The Wizard of Oz 1998 BlockBuster entertainment/Play Pak Mattel

Movies do not come much more revered and celebrated as 1939's The Wizard of Oz, Every line of dialogue, every lyric of every song and each and every performer and costume design is permeated into the hearts and minds of generations of film fans the world over! simply put: if Ever oh ever a classic there was the Wizard of Oz is one because, because, because, because BEEECAAAUSE... Because of the wonderful things it does! Every decade that passes The Wizard of Oz reaches some milestone which is usually marked in one way or another, nowadays you could  probably expect some newly minted special edition of the film on DVD and Blu-Ray as standard plus a theatrical re-release, most recently the classic film received a 3D upgrade available on Blu-Ray and spent a limited time in theatres. Back in 1998 the movie was fast approaching its 60th anniversary and in preparation was given an all new digital restoration before being shown in cinemas for a new generation who had perhaps only seen the film on Television or VHS and so wouldn't have experienced it in its full glory!


A slew of all new merchandise had been put out around the same time including a great range of action figures and dolls sold exclusively at The Warner Bros store! You could also pick up fantastic set of four premium figures made available briefly at Blockbuster video stores through their experimental "Play Pak" scheme! The "Play Pak rental program" (to give it its full tittle) was launched in 1997 in conjunction with Mattel and began with promotions based on Disney's then current release Hercules. The concept was similar to that of a McDonald's Happy meal in that there would be a free toy supplied with the purchase of a children's video rental along with an activity bag and a small popcorn. The Wizard of Oz toys were by the far the best promotional toys available through the short lived Play Pak brand and here we will be looking at three of the four toys in detail:

The Scarecrow: Dorothy Gale finds herself in a wonderful and colourful magical land named Oz after being caught in the midst of a cyclone back in her native Kansas, where she is desperate to return to and Her only hope of which is to find the mysterious and all powerful Wizard who rules over Oz who is located in emerald city and so she must "Follow the yellow brick road" to reach him! shortly into her journey she comes across a straw man who is being pestered by some crows while he helplessly dangles from a tree trunk, after being freed by Dorothy the Scarecrow decides to accompany his new friend to Emerald city in the hope of receiving a brain so he can "while away the hours conferring with the flowers and consulting with the rain"!  

Originally released as a set of four available through the earlier mentioned "Kid's Play Pak" promotion from Blockbuster entertainment outlets in the USA these Wizard of Oz inspired toys are very similar to the kinds of toys you might expect to find in a fast food restaurant Kid's meal, the "puzzle slot train" gimmick has even been used several times in various Happy meal toys from McDonalds.   
The Scarecrow here is probably the best looking toy of the set, he is a single sculpted solid PVC figurine posed tied up on a tree trunk which spins around when you push or pull the yellow brick road base along! The figure is really very nicely detailed and strongly resembles the on screen character and the fantastic make up and costume design with a good amount of individual paint apps that help to highlight out all of those wonderful sculpting details in this toy!  

The Tin Man: Stood rusted solid for weeks in the same spot mid chop the mild and sensitive Tin man is discovered and fixed up by Dorothy and the Scarecrow and is soon skipping off down the yellow brick road in the hope of receiving that which he is most desires: a  heart from the great and powerful Wizard of Oz!

The second toy in this set is another impressive looking figure with a solid likeness of the movie character and a decent paint job (though minimal is mostly accurate to the film) Tin Man even has the best action feature by far particularly when compared to the basicness of the others in this line! When you Push him along the figure raises his Axe and  chops at the accompanying tree trunk which is a simple but effective function that works really well!  

The Cowardly Lion: Dorothy and her new friends carry on down the yellow brick road singing merrily, oblivious to the evil old witch lurking in surrounding woods who pounces on them and vows to wreak vengeance for the death of her sister caused inadvertently by Dorothy's falling house! The witch departs but the path they have taken leads them further into the woods where they find themselves face to face with a ferocious lion! at least he appeared ferocious until Dorothy puts him in his place for trying scare poor little Toto when the Lion confesses to be nothing but a coward but wishes he wasn't and so is invited along to go and see the Wizard who they hope will grant their individual requests!

Here we have another fantastically sculpted figurine but one that has far fewer paint applications than the Scarecrow and a much less effective action feature than the Tin Man! The Cowardly Lion is cowering behind a shrub or bush and bobs up and down above it when rolled along which, as I eluded to earlier, isn't all that impressive but doesn't detract from what is an incredible looking (and quite weighty) figurine with lots of great detailing throughout and featuring a solid likeness of Bert Lahr's indelible cinematic icon!   






A classic of classics with tons of merchandise and a huge following that shows no sign of letting up (on both fronts). In the pantheon of Wizard of Oz collectables these figures are pretty minor additions but considering they were giveaway premiums produced at a time when there were no shortage of giveaway premiums clogging up children's toy boxes these are pretty nifty and well made and shouldn't be written off by serious Oz collectors! They may come with a tried and tested action gimmick that is hit and miss depending on what toy it is but these are undeniably well made and great looking with each character also being spot on in the likeness department! The full set includes Dorothy with Toto, The Scarecrow, The Tin Man and The Cowardly Lion.