Tom & Jerry - TOOTS!

Tom & Jerry the Movie - Friends & Foes 4-Pack - Toots -Moose Toys 2020

Tom & Jerry has a very nostalgic place in my heart. It's not necessarily because of the cartoon either. Sure, the episodes were perpetually on TV and I watched my fair share as a child, but my stronger connection comes from one of my first collecting hobbies, PEZ dispensers. I started collecting PEZ dispensers when I was a little kid in the late 80s. The rush of collecting was incredible, because they cost 75 cents and they were everywhere. And with no internet or news sources, everything was a surprise. You'd walk into the drug store and find the Flintstones, then go to the supermarket and find the Smurfs, even the arcades and stationary stores would carry them. It was heaven. Eventually I got a PEZ book and discovered that PEZ USA had different dispensers from the rest of the world (PEZ Int'l). And the current popular line just North of me in Canada was MGM characters like Tom & Jerry, Droopy Dog, etc. It took me years to get them and they are burned into my psyche as rare and desirable characters.

Funko Pop - PRINCESS ARIEL!

POP! Animation #831 - Thundarr the Barbarian's Ariel - ECCC Exc - Funko 2021

I find few genres as aesthetically pleasing as adventure cartoons from the late '60s thru early '80s. Filmation and Hanna-Barbera dominated this market at the time, but the newly-formed Ruby-Spears Productions ('77) had a few great contributions as well, my favorite being Thundarr the Barbarian ('80-81). Thundarr follows three nomadic heroes on a future Earth where the moon has been split in two causing massive climate change and the fall of civilization. Old magicks have replaced technology and the remnants of modern cities lie in ruin along the heroes' path as they help the civilians with evil wizards, werewolves, or monsters. It's like Conan meets A-Team meet Planet of the Apes. Also, it's hard not to see the influence to He-Man. The sandy page-boy haircut, furry clothes, and a power sword is all very familiar. And remember, this show pre-dated He-Man, Blackstar, and the Conan movies. Ariel is a young sorceress hero and has one of my favorite animation designs ever. Let's check her out!

DCUC Wonder Twins - JAYNA!

DC Universe Classics - Wonder Twins: Zan & Jayna - SDCC Exc - Mattel 2009

I think this Wonder Twins set exemplifies the perfect type of convention exclusive toy. They are very cool and very original characters, but they won't appeal to a large portion of collectors. They weren't difficult for me to obtain, and that's probably because the demand wasn't super high across the collecting community. What drove people bonkers though was the exclusive polybagged Gleek figure that was only available in person at SDCC and still demands a super high price. Luckily I was always indifferent to him, so no skin off my back. Zan and Jayna were the second iteration of sidekicks in Hanna-Barbera's Super Friends cartoon series. In 1973, the non-powered human sidekicks Wendy, Marvin, and Wonder Dog debuted alongside the traditional Justice League lineup. They only lasted one season and were replaced by the extraterrestrial shapeshifting Wonder Twins and their blue monkey, Gleek, when The All-New Super Friends Hour debuted in 1977.  It was a major improvement! Let's check out Jayna below!

Scooby-Doo Imaginext - DAPHNE & VELMA!

Imaginext Scooby-Doo - Velma Dinkley & Daphne Blake - Fisher-Price 2018

I'm finally catching up on all the backlogged Imaginext figures I've had laying around forever. The only downfall to running a review blog, is that I can't rip open a toy as soon as I buy it. Waiting until I have time to photograph them in the packaging puts my patience to the test. I never would have expected to like a Scooby-Doo Imaginext line so much. Sure, the main characters look great (except for Scooby himself ironically). But the great thing is that this line has proved to be a great vehicle for all the "monsters." The removable hoods are perfect for reminiscing over those iconic "jinkies!" moments. The only sad thing is that so far this line has only shown up at Toys R Us. It hasn't been expressly declared an exclusive, but I feel that the future availability of the line is uncertain. I would love a One-Eyed Skeleton, a Phantom Racer, and a 10,000 Volt Ghost - they were always my favorites. Maybe Target, Wal-Mart or the revived Kay-Bee will pick up the line and give us a few more sets. Let's check out Velma and Daphne below!

Sealab 2021's DEBBIE DUPREE!

Cartoon Network: Adult Swim Series 01 - Sealab 2021 - Palisades 2005
 
I have never been a big fan of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming.  Irreverent humor just isn't my thing.  That said, I love the fact that shows like Harvey Birdman, Space Ghost Coast to Coast, and Sealab 2021 exist because they breathe new life into the kind of classic cartoons that I love.  Without the goofy antics of this late-night programming, we would never ever ever be getting toys of these classic Hanna-Barbera characters.  For those uninitiated, shows like Sealab 2021 take original animation (in this case, from Hanna-Barbera's 1972 sleeper hit, Sealab 2020) and repurpose it into comical nonsense by means of splicing, dubbing, and adding new animation.  My brothers love this stuff, but it just isn't my cup of tea.  Sealab 2020 was an underwater adventure series reminiscent of Star Trek.  Sealab 2021 was a parody of that same setup, but set 1 year later when all the characters were getting lax with their underwater responsibilities.  Debbie Dupree is actually the character Gail from the original show.

Thundarr the Barbarian's ARIEL!

Princess Ariel - Hanna-Barbera's Thundarr the Barbarian - Toynami 2003
 
Thundarr the Barbarian is easily one of the coolest cartoons I've ever seen.  The setting is a post-apocalyptic Earth in the year 3994 AD where a runaway comet nearly collided with the planet but instead broke the moon in half and drastically altered the climate and geography of Earth.  The civilization that emerged in later millenia was steeped in sorcery, hyperscience, mutations, and barbarism.  The show began in 1980 and ran two seasons with 21 total episodes.  A standard episode consists of Thundarr, Ariel, and Ookla the Mok arriving on horseback to a recognizable human landmark (NYC, Mt. Rushmore, Seattle, etc) where they help resolve some form of injustice (a'la the A-Team).  It combined so many different facets from so many different properties that it was hard not to enjoy it.  Princess Ariel is a Sorceress with a mysterious past (mostly just because it was never explained).  She talks a lot of her stepfather's library where she learned about magic and the history of Earth.  Because of this, she leads the educational tone of the show (in historical geography at least).  Let's check out this gorgeous figure below.

The I-Men Collection GRAVITY GIRL!

The I-Men Series - Adventure Superstars - Series 2 - Gravity Girl - Toynami 2002

I always thought this would be a weird little figure to review, but I'm extremely fond of her and I somehow doubt we'll ever see this character in plastic again.  From 1967-69, Hanna-Barbera produced an amazing cartoon segment called Birdman and the Galaxy Trio.  The half-hour segments consisted of two Birdman cartoons with a Galaxy Trio short in the middle.. each being between 6-8 minutes long.  I loved the Galaxy Trio.  The team consisted of three extra-terrestrial superheroes travelling through space and finding adventures - each of the three harnessing an elemental-type power which coincided with their names: Vapor Man, Meteor Man, and Gravity Girl.  The cartoons were simple, fun, and classic.  In the early 2000's, Toynami produced an amazing array of action figures based off some of my favorite properties of all time (ie.. Classic Silver Age Hanna-Barbera Super-Heroes).  I really wish we could've seen these characters in 6" scale, but these early block-figures are still great.  Let's check her out below!

The Herculoids TARA!

Hanna-Barbera's Herculoids Heroine from Toynami 2003

The Herculoids are quintessential 1960's Hanna-Barbera.  I wasn't exactly born yet when the original episodes aired, but I was around for their reincarnation in 1981.  This early era of Hanna-Barbera adventure titles spawned such classics as Birdman, the Galaxy Trio, Space Ghost, Mighty Mightor, Blue Falcon, Jonny Quest.. the list goes on and on.  I'm rather addicted to these old classic cartoons and pretty much buy every box set they release on warnerarchive.com.  The Herculoids star a family of (seemingly primitive) adventurers on the planet of Amzot and their beastly companions as they defend their world from various threats.  It's simple adventure entertainment at it's best.  Toynami is an amazing toy company.  Every toy I have from them is extremely well made, playable, and perfect likenesses of the characters they are meant to represent.  Some of their brilliant past licenses include: Voltron, Robotech, Thundarr, and of course, Hanna Barbera.  Check out the full review below!

Your Favorite Space Age Maid, ROSIE!

The Jetson's Maternal Robot Housekeeper from Jazwares Hanna-Barbera Series 1

Who doesn't have a softspot for Rosie?  The loveable outdated housekeeper for the Jetson family was a constant prescence in my childhood. (Interesting fact: She was only in 2 episodes of the original 1960's series, but was a regular in the 1980's series).  I never ever thought I would be buying an action figure of this character.  She's one of those background characters that you don't realize you adore until you really think about it.  Kudos to Jazwares for including her in their first lineup.  With all the uber-popular Hanna-Barbera characters out there, it pretty surprising to see her so soon.  I can't see what the future holds for this line, I predict great, great things.  The articulation on this figure is so much better than you might assume.  She can hold just about any pose you can imagine her cartoon counterpart doing.  The only downfall with the figure is that she absolutely cannot stand up on her own.  I made a little ring out of a packaging tie to balance her for this photo shoot, but that's a temporary solution at best.  I'm not usually a fan of using poster putty to anchor figures, but I may resort to that if I can't find a better method.