Resturant Collectables: Men In Black: The Series 1998 Burger King

After the unexpected but completely unsurprisingly massive success of 1997's sci-fi/comedy Men In Black it was apparent a new franchise was born! One that spawned, to date, two sequels a couple of toy lines and an Animated series, the latter of which will be the subject of this post! A fairly common practice particularly in the 1990's were the transformations of successful  movies into cartoon series, some were obvious and appropriate choices while others were bizarre and unconventional whereas something like MIB suited both mediums extremely well especially given its comic book roots! The series followed on from the plot of the first film and brought back many of the characters, albeit slightly altered versions, but didn't stick religiously to the formula of the movie though was in keeping with the same darkly comedic tone. The series was pretty well received generally and lasted four years which is pretty good run filling the gap between the first and second instalments, perhaps it was destined to end at MIB2 after that movie proved to be a major disappointment for fans and movie goers in general!


Despite the fact this show had a relatively successful four year run there wasn't any  tie-in toy lines produced! One had been planned but for one reason or another never saw production and so the only merchandise produced were a 12 figure set of Burger King premiums as well as several toys based on the animated series produced to advertise the second movie again from BK.
These toys promoted the show during its original run with 12 "Big" Toys (Two were made available each week) some of them were just fillers and nothing special but the good toys in the set are really good! here we will be looking at several of those toys:

Agent Kay: Grumpy but respected senior Agent and one of the founders of  the secret organisation known as the MIB Kay is very passionate about ridding the world of Alien Scum bags! He is the polar opposite of his young partner Jay but while he won't often admit it to his partners face he respects and trusts him possibly more than anyone!

This figure comes in three pieces firstly you have Agent Kay himself which is a nicely detailed 3" sculpted figurine which comes with a removable "slime" coating which can be placed on the figure to look as though he has been digested or regurgitated by "Mikey" the Alien which is made of a hollow and soft plastic  so that you can place the figurine inside him! All told this is a great figure set that is really well made and good fun despite the awkwardness encountered when trying to get the figure back out of the Alien shell!

Agent Jay: As the newbie Member of the MIB Jay is always looking to prove himself and gain the respect of partner Kay while trying to make light of often very dark and worrying situations though Kay often fails to find Jay's humour in any way comical remaining stony-faced despite Jay's best efforts at eliciting a smile from him!   

As with the Agent Kay figure set above Jay here comes in three parts, A very nice figurine of Jay that perfectly represents the character from the series, A soft plastic blue "slime" coating (which is the same as Kay's just a different colour) and a hollow soft rubber Alien in which to place the gooey looking Jay! Again this is a nice set which is well executed and fun to play around with!

Chief Agent Zed (with spinning Eyeball Alien variation): The head of the MIB is the gruff but fair Zed who over sees his agents activities from him office high above the  headquarters main floor! Everyone answers to Zed who isn't shy about letting his Agents know when they have messed up in doing so also allows them to redeem themselves by insisting they get out of his office and fix their mistakes!

Interestingly Burger King put out two slightly different versions of this figure one of which had a little light up creature housed inside whereas this one here comes with a spinning Alien eyeball hidden inside Zed's torso! Simply push Zeds legs together and his top half will split in two and the "Eyeball" inside will spin around! This is another nicely detailed figure though he is obviously wrongly proportioned (his legs aren't quite so short in the series!)

Zed is also rather larger than the Jay and Kay figures but he looks fantastic with his trademark stern look and folded arms overall he is a perfect representation of the Animated character and while it is uncertain as to why this figure depicts him as having an Alien within it makes for a fun little action feature!

Worm Guy Alien ("squishy" variation): If you are an Agent at MIB headquarters and you fancy a coffee in the break room you would have to share it with a group of  four lively and mischievous little Worm like Aliens! Every now and again these little critters end up joining Jay and Kay on their assignments and sometimes end up getting themselves into a spot of trouble and in need of some rescuing courtesy of the two Agents!  

As with Zed this Worm Alien here came in two slightly different variants This one has a squidgy brain shaped substance in place of his stomach whereas the other identical figure (which is painted white instead of the yellowish colour seen here) has a water squirting feature! Both are very nice looking toys however and decently represent these Aliens on screen counter parts who are among the most memorable characters from both the Series and Movies!    

Red Button Loop Blaster: At the push of a button (more specifically the "Red button") Agent Kay's smart looking Ford LTD Engages it's twin rear exhaust thrusters and zooms off at break neck speed!

This miniature vehicle and the "Red Button" Launcher might be quite plain looking in design however the "Track" section has some nice sculpted details depicting some freakish looking Eyeball alien crawling around it! It's a simple Loop the Loop track with a launch-able car but it works well enough if not particularly exciting looking!





Men In Black: the Series makes for a very fun spin-off show that while it takes the most popular and recognisable elements from the 1997 movie it also has plenty of original ideas! MIB:TS is one of the better animated cartoon series based on a 90's blockbuster; an original, slickly animated, really well written show but most importantly it wasn't a dumbed down and lightened up imitation of its source material unlike a great many other similar series!
Luckily enough if you happen to love the series and want some collectables these promotional toys are really very good indeed and make up for the lack of an actual tie-in toy line! These were well made, with fun and imaginative action features and gimmicks and as such these are a must have for MIB fans!    

Restaurant Collectables: The Mask: The Animated Series 1998 Burger King

Of  all of the biggest cinematic hits in 1994 three of the most popular of those stared the relatively fresh faced Jim Carrey as three very different but equally wacky characters all of which inspired a respective Animated Cartoon series! But only one of them had the kind of mechanising opportunities of the third of those successes; The MASK! The potential was obvious from the moment the Dark Horse Comic Book was chosen for a big screen adaptation and the casting of "Rubber faced" Jim Carrey in a "Rubber face" proved to be the movies biggest selling point that and the revolutionary special effects that would bring the crazy living-cartoon anti-hero to life! Of the three movies (the others being Dumb and Dumber and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective) The MASK was the most obvious choice to be made into an animated series drawing inspiration from the hit Film and the original Comic Book series but with an even lighter tone and more pun's, characterizations and screw ball humour to-boot! 


The 1990's was the decade to grow up in if you wanted toys supplied with every one of your meals of the day and the mask was the sort of property that was so versatile and saleable that you could have that green-headed loony tune included in all three! Old Big head was virtually inescapable from 1994 to around 1997/98 and so no doubt if you grew up in that era you would have had an extra green to go with your five a day! There were the usual line of action figures of course (supplied by Toy Island after Kenner sold the licence after issuing the Movie figures) with almost every single figure dedicated to the MASK himself! Of course there was a few Restaurant promotions and even  cereal giveaways! here we will look at the UK and Europe Burger King Toys supplied back in 1998 as well as some of the Kellogg's Cereal pencil toppers that were released back in 1996:

The MASK: He's gotcha with his winning smile, He's a living lesson in flair and style, you just can't help but stare at his Savoir-Flare! He's the lean, green spinning machine known as "The MASK" though in reality he is just an awkward bank clerk named Stanley Ipkiss who is in possession of a mystical mask crafted by Norse God Loki which transforms the wearer into a green faced menace! Stanley has both a love/hate relationship with his alter ego whom he relies on to get him out of tricky situations and help save the good people of edge city when it they are under attack by any one of the various bad guy's in the MASK's rouges gallery of criminal adversaries! It is his reliability on the MASK who often over shadows Stanley and complicates his life with his unpredictable antics that leaves poor old down trodden Stanley down in the dumps and wanting to get him out of his life for good!  

This impressive looking figure comes in the form of a poseable action figure complete with bug eyed tongue extending and tie  *Ahem*erecting action feature via a lever at the back of the toy. Despite basic articulation and paint application this is still a very nice looking and well sculpted, fun toy!

Milo: Loyal pet to Stanley Milo is also the only real best friend Stanley has ever known! His so called best friends charley and Peggy both regularly take advantage of Stanley's good hearted nature for their own selfish needs but Milo has nothing but unconditional love and affection for his master! On occasion Milo himself will get hold of the MASK and transform into the green headed wacky K-9 equivalent to Stanley's own usually in order to come to his owners rescue out when he finds himself in trouble !

As with the above MASK figure Milo is essentially an action figure with poseable legs and a little action feature; when you pull his tongue it will retract as his jaw does a chopping motion! Once again this is a very nicely designed toy with basic articulation with simple but clean paint applications and a pretty fun little gimmick!

MASK Mobile: While Stanley barely makes it once around the block in his clapped out heap of a car The MASK only travels at high speeds and in the does so in style with this supped up sports car complete with a huge grin on the front grill!  

The vehicle itself is nicely detailed though simple in design and hidden inside the "mouth" of the vehicle is The MASK himself who appears to be driving from the "tongue" of the car, another nicely detailed miniature figure! As an additional feature when the mouth is opened wide the tongue with The MASK in tow launches forth!

The MASK: The final figure in this set features Stanley Ipkiss' alter ego as he spins around Tasmanian Devil style, somebody stop him!

This figure is possibly the most basic of the four but looks fantastic with his huge grin and raised eyebrow! and to top it all off he can actually spin around just like in the series and movie! Simply pull him back and watch him speed off whilst whirling around!

The MASK pencil toppers: As an added little bonus we will have a brief look here at some of the freebee Pencil Toppers that were available in packs of Kellogg's Cereals in the 1996 with around 8 different toppers available to collect!

Most of these toppers were based on  either The MASK himself or other wearers of the Loki Mask  such as The Baby Stanley sometimes babysits (not voluntarily of course!) and his pet Milo! Each takes its inspiration from promotional material released for the series featuring the MASK with number of goofy expressions including the most often used with his eyes bugging out, jaw opened and tongue extended. These toppers are actually very nice quality and feature a number of detailed paint applications for things such as gum lines and lips which isn't often seen in promotional Cereal toys which can sometimes be left completely unpainted!

Much the merchandise produced tended to leave out some of the main antagonists so its nice to see them pop up here in this Pencil toppers set! Particularly Frankenstein monster like henchman "Walter" (left) who as far as memory serves only appearance in toy form is here in this set where as the villainous scientist "Pretorius" (The main antagonist voiced by Tim Curry) has been included in a couple of the restaurant promotions most notably in the 1997 Taco Bell promotion.




The MASK being the huge hit it was back in 1994 was primed for an animated series, given its cartoonish nature, with the end result being a show that began with a very strong first series and ran out of ideas shortly after but was ultimately very successful and a great accompaniment to a fantastic movie! Some of the best merchandise produced for the show came from the many promotional tie-in giveaways both here in the UK/Europe and the USA including the above items from Burger King and Kellogg's!         

Restaurant Collectables: The Mummy: The Animated Series 2002 KFC

The Mummy series of films proved to be huge hits and with any big successful movie there are the inevitable cash in's be it sequels, prequels, spin-offs or an Animated series! Or in the case of this particular franchise (A loose remake of the 1933 Universal classic) all of the above but it is the subject of the short lived Animated series that is going to be the focus here. The series came after the second Mummy instalment 2001's The Mummy Returns became a huge box office hit and received decent reviews overall and even spawned a prequel (The scorpion King) a couple of years later! The series follows the O'Connell family from Returns as they journey around the world searching for the "lost Scrolls of Thebes" which hold the spells that can separate the Manacle of Osiris from its user (Rick and Evy's son Alex) or enable the user to control the world as the once again resurrected Imhotep intends! As is usual for an animated series based on a movie series the show borrows certain elements from the films it is  based on but forms its own continuity. The show ran for two series from 2001-2003 but wasn't particularly well received and therefore fairly short lived with many feeling it to be inferior to the movie and ultimately forgettable and despite an improved third series the show just couldn't find it's audience and was eventually canned!


In the USA Taco Bell released a set of five different action toys based on the series back in 2002 some of which were available in the UK through KFC though the sets varied slightly! over here we got the same Rick and Alex figures and also a puzzle shaped as a pyramid that Taco Bell in the USA put out along in addition to a completely different version of Evy and a Imhotep figure in place of the Manacle of Osiris! Here we will take a look at the KFC set that was available back in 2002 in the UK and Europe:

Rick's wheelie motorcycle : The dashing American adventure seeker has battled real life Mummies and lived to tell the tales! He met his future British wife Evy after one such adventure goes awry and the two embark on an expedition to Egypt in search of the ancient "Book of the Dead" resulting in the accidental awakening of evil high priest Imhotep! They then had son Alex who is now a teenager and accompanies them on their quests which takes the family around the world in search of the lost "scrolls of Thebes" whilst being perused by the vengeful Imhotep!     

Rick comes complete with 1930's style motorcycle which when revved up speeds along doing a wheelie! The toy overall is pretty nice looking and fun in particular the figure itself  though sadly it isn't detachable from the bike which is far more simple looking is decent enough well enough also for addition play you can attach Alex's sidecar to this bike!

Evy's Book of the Dead: Former librarian Evelyn dreamed of the day she would  become a respected Egyptologist before she met future Husband Rick and embarked on an adventure of a lifetime! She now lives out her dream along with her aforementioned spouse and their teenage son, searching the globe for ancient artefacts always looking for new adventures and historic discoveries!


Even at first glance this toy looks pretty impressive featuring Evy seated on some ancient ruin surrounded by symbols! The main body of Evy Herself is identical to the figure Taco Bell released in the US but this UK version has her legs crossed in a seated position whilst holding the"Book of the Dead". Overall this is quite nicely detailed little toy with cleanly applied paintwork and what's more has a pretty interesting gimmick....

As alluded to above this figure has a really fun action feature if you will which transforms this already great figure into a fun game you can play! Simply turn the dial at the base of the toy which will randomly determine which button will activate the light up feature then taking it in turns each person will select a Symbol to press until the "Book of the Dead" Illuminates and if it does so on your turn you lose or win depending on what the aim of the game is! 


Alex's Sidecar: Arguably the real "star" of the Mummy series is Alex who is most closely followed throughout the shows, he is also usually the catalyst to the main action often placing his family in tricky situation but usually comes through for his folks in the end!

This is one the best figures in the set and looks especially great when coupled with Rick's motorcycle Alex himself is a great representation of the animated character and he even comes with a Mummy Minion clasping at the spare tire at the back of the sidecar which can be launched off when the button on the front of the car is pushed!   

Imhotep Awakening: As the main antagonist in the first of the Mummy movie instalments it is no surprise to see him "resurrected" for the show! Imhotep posses many mystical powers and abilities among them being able to command long dead Mummies to do his bidding as he is hot on the heels of the O'Connell family as they search the world for long lost artefacts!

Imhotep is presented here in his mummified form as he awakens from his slumber in his sarcophagus! Both figure and Sarcophagus are very nicely detailed and look fantastic despite the only paint application being the red eyes on Imhotep! The action feature is that the figure will "rise" from his coffin when you push a button under the base of the sarcophagus!  

Each figure is supplied with a bio card of the respective character which features both information on the character in question and a brief summery of a selected episode also included are instructions on how to use your toy and which other toys are available in the set!   




Though the animated series itself may have been somewhat lacking in certain aspects these promotional tie-in toys based on it are surprisingly good! Granted some of the toys are better than others but overall this is a nice, fun, well made little set of collectables, by no means spectacular mind you but still thoroughly decent little collection of figures that fans of the Mummy franchise will no doubt want to own!    

Restaurant Collectables: Disney's Pocahontas 1995 Burger King (USA release)

By 1995 Walt Disney studios was well and truly back on the map after having a pretty rocky time in the late 70's and early to mid 80's only to claw their way back into the hearts of reviewers and audiences with the likes of  The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast! Their last movie The Lion King was a record breaking  box office sensation and had no shortage of critics waxing lyrical about how stunning and funny the movie was which perhaps inflated quite a few egos at Disney who felt they could do no wrong after scoring hit after hit! Which brings us to Pocahontas a movie which takes it story from the pages of history instead of from folklore or fairy-tale as had usually been the case, of course it was always going to be loose interpretation of a real life event but perhaps this fictionalised account was a little too loose for comfort! with some feeling it to be an offensive glossing over of that period in America's history. Historical inaccuracies aside Pocahontas has many redeeming qualities including stunning animation, brilliant voice casting and a couple of heart felt songs that you may be inclined to hum for some days after hearing them! 


As the popularity of Disney grew more and more so did the merchandise produced for each of their movies with Burger King at that time holding the licence for producing toys to go with their Kid's club meals (in Europe during the 90's it was mainly McDonalds who gave away Disney toys with their rival Happy meals!) As they had done for the previous three Disney movies that preceded Pocahontas! And as before BK produced a set of very nice looking collectable toys one for each of the main characters that featured in this movie which will look at here more detail:




 

Pocahontas: Strong willed and wildly adventurous Pocahontas just wants to find her true path in life but cannot find it in her heart to disappoint her Chief father who wants Pocahontas to marry strong but silent warrior Kocoum and remain a prominent role model in the tribe. Her world is turned upside down by the arrival of the white settlers who have come to colonise the land and search for gold particularly that of dashing Captain John Smith! She must learn to listen to her heart and find the right path for her whether it be a future with the English captain or to remain with her tribe! 

This figure is a simple small scale action figure with basic articulation, there is no gimmick with this it is simply just a poseable figure which makes for a great little collectable great! there is some very nice sculpting details which belie the fact it is a mass produced fast food promotional toy that is only let down by the thickly applied sloppy paint job!

John Smith: Brash but handsome Englishman Captain John Smith is an explorer with many an exciting story to tell but it was his encounter with one of the natives of the "new world" Pocahontas that changes his life forever! At first it is the thrill of discovering a new land for "colonising" despite the upset caused to the settlers of the land but soon realises the damage he and his crew (lead by the dastardly Governor Ratcliff) are about to create and has a change of heart! 

Here is another great example of a fast food toy which could have been made for general sale in toy stores which boasts a strong likeness of the character and is overall a very good quality poseable little action figure! 

Chief Powhatan: Leader of the Powhatan tribe and father to free-spirited daughter Pocahontas, the chief only wants what is best for his tribe and family even if it means waging war against the British who are tearing up their land! 

The chief is possibly the most impressive looking of the four "action figures" available in this set and even comes with a removable buckskin cape though he is slightly more limited in his poseability this is still the best of the bunch in terms of the quality of the sculpt!

Grandmother Willow: The wise elderly willow tree is always willing to offer spiritual guidance for granddaughter Pocahontas when she most needs answers in finding her true calling in life and her complicated relationship with Englishman John Smith!

Grandmother willow comes in three parts but is still slightly too small in scale with the four human characters but is great looking nonetheless and has a good deal of detailing but has no additional paint applications whatsoever leaving it looking a tad plain! she hasn't any additional action features to speak of so works best as an accessory to the main characters!   

Flit: This chirpy little hummingbird is super protective of friend Pocahontas often using its pointed beak as a way of defending her honour! The toy is a simple push along with wing flapping action as it does so!

Meeko: This inquisitive and always hungry little Raccoon is another of Pocahontas' animal friends who accompany her along her journey and witness her falling in love with John Smith who Meeko at first perceives to be a threat until he reveals his honourable intentions along with a pouch loaded with biscuits!

As with all of the animal character in the set Meeko has an action feature which in this case is of the wind up variety and once activated make the little racoon dart about whilst lifting his biscuit to his mouth! These figures are far more "fast food toyish" though are fairly well detailed if not a little more simplistic than the other figures in this set! 

Percy: Governor Ratcliff's pampered mutt walks very much in the shadow of his shallow master until of course he meets a certain curious raccoon and soon switches elegances after making a new best buddy!

With his nose in the air and a raised eye brow he strides along with an air of  superiority once his wind up feature is activated!

Ratcliff: Like a true villain Governor Ratcliff is greedy, power hungry and incredibly ruthless when it comes to his ambitious pan for wealth and glory! He makes it abundantly clear that the "Savages" that occupy the land are not to be trusted and must in fact be destroyed as they are an obstruction to the discovery of gold that Ratcliff believes to be hidden somewhere in Virginia! 

Ratcliff is another basic action figure with limited articulation but lots of great details that really bring him surprisingly close to his on screen counterpart the addition of a hat and cape would have made this figure feel more complete but as it stands this is a another very nice example of a high quality kids meal toy!



Disney had high hopes for Pocahontas and expected it to be a huge success both with audiences and critics and it is clear from the depth of emotion and the quality of the animation a lot of heard work and effort had gone into its making. Unfortunately there were some major issues with the movie that critics just couldn't overlook and audiences couldn't quite warm to and so Pocahontas became the worst received movie of the Disney renaissance films of the 90's! Burger King's toys however are far from disappointing as they are amongst some of that particular restaurant chain's best efforts! These are very well made despite their simplicity and overall are very impressive to look at fun to play with their appeal being not only to that of collectors of Disneyalia and restaurant collectables but toy lovers in general!