a green skeleton painted on it. Simple, yet effective. Ever wonder why so many bullies on TV have black t-shirts with a skull? No, you don't. You already know how threatening that is. Imagine an army of this guy coming your way. We've all made the joke about how a Storm Trooper has terrible aim, but the good guys sure do take cover the minute they show up. The classic skeleton costume isn't the only bit of spooky fun that came in the package. There's an adorable Dracula Porg included. Adorably awesome. Adding the to fun is some Beskar painted like Hershey Bars. Somebody has been trick or treating in a rich neighborhood! There's also a black chest full of mystery treasure with a Jabba the Hut ghost painted on the inside... holy crap is that a Dybbuk Box from Tatooine? That's super cool and it can hold those candy bars so they don't get lost. One thing that really stood out to me, is that inside the box, the figure was wrapped in Halloween paper. It was such a small thing that made a big difference. This is a really cool Halloween Special Edition that I'll always hold in a special place. It's awesome.
Disney does Halloween right. They do Halloween specials right. Somebody behind the scenes of The Mouse Factory did drugs wrong. I don't know if Phillis Diller did drugs, but I do know her name is slang for cocaine. Which I'm sure there was a mountain of offstage on this episode.
Spooks and Magic, the Halloween episode of The Mouse Factory features Phyllis Diller as the guest star going absolutely insane with Disney characters. At one point she's breaking into the Haunted Mansion and harassing the ghosts, the next minute she's having a Halloween costume party with Donald Duck. Said costume party doesn't sound bad until she shows them her batshit family slides then runs them off by singing.
The whole thing ends with her forming a witches coven with King Louie, Goofy, and Witch Hazel. The later is sent to Donald Duck's (who just left) house as a set up to the classic Disney 'Trick or Treat' short. In the end, Phyllis uses her evil witch powers to steal Snow Whites identity and... it just ends. That means she's still out there.
I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I love Halloween. By proxy, I'm a big fan of Halloween specials as well. Some people follow the NFL, I follow the Great Pumpkin. While various Halloween specials are produced every year... I prefer the old ones. Because nostalgia? Maybe, but also because they were vastly different. The gloves were off, obviously too much fun being had behind the scenes, or maybe it was a good opportunity to try something different. The more obscure the special, the more out there, the better. Such is the case with today's post.
The video above is a Disney Channel Halloween special from 1983. At the time a young Tim Burton was a Disney employee and made this short for the company. It was literally only shown once, on Halloween in 1983. Even as a Halloween special it was a little too dark. Even for Tim Burton. It might be cursed.
I've used the term fever dream often to describe things here and... that's a nice way of putting it. We have a retelling of Hansel and Gretel which is a pretty good story for Halloween. You know, they get lost in the woods and find a witches house. In this telling, their step mother tries to get rid of them by getting them lost in the woods (involving a robot duck), which leads to the witches house and some of the weirdest hellscape I've ever seen on film. You'll have to pause it occasionally.
Hasbro's newest Star Wars series just launched at the beginning of the year in January, though it wasn't until mid February that my local Walmart started stocking them. I was initially interested in them from early reports (and was under the assumption they were Walmart exclusive). After dipping my toes in the Epic Hero waters am firmly hooked. I got my first one when they first started showing up locally and he's the subject of today's post. The Mandalorian is Star War's newest hero starring in his own series alongside that adorable Grogu (who has his own Epic Hero toy). Mando (as his friends call him) is a cool gunslinger who's everything you want in a Star Wars character post original trilogy. He's represented well here in this new EPIC HERO SERIES figure format.
What makes an Epic Hero Series? Hell if I know, but what I can tell it's a throwback to the classic Star Wars figures of old. I'm thinking these are along the lines of Hasbro's 'Core Class' style figures with a more exciting name. A simpler figure at a lower cost intended for children. Din Djarin (as people who can pronounce it call him) is a 4" action figure with 5 points of articulation. That's a little bigger than the Kenner figures we associate with Star Warriors (normally 3 3/4"), but overall mighty similar. Din is decently sculpted and comes with both his trademark blaster pistol and the Darksaber that he carried for a while. He also has a removable plastic cape and little ports in his forearms. A good bit of the figures in this series has these. While I don't have any that utilize the ports yet, I'm assuming it's for sharing accessories. The figure is obviously kept simple with basic articulation and minimal paint apps for budget. Regardless, it still looks pretty good and as someone who swears by Kenner style figures... I like it! Sure it's a little bigger than I have come to expect, but I have big hands. That extra 1/4" isn't super noticeable to me. I look forward to getting more of these cool little figures.
I know it's hard to beleive, but there was a time when Shia LaBeouf was likeable. Back in the early 2000's, he starred in a Disney show named Even Stevens that I used to really like. Louis and Ren are an Odd Couple style pair of siblings with a rivalry. It's Halloween and the school is ripe with spooky shit... and vision testing. Kid's are lining up to get their eyes tested to score a sweet free milk. However somethings going on and Louis is trying to figure out exaclty what's happening to everybodies eyes. Halloween is happening Louis.
I've never worked for Disney, so I can't tell you who got fired over Eddie Murphy's Haunted Mansion movie. What I can tell you is, it was so bad that they waited 20 years before doing it again without seemingly learning anything. Regardless of some of their bad choices, Disney has always been synonymous with Halloween for me. Between their impeccable Halloween Treat special and all the other ways they downright wallow in pumpkin spiced mayhem... it's just a part of the spooky season for me.
At my #GotGVol3 screening they played the transformers and little mermaid trailers at the same time and they synced up perfectly pic.twitter.com/IVoxjaWQYN
I've been having a great time with my Guardians of the Galaxy advent calendar this Christmas season. Normally, I do a Star Wars one, but like last year, they sold out before I could purchase one. However, like the GOTG movies... it's kinda the same thing. Before any of you coming in give me the 'well actually' treatment... let me explain. I'm well aware of the GOTG prior to the movies, but it wasn't until the movies until I became a fan. They were just kind of in the various comics I'd read and frankly not much more. I do wish now that I would have paid them more attention, but if I had a time machine there'd be more pressing issues I'd focus on. The movies though, *chef's kiss*.
I enjoyed the Star Wars prequels, but not as much as I wanted to. I'd have liked them to be a lot better. Before Disney restarted Star Wars, I has accepted things the way they were. The GOTG came out and well, felt like a pretty decent Star Wars movie. No, it wasn't exactly the same, but pretty close. It's in that space opera nebulous that Micronauts falls in. It's like Star Wars, but different.
So what's that got to do with the above commercial? Well, the toys came out after the movie and well... how many of those mofo's were dead by the time you got the figure? It sure was exciting to get that Boba Fett or Darth Vader on Christmas morning. The Jabba's Palace play set was an amazing gift from Santa. But uh, I already knew what happened to those dudes. Did that have any effect on my enjoyment of the toys? Absolutely not. Sometimes I'd recreate scenes from the movie. Maybe they'd be adventures prior or even after and the guys somehow lived. Sometimes I just played with my toys and didn't care. I think that's where GOTG kinda falls into this. It's that side thing that also works. It's totally Star Wars, while being it's own thing.
Trick or Treating is FUN! You get dressed up, knock on doors, and get candy! Hey, I got an idea! Let's go to Uncle Donald's house. You know, the dickhead! Donald Duck decided to play tricks on Huey, Dewey, and Louie denying them of Halloween candy... from his house. Not sure why they didn't just move on... but Witch Hazel isn't having any of it. Magic spells, ghosts, and breaking doors open with skulls are abound!
It's clearly a good time to like small toys. In the spirit of the ultra cool Lightyear Hyper Speed Series toys is the new Star Wars Micro Galaxy Squadron! These are small scale Star Wars vehicles with pilots that can be taken out of the vehicles and used in others. While I don't know exactly, they do look to be around the same size as the Lightyear toys. That means they'd be compatible with other inch men style figures. Like your Diaclones and Zoids. Luke Skywalker could drive Optimus Prime. There's a few different size classes, but I'm most excited for the blind boxed smaller vehicles. Not just because I'm crazy about such things, but they're just right for a little fun whenever. You get a small vehicle (like a Speeder Bike) blind packed with a pilot. That's got the potential to be a lot of fun!
Some of the coolest toys right now are Buzz Lightyear toys. From the new Lightyear movie (which itself is based on the adventures of the 'real' Buzz Lightyear the character in Toy Story is based on) is a great series of toys by Mattel. There's the standard action figures that look pretty sharp, however it's the Hyperspeed Series we're here to talk about today. These are smaller scaled vehicles from the movie with tiny, almost Diaclone sized pilot figures. Think Star Wars Micro Machines Action Fleet.
While your first impression of Buzz Lightyear is silly and cute, these have some seriously neat sci fi designs. There's a big similarity to other sci fi series in these designs. The Zyclops are a great hybrid of a Zaku and the Yellow Devil robot for example. The various ships resemble a mix of Star Wars and odd ships from various space shooter games. I half expect the Star Bird to make an appearance. There's even Air Raiders and Sky Commanders energy in there. Tome anyway. I haven't tried if the pilots could fit inside the cockpit of a G1 Transformer or a Zoid yet. They do look about the same size. Maybe. I'd never imagine in a million years that Buzz Lightyear would have such awesome little toys. But here we are.
As we're heading into the Spooky Summer, Marvel Mech Strike is taking a rather nasty turn. Mech Strike Monster Hunters is the new expression of the line that's taken my attention completely by storm. I was already enjoying Mech Strike (I do need to get a few more toys though) and seeing it go whole hog into a monster theme is just wonderful. Dr. Doom is using the 'Eye of the Kraken' to give himself some ghoulish new powers that he's shared with his fellow evil companions. The Marvel Heroes have no choice but to use the Eye of Kraken on themselves to combat this threat! Now their mech suit enhancements are full of supernatural powers!
The delightfully monstery new toys are wonderful. There's a range of action figures, role playing toys, Funko pops, and other merchandise with this cool mix of monsters and mechs. I'm mainly here for the action figures, but maybe tempted by other stuff as it's all so cool. The larger mech suits have changed since normal Mech Strike. Instead of a pilot figure that fits inside the suit, the line features larger mech versions of the characters. I'm not complaining though as the toys are solid. The addition of horror really ads something, and not just because I'm crazy about this stuff. It almost has a Ultraman slant that works pretty well. I could definitely see a tokusatsu show based on this.
The bad guys are obviously the more monster flavored, while the heroes have a more knight like appearance. I see a lot of Lovecraft in the designs of the bad guys. I'm sure that's the idea, the Eye of the Kraken (itself used in gaming before) does hint at ancient evils. With some of Lovecrafts works not aging very well (it was a different time and can be rough sometimes) I'm sure Disney/Marvel would like to keep potential problems from popping up. There's a comic as there was with Mech Strike. I haven't read any of it, but may. Personally I like my little head cannon that I've formed. Which is really just the lines basic description but with zombies and skeletons. I'm a little ridiculous.
It's Halloween and Phyllis Diller has pumpkin spice cocaine running through her veins. She's locked herself away in the Haunted Mansion and living her best life. Various Disney characters stop by to join the spooky fun and even participate in ritualistic cult activities. By the end of the night Snow White will write a 'Let's Not Meet' post about Phyllis and Clarabelle is dead. Diller has come to your little Toon Town, sheriff.
One of the original plans for the Haunted Mansion was for it to feature some of the Disney Villains. I guess that's why I find the above segment as interesting as I do. These kids find themselves debating if they should go in the mansion or not. The little girl imagines various Disney Villains performing Grim Grinning Ghosts in front of the mansion (with those awesome spooky trees) and it really works. I could see a haunted house starring some of these guys, even though the Evil Queen did have her own spooky ride.
The video also reminds me of this kid I went to school with for a few years. At Halloween, he'd show up wearing a Captain Hook mask. Nothing else of the Ben Cooper costume, just the mask. I strongly remember him just standing while the bus drove off watching us leave, wearing that mask. I didn't understand why it was creepy, but even the older kids on the bus got quiet. Pure evil. I don't know how long that mask survived, but I'm pretty sure he wore it while doing horrible things.
I've been a fast fan of the Star Wars Mission Fleet toys, specifically the Gear Class (standard/basic class). While the larger vehicles are cool, the charm is in the way cool accessories they package with the figures. Jet packs, little helicopters, and jet skis really add something to the little figures.
I've been speculating this is a result of Hasbro's Micronauts line they had planned that never materialized (maybe it will eventually). I don't know if I'm right, but they sure do seem Micro inspired. I love Star Wars, and adding in some extra far out to the mix is a welcome addition.
After what felt like an eternity, Hasbro has finally graced store shelves with a second wave of Gear Class. It's a small wave. A repeat of Boba Fett, a Clone Shock Trooper (good repaint of the wave 1 Clone Trooper), and Darth Maul. Darth Maul here is as he appears in the various animated series. Not dead and with robotic legs. Spoiler alert: He got cut in half in a movie that came out 21 years ago.
Like all Mission Fleet figures, Darth Maul is a mini figure with a pleasantly rubbery plastic. The toy is decently articulated and has that distinct sculpting that the Mission Fleet toys have. Think of a cross between a classic Kenner Star Wars figure and an Imaginext figure. He has that 5 points of articulation a Kenner would, but the shoulders of an Imaginext. For such a basic toy, it gives him an extra touch of movement that's pretty nice.
Maul has his trademark double lightsaber. It's just as awesome as it was when I first saw it in 1999. His included accessory/vehicle is a spider droid that doubles as his spider legs. The spider unit is pretty neat, some of the legs swivel for posing or stability. There's a spot for lightsaber storage and it has amounted gun. Darth stands on a little platform with foot pegs to ensure a snug fit. It's a chunky representation of his cybernetic spider legs that's hard not to like. It's a badass little figure from a neat little line. I dig it.
It's Christmas time, I'm sure you've noticed. Another thing you may have noticed is all The Mandalorian merchandise available while you've been Christmas shopping. Star Wars has been synonymous with Christmas my entire life, which is probably why I was so welcome to the Disney movies (aside from Solo) being a Christmas season thing. It just seemed natural for new Stormtroopers to raid Walmart just in time for seasonal shopping.
The Mandalorian now has two seasons under it's belt, both of which dropped just in time for all those cool toys to be on wish lists. After all these years of my wife tolerating my love for Star Wars, now she's enjoying it quite a bit herself. So I can't help but to indulge her with every Baby Yoda thing we can get.
I think one thing about the show I definitely love is the redemption of Boba Fett. Trying to avoid spoilers as much as possible here, but he's on the show. He's on the show and he's a badass. I won't go into too many story details or anything, because a few of you may not know more than seeing folks talk about him on social media. But he's alive and he's the Boba Fett we all wanted him to be in the original movies.
Like others my age, Boba Fett was always the biggest bad ass in the galaxy. This was 100% due to him looking cool and having the best action figure. In the movies he was awesome, but didn't live up to the fanfare dorks like me produced. The prequels built on that a bit with the introduction of his father, Jango.
The various cartoons did as well with other Mandalorians. Then The Mandalorian comes along with a hero in that familiar armor and he's the bad ass my old Kenner action figure was. Though the actual Boba didn't get to shine as much as we wanted. Until now, anyway. Now he's the character we all said he was thankfully.
There's always a contingent of self righteous nerds who'll crap on Boba and anything else that has the nerve to be popular. They'll still have a problem with him... and The Mandalorian. Magically, go figure. But for us who love the guy, we're happy to see him get his moment. Also the show, it's a good show that does the legacy proud.
There's nothing more Halloween than this old Disney cartoon about a bunch of skeletons dancing around a graveyard at night. All the classic spooky shit is on full display. Black cats, big spiders,a howling dog, an owl, and of course the skeletons. The ghouls dance around, playing each other as instruments (don't be weird), and having a grave old time. You saw what you saw. All hell breaks loose and the grim reaper gets served before sun rise. Which of course means it's time for the skeletons to rush back to their graves.
Disney does Halloween right. They do Halloween specials right. Somebody behind the scenes of The Mouse Factory did drugs wrong. I don't know if Phillis Diller did drugs, but I do know her name is slang for cocaine. Which I'm sure there was a mountain of offstage on this episode.
Spooks and Magic, the Halloween episode of The Mouse Factory features Phyllis Diller as the guest star going absolutely insane with Disney characters. At one point she's breaking into the Haunted Mansion and harassing the ghosts, the next minute she's having a Halloween costume party with Donald Duck. Said costume party doesn't sound bad until she shows them her batshit family slides then runs them off by singing.
The whole thing ends with her forming a witches coven with King Louie, Goofy, and Witch Hazel. The later is sent to Donald Duck's (who just left) house as a set up to the classic Disney 'Trick or Treat' short. In the end, Phyllis uses her evil witch powers to steal Snow Whites identity and... it just ends. That means she's still out there.
