Restaurant collectables: Disney's Hercules 1997 McDonalds

The 1990's was a very good period in Disney's history, it is the decade that saw the "House of Mouse" produce some of the greatest animated movies since the golden era of Disney!  movies that are comparable to 1939's Snow White (the first full length animated feature) and 1940's Pinocchio! Though with that said there were some lesser instalments to come along that didn't quite manage to impress in the same way as Beauty and the Beast or The Lion King had but are nonetheless enjoyable and entertaining in their own way, one such movie was 1997's Hercules which followed the adventures of one of Greek mythologies greatest ever heroes! Hercules was more light hearted and action packed than The Hunchback of Notre dame and Pocahontas had been, which was a deliberate move on the part of the studio who noticed that children weren't as taken with the last two instalments as they had been with say Aladdin which influenced Hercules lighter and more comedic tone. The movie was a huge hit but didn't entirely impress critics who when comparing this movie to some of those earlier movies couldn't help but feel underwhelmed, which isn't to say Hercules isn't great entertainment, well cast and beautifully animated it just isn't as impactful as some of what had proceeded it but conversely managed to improve on the last two offerings that proceeded it!


Along with the mega amount of merchandising that usually proceeds a highly anticipated Disney release (something which is comically referenced in the movie itself; "I'm an action figure!") Here in the UK and in Europe we got a nice little set of toy's courtesy of McDonalds which we will cover in detail as well as a few of the USA released action figures which we would later receive here in Europe to mark Hercules release on VHS:  




Hercules: The son of Zeus and air to the throne of mount Olympus Hercules is snatched in a plot formed by Lord of the underworld Hades in which he is given a potion in order to turn him human whereby he can be killed! The plan which is carried out by Hades' minions Pain and Panic doesn't go according to plan and Hercules is discovered by two mortals and raised as there own but Hercules never quite fits in due to his incredible strength coupled with his innate clumsiness! So when he is told of his Godly heritage Herc sets out to prove his worth with the Help of Phil his mentor and his best friend Pegasus! 

Hercules isn't the most memorable Disney protagonist but he is endearing and exciting enough to make him one of the best incantations of the legendary Greek Hero and this figure is a nice representation of him with a decent likeness and an apt action feature that sees him fling a discus when he is twisted at the waist!

Megara: Having sold her soul to the villainous Hades in order to save her boyfriend from death (who as Hades later points out left her for some other "Babe") Meg is in Hades debt and is tasked with seducing Hercules in exchange for her freedom but finds herself genuinely falling for him and he with her playing into Hades hands who seizes the opportunity to bargain Megs life for Hercules strength!  

Meg makes for quite a refreshing female Disney "princess" with her sarcastic whit and strong personality she is memorable and genuinely funny which as far as I am concerned makes her stand out from the other Disney love interests and this figure really does the look of the character justice perfectly capturing the on screen animated design! When wound up she "walks" along moving her head from side to side which works effectively and suits the characters persona well!

Pegasus: The winged horse Pegasus was created from the clouds by Zeus to be a loyal pet for  his infant son Hercules! the loyal stallion who posses the ability to  fly is reunited with his friend, after Hades' minions Pain and Panic kidnap and tried to kill Hercules some years earlier, helping Herc as he trains to be a hero to his people and prove himself to the God's on mount Olympus! Pegasus is nicely represented here in toy form with flapping wing action when the figure is rolled along! 

Phil: Former trainer to some of Greece's biggest heroes the now retired Phil is a hard nosed Mickey Goldmill type who is persuaded to take up one last gig as mentor to the teenage Hercules who is trying to find his place in this world after discovering his roots and trying to prove himself to his real father! 

Hot tempered satyr  Phil is portrayed by Actor Danny DeVito whose distinctive likeness was worked into the character design and is perfectly recreated in this wind up toy which features Phil astride a fallen pillar which crawls along when wound up!  

Hydra: As part of Hades plot to kill his nephew Hercules the Hydra is unwittingly released after our hero is tricked into freeing her from beneath the boulder she is imprisoned under! The Hydra is quickly defeated, or so it would seem, until she rises up and grows three new heads in place of the one Hercules had lobbed off! It isn't long before three heads become six and then nine as Hercules continues to behead the beast before realising he won't defeat the monster that way and has to find some other alternative plan to slay it!

The Hydra's appearance makes for one of the most exciting sequences in the movie! The creature was realised completely in CGI making it even more memorable and frightening and it's design makes for a great toy which is just a simple figure with little articulation and no gimmicks to speak of but it looks fantastic!

Hades: Lord of the dead Hades is sick and tired of toiling away in the underworld and dreams of ruling from on high like his Brother Zeus! When Hades future is foretold by witchly trio The Fates it seems his plan for domination is to be scuppered by his nephew Hercules so Hades plots to capture and destroy the infant Hercules which as he later finds out went unsuccessfully and so, with the help of some ancient beasts and the dutiful Meg, he works on wearing Herc down before the time comes when the alignment of the stars will allow him to free the monstrous Titans from their underwater prison!

Hades was originally going to be far closer in personality to the calm and slick villains such as Aladdin's Jafar but in casting actor James Woods to provide Hades voice the character became more of a sleazy, fast-talking sales man type which makes this particular addition to the Disney bad guy's club a memorable one! This figure is a decent enough representation of Hades but looks a little off with his head being a tad too small! but overall it is nicely detailed and comes with a base he attaches to which features minions pain and panic holding on for dear life as it spins when a button is pressed!

Panic: One half of Hades loyal minion duo Panic is the most neurotic, nervy and anxious of the two but make no mistake these two imps are very cunning!
This 3" figure is very nicely detailed especially for a fast food premium though it isn't accurate in its scale compared with the fates! he comes grasping the all seeing eyeball that is shared amongst the Fates and isn't looking particularly pleased about it! 


The Fates: These three sisters have a very specific duty in the underworld and that is that they are reasonable for cutting each person's thread of life, taking away their life source and sending their soul to the river Styx aka the pit of death where they loom for all eternity! The Fates are comprised of two separate parts that combine to make a whole 3D figure that can be used to house the accompanying figure, as is the case with all of the figures in this set, and despite the absence of paint applications this is still a very nicely designed and fun looking accessory that depicts the three sisters fighting over the a"ll seeing eye"!     

Pain: The other half of the aforementioned dastardly duo that serve under lord of the dead Hades! Pain, as his name suggests, is used to the odd bit of agonising discomfort usually at the hands of his master! 
Again this is another nicely made figure which as an additional feature as he is able to extend his jaw to give the impression of screaming!  



Cyclops aka Bright Eye: After the monstrous titans are freed from their underwater prison they head to mount Olympus in order to seek revenge against their captors including Hercules father Zeus! Though the Cyclops has an altogether different mission; seek out and destroy Hercules himself (who has become temporarily human after making a deal with Hades) In his weakened state Herc must battle the giant one-eyed beast using his wits and he hasn't the physical strength to take him on! The Cyclops figure once more comes in two sections that attach together and can be used to store the Pain figure. It is superbly detailed and really does look fantastic though he is far smaller in scale than he should be but that is a minor gripe!    



Hades: What more can be said about one of the greatest villains ever to appear in a Disney movie? Yes Hades is that brilliant of a character that his appearance in this film is possibly the best element of Hercules altogether! and this figure is easily one of the best in the set perfectly capturing his sly and cocky persona with his smirky grin and raised eye brows! It is a marked improvement over the earlier figure mentioned in this post and even comes with translucent hair which will glow when placed in front of a light source!   



Cerberus: Hades three headed Dog pet is a ferocious and fearsome beast that lives with its master in the murky underworld! However he is easily tamed when a furious Hercules uses him to make his way through hades lair at the movies climax! Another two part figure Cerberus is a very nice looking figure that looks just as fantastic from the back! Cast in a greyish black with only the piercing red eyes to break it up this is one of the best figures in the set!




Hercules is a minor classic in the Disney Cannon but is a classic nonetheless
and as such is thoroughly enjoyable, well animated and has great vocal performances from all concerned! Its a movie that, if nothing else, has contributed a fabulous Villain and memorable heroin to the pantheon of classic Disney characters and while may not feature high on the "Best Disney movies of time" list it certainly has much to recommend it! McDonalds' promotional toys released in Europe are also perfectly enjoyable and fun but aren't quite as well made and collectable as the set of figures that were later released both here and in the USA!

Restaurant Collectables: Disney/Pixar's A Bug's Life 1998 McDonalds

Back in 1995 Animation company Pixar via Walt Disney studio released an entirely Computer animated movie called Toy Story (Oh you've heard of it!) the movie was the first of its kind and wowed audiences (including the six year old me!) of course Computer graphics had been featured in animated movies since the late 80's but never before had a full length animated movie been entirely rendered in CGI and there was initially uncertainty as to how audiences would respond to this new way of filmmaking. I don't need to tell you Toy Story was a huge hit and led to the end of traditional hand drawn animation and the rise of  Computer generated animated movies! In 1998 Pixar followed up their first feature with A Bug's Life which again proved to be a major box office hit despite competition from rival studio DreamWorks with the similar but inferior Antz, which has been accused of directly ripping off A Bug's Life in order to hurt the movie's financial success! Of course A Bug's Life was champion at the box office and has since become a cherished classic in the Pixar cannon and though both films can be enjoyed in their own rights  Pixar's effort has far more charm! 


Amongst the companies promoting the movie were McDonald's who put out a set of eight different action toys, as they had for the previous Disney movies Hercules and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, producing some very nice, fun little figures to collect with the purchase of a Happy Meal! here we will take a look at the full set:




Flik: The kind hearted inventor with a eye for Princess Atta sets out to seek help in defeating the evil Grasshoppers who have forced his Ant Colony to harvest food for them leaving little for the Ants themselves! He finds help in the form of a group of unemployed circus Bugs who are mistaken for brave  warriors only when they return to the colony it soon becomes clear there has been a terrible misunderstanding!    

Flik here is a simple pull back toy who once revved up speeds away at some speed! He is depicted astride a leaf with a backpack and sports a very good likeness of the animated character and features glittery paint applications! overall a very nice looking figure!   

Princess Atta: Heir to the throne of the Ant Kingdom Atta is nervous about her new responsibilities though she has the loyal inventor Flik supporting her and to prove his worth he promises the Princess he will go to the big city and return with some much needed help!  

as with Flic princess Atta has a pull back feature and is again featured riding on a leaf but with added floral decoration! Again this is a nice representation of the on screen character and has a similar glittery paint job and clear plastic wings. Very nice!

Princess Dot: The youngest of the two princesses Dot is curious and free spirited with none of the anxieties of her older sister! She idolises Flik and offers him support when things seemed hopeless!

Dot is a very sweet little figure sat astride some kind of mushroom she bounces along when wound up!

Dim: As his name might suggest Dim here isn't the sharpest tool in the box but when it comes to helping take on the Bag guys his sharp snout and large bulk certainly comes in handy!

The great thing about these figures is that they are pretty much in the right scale with each other so the rhinoceros beetle Dim is  rather appropriately one of the largest figures in this set! He is nicely detailed and scutters along when wound up!

Heimlich: voiced by the late Pixar animator and voice artist Joe Ranft, Heimlich is one of the most memorable and funny characters from the movie! The German caterpillar dreams of one day becoming a beautiful butterfly but for now he performs as the clown in P.T flee's circus before being recruited along with his fellow performers to battle some Mean spirited Grasshoppers!   

Like the other figures in the set Heimlich is very nicely detailed and resembles the character very closely, he also has a glittery paint job and a wind up feature which when activated sends him slinking along!   

Rosie: Very much the mother figure of the group of outcast bugs despite being a black widow spider who has had many husbands (all of who have died!)

Once again this is a nice looking figure particularly for a fast food premium and is one of the largest if not the largest figure in the set! She is a wind up like most of the toys seen here walking along when activated!  

Francis: Though he is often seen as aggressive, due to him often being mistaken for a female due to his unfortunate namesake, after he plays a major part in rescuing Dot  he is made 'den-mother' to the scout-like organization of young ants called the "Blueberry Troop"! Though He isn't exactly thrilled about it to begin with but ultimately feels honoured at the privilege!

Francis is a ladybird who is often mistaken for a female and so has to play up his toughness which is comically represented here in his grumpy facial expression and closed fists as though he is ready for a fight! His action feature is a wind up mechanism that once wound up makes it appear as though Francis is walking along, swaying his head from side to side! Along with a great gimmick this figure also boasts a very good likeness of the on screen character and is one of the best figures in the set! 

Hopper: The leader of the mafia-like Grasshopper gang Hopper is feared by the Ants and revered by his fellow Grasshoppers but the only thing that Hopper fears himself are Birds (after an earlier encounter left him blind in one eye!) a fear which the Ants eventually use to their advantage!  

Hopper, of all of the bad guy's to feature in a Pixar production, is the most like a classic Disney villain and could have been cut from the same cloth as Hades or scar and it is clear from his menacing expression he is one evil bug! Hopper's action feature is obviously inspired by his namesake you simply wind him up and he hops about! like the majority of these figure Hopper has a glittery paint job and features a fantastic likeness that does his on screen appearance justice!




A Bug's Life was only the second feature produced by animation company Pixar who had previously found major success with the award winning Toy Story and it is truly one of their best efforts to date despite often being overlooked in favour of the likes of Finding Nemo and The Incredibles! Pixar lead the way in computer generated animated films that seem to dominate the box office nowadays and yet A Bug's Life still remains one of the better animated movies to be made in this way and these McDonalds kid's meal toys are really great examples of giveaway premiums that not only perfectly capture the look and feel of the characters and movie they are inspired by but are fun and engaging in their own right!

The Flintstones 1994 Mattel

The Flintstones has been a beloved pop culture icon for some 50 years and its popularity hasn't waned in all those years. The Flintstones cartoon series was the longest running in television history (right up until the Simpsons  beat that record, and then some, years later) Before the Flintstones made their Live action big screen debut in 1994 there were some original straight video feature length episodes produced to go along with the syndicated  series that had found favour with a new generation as well as a spin off series featuring all of those familiar characters but in their adolescence  years (a popular trend at the time that included "Muppet Babies" and "A pup named Scooby-doo") but it was that Spielberg produced big budget adaptation that really got people excited especially when John Goodman was perfectly chosen to be the flesh and blood embodiment of Fred Flintstone! Another piece of perfect casting came in the form of Rick Moranis who perfectly captures the hapless but kind hearted Barney Rubble. The real stars of The Flintstones however could be said to be the fantastic prehistoric creatures  the Jim Henson workshop's  wonderfully brought to life complete with their familiar sarcastic observational quips Flintstones fans will be familiar to!
The Flintstones movie proved to be finically successful but wasn't very warmly received by critics who felt the adult themes and cartoonish tom foolery didn't mix well but praised the cast and production as top notch.  


As with most big budget summer tent pole  movies there was a slew of merchandise to be had! Mattel who held the licence to produce toys based on the Flintstones series put out a line of action figures and accessories to tie-in with the new movie which they designed with the combined look of the movie characters with the proportions of their animated counterparts! The line quickly became store shelf fodder not being particularly popular and therefore eventually resigned to the bargain bin! Here we will look at a couple of figures from the line:   
  

Hard Hat Fred Flintstone: Fred is a hard working family man who loves his wife and daughter more than anything else (With Bowling coming in at a close second!)When he gives away his and Wilma's savings to best friend Barney and his Wife Betty so they can adopt son Bam-Bam his generosity is repaid when Barney switches aptitude tests at work! Fred is promoted and Barney fired as a result forcing a rift between The Flintstones and The Rubbles!  

With the Flintstones popularity as strong as ever this live action movie update had a slew of merchandise produced too tie-in with this highly anticipated release with Mattel producing not only a standard set of action figures but also a series of bendable figures with accompanying play sets and vehicles! The standard set featured some very nicely detailed and fun accessories and decent likenesses of the on screen characters with Fred in particular looking very much like the actor John Goodman who portrayed him! Mattel made the creative decision to make these figures proportioned in a similar style to the original cartoon series which some have criticised but ultimately works quite well and isn't too off putting! The line consisted mainly of different Fred and Barney figures with each of their respective partners, Dino and Cliff Vandercave making up the rest of the line with this version of Fred appearing in his classic attire complete with workman accessories! 

One of the best things about these figures are the accessories which in true Flintstones style feature some poor creature functioning as an everyday tool or household appliance such as a pterodactyl serving as pickaxe!

Lawn Mowin' Barney Rubble: Kind hearted Barney can often be found at the side of best friend Fred even when his good buddy gets a new high flying position at work and Barney is made unemployed until Fred's new lifestyle gives him allusions of grandeur and Barney calls it a day on their life long friendship!   

As with the Fred Flintstone figure produced Barney Rubble was also given a few different variants based around some of the jobs he had to take up after being fired from the quarry including "Crash Test Barney" and "fillin' Station Barney"! This figure is the classic looking version of the character with a very nice likeness of actor Rick Moranis! These figures tend to be quite basic in appearance and aren't the most detailed with very limited articulation and feature soft rubber heads with the overall look being a good mix of the Cartoon and movie incarnations as mentioned above the figure comes complete with a lawn mower and chainsaw inspired by a brief scene in the film itself where Barney is mowing his lawn which itself a nod to the original cartoon series where the characters will perform mundane tasks with the help of various creatures who often quip to the audience "Its a living!"   

The accessories for this figure are two solid plastic creatures functioning as household appliances one being a lobster Lawnmower and the other a Beaver Chainsaw! Both are very nicely detailed though they have only basic paint applications are still very nice looking and well sculpted with some intricate detailing particularly on the lobster (which has been coloured purple instead of red for some reason!)




The Flintstones original big screen adventure is perhaps the most successful of the live action adaptations of well known Cartoon shows, Its (mostly) perfectly cast with fantastic production designs and creature effects and despite its uneven tone it at least plumped for a story with a little more maturity than you'd expect and the result is a movie that whilst fun to watch is deeply flawed, flaws which as time goes by become more and more apparent. Mattel's toy line is also fun but flawed with the choice of design being slightly off-putting for some but is made up for by the addition of some great accessories that accompany each figure!


    
The full list of figures available in the series:


-Hard Hat Fred
-Lawn Mowin' Barney
-Wilma with Pebbles
-Betty with Bam-Bam
-Licking Dino
-Cliff Vandercave
-Big-Shot Fred
-Fillin' Station Barney
-Big Eat Fred
-Crash Test Barney
-Bowl-O-Rama Fred
-Dino-Drilling Barney
-Yabba-Dabba-Doo Fred (8")


Vehicles:


-Flintmobile
-Le Saber Tooth 5000

STARGATE 1994 Hasbro

Before he had scored a huge hit with the mega blockbuster Independence Day, after which he has become known for his special effects driven disaster flicks,  German born filmmaker Roland Emmerich had cut his teeth on a couple of modestly budgeted sci-fi movies most notably 1994's Stargate, A movie inspired by the popular conspiracy theory that suggests the famous pyramids of Egypt where actually designed by Alien life forms! Stargate has a really strong and interesting premise with great performances, particularly from Kurt Russell, and stunning (for the time) special effects though somewhat surprisingly wasn't received all that favourably by critics on its initial release but nonetheless proved to be financially successful and gained a loyal fan base which has continued to grow thanks to the long running Stargate Television series and spin off movies.   


Hasbro produced a basic line of action figures and a couple of vehicles to promote Stargate's release several of which aren't particularly noteworthy however the better offerings are decently rendered and come with some interesting accessories making this series of figures overall worth checking out so lets have a look at two of the figures (the best two as far as I'm concerned) from the set:
 

Colonel Jack O'Neil: U.S Air Force special operations man Colonel O'Neil leads a team of military men accompanied by hieroglyphic expert Daniel Jackson through the Stargate where they find themselves inside of a pyramid type structure on a distant planet. The return home depends on Dr. Jackson being able to discover and translate the missing coordinates! O'Neil however is focused on his own top secret mission and is prepared to die there on the planet having lost his son in an unfortunate accident which he blames himself for!

With the majority of the figures in this line barely resembling the on screen characters they are suppose to be based on it is a relief to find that the most interesting character in the movie has been given by far the best treatment! not only is his fatigues nicely sculpted and detailed but the head sculpt is really very close  in likeness to Actor Kurt Russell! The figure comes with the usual fire arm type accessories as well as a small replica of the Stargate and most importantly his trusty beret!

RA: The dying Alien known as RA travelled across the universe searching for a new host so he could continue to survive eventually landing on earth in ancient Egyptian times! He possesses a young boy and enslaves the youth's people transporting them to a desolate planet where he could continue to rule over them posing as a God until they rebelled and buried the Stargate device!

RA in figure form differs somewhat from his on screen counterpart with the figure suggesting that the gold coloured God-Like image of RA is his actual form when in fact he is merely a young boy in a mask! Its not a huge deal as the overall look of the figure decently represents the version of RA as he is addressing his servants albeit with more skin on show than the fully robed appearance of RA on screen. Despite the slight departure from the character design used in the final film this is still a nice looking figure with nice paint detailing and a decent selection of accessories including  a removable headdress a staff and a small replica of the Alien pyramid as well as an over sized projectile launcher!    




Stargate was a huge success on its initial release despite its mixed reviews and has amassed a huge following over the years thanks to its continuing adventures on the small screen! Stargate's Director has gone on to produce some of the most awe inspiring disaster movies of recent years and also some not so awe inspiring disastrous movies as well! Hasbro's tie-in toys are probably not the greatest set of figures there has ever been but they are far from terrible despite some of the figures being poorly designed and not looking much like the characters they are suppose to represent but at least they got Kurt Russell's likeness spot on and the Egyptian Gods/aliens figures are also superb!      


The full list of figures available:


-Colonel Jack O'Neil
-Dr. Daniel Jackson
- Lt. Kawalsky
-Skaara
-RA
-Anubis
-Horus attack pilot
-Horus Palace Guard


vehicles/Accessories:
-All- Terrain cruiser
-Winged Glider
-Mastage

Last Action Hero 1993 Mattel

After a string of major Box Office successes throughout the 80's and the first couple of years into the 90's Arnold Schwarzenegger's popularity had reached major heights with his last major movie; Terminator 2: Judgment Day breaking all sorts of records and managing to impress critics and audiences the world over with its slick action and stunning CGI effects it was only a matter of time before Hollywood began scrambling for a new vehicle for Arnie to star in! It of course had to be action driven but Arnie had also recently showed off his comedy chops to great effect in the likes of Kindergarten Cop and Twins and so Last Action hero was conceived to be sort of parody of those big, dumb action movies that made household names out of  the likes of Stallone, Van Damme and of course Schwarzenegger!


LAH was produced on a rather sizable budget placing all of its faith in Arnie's popularity with his ability to both excite and entertain a broad range of movie fans (having then recently extended his profile to include family friendly fare in addition to his harder edge R-rated action flicks)to bring home some impressive Box Office takings! Unfortunately despite a very aggressive advertising campaign (including advertising in space!) and a bunch of promotional tie-ins bad word of mouth spread fast and it received a critical mauling on its release with things going from bad to worse when Jurassic Park became the mega hit that it was taking a huge bite out of LAH's takings!         


As the interest in the movie itself faded so did the enthusiasm for the tie-in toys produced by Mattel which saw average sales and eventual bargain bin residence despite being a thoroughly decent line of action figures! Here we will explore some of those figures available:  

Dynamite Jack Slater: Tough LAPD Detective Jack Slater in reality is the main character in the "Jack Slater" film series portrayed by action movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger, but when a young film fan is transported via a magic ticket into the movie playing before him in his local theatre the  fictional universe jack inhabits becomes Danny's reality! Something Slater finds hard to believe when Danny tries explaining to him he is just a character in a movie and everything around them is just a product of Hollywood imagination! Until of course they both follow the evil Benedict back into "our world" and Slater has to come to terms with the fact he only exists on movie screens! 

With Arnold Schwarzenegger's popularity at its peak due to his successful foray into family friendly fare such as Kindergarten cop its no wonder this line is made up of more than half of the figures dedicated to his Jack Slater character including this particular figure which has a spring loaded arm which launches various small weapons such as Dynamite sticks and Dumb Bells! The figure features Jack's signature look: a leather jacket with red T-Shirt and Blue jeans combo with fabulous detailing especially on his snake skin boots and belt buckle! The likeness of Arnie is what's most important here and it is captured perfectly but unfortunately is the same one used throughout all of the Jack Slater figures making for a distinct lack of variety! Another odd choice made with these figures is the decision to have the Jack figures hands sculpted to hold a gun but isn't supplied with one which is all the more strange when you consider that Evil Eye Benedict comes with no less than three hand guns!     

Hook Launchin' Danny: Young Danny Madigan loves nothing more than spending his time at his local Theatre watching his favourite action hero beat up bad guys on the big screen! Even when sat in his English class watching Laurence Oliver perform Hamlet on film he imagines what that movie would be had it starred Arnold Schwarzenegger! "To be or not to be? Not to be!" quips Arnie as he lights up a his signature stogie sending an explosion off in the background! His dreams come true when he is magically transported into the Jack Slater universe via a magic ticket provided by the theatre owner but will it be everything Danny hoped for?

Danny is represented very well here in action figure form with a decent head sculpt that bares a nice resemblance to kid actor Austin O'Brien! He comes with A grappling Hook accessory which is nicely designed and executed but hasn't any basis in the movie itself!

Evil Eye Benedict: As portrayed by Charles Dance the evil assassin for hire Mr. Benedict is cold and calculating and equips himself with a variety of weapons including exploding glass eyeballs! When Benedict finds Danny's Magic Ticket and discovers its amazing properties he enters into our world and forms a dastardly plan to destroy Arnold Schwarzenegger and thus do what he could never do in the movie world; kill Jack Slater!  

the on screen character designs is followed closely in these figures sculpts and also have generally very good likenesses of the respective actors with Mr. Benedict being one of the most effective figures in the set despite his simple design the only thing that is off about this figure is the fake eye which should be on his left side!

The most impressive thing about this figure is the array of accessories he comes supplied with including three different styles of hand gun, Fake eyes and a brief case with a couple of decals to store it all in!

Axe Swingin' Ripper: When released from a 10 year prison sentence, thanks to Jack Slater, The Ripper seeks his revenge by kidnapping Slater's own son! Though Jack manages to defeat The Ripper in the end it is at the cost of his own child, an event which has haunted him ever since! But The Ripper only remains dead for a short time before Benedict who with the aid of Danny's Magic Ticket brings him into the "real" world to kill Jack Slater actor Arnold Schwarzenegger!   

There are some pretty dark moments in Last Action Hero amongst the OTT action and comedic elements particularly the scenes featuring Tom Noonan as "The Ripper"! The axe wielding maniac who appears fleetingly but memorably in the movie is an interesting but a surprise addition to this line as he could be viewed as a somewhat inappropriate choice for a toy line clearly aimed at children (after all the character does spend most of his screen time attempting to kill a child!) He happens to be one of the best figure in the bunch with lots of intricate detailing and a strong (if slightly toned down) resemblance to his on screen counter part minus the yellow raincoat which has instead been replaced with a top hat and cloak combo I guess to give him a sort of Jack the Ripper appearance!  

Heat Packin' Jack: Slater is primed and ready for his nemesis "The Ripper" who kidnaps poor Danny and then, according to the kid in the toy commercial, tears Jack's favourite red T-Shirt with his trusty Axe! 


One of the several Jack Slater figures produced for this line "Heat Packin'" has borrowed some elements from the Dynamite Jack  figure including the same exact head and legs sculpts however the torso and arms are unique to this figure and filly show off Schwarzenegger's incredible physique! Yet again this figure isn't supplied with anything he can actually hold and so would have fared much better had his hands been moulded into closed fists instead!  

Jack comes armed with this big all in one weapon that attaches to his back made up of various elements such as a extendable chainsaw and a missile launcher!




Last Action Hero received mediocre reviews and began a steady decline in box office takings and was ultimately deemed a failure especially when compared to other big hitters in 1993 such as Spielberg's Jurassic Park! If not taken too seriously or analysed too closely LAH can be seen as an enjoyable and occasionally smart action extravaganza with some clever in-jokes and cameos thrown in for good measure! Mattel's toy line is actually a very solid one with great movie accurate designs and fun action features and accessories despite some short comings including the odd design flaws and the lack of variety in the characters, another plus point is that these are in scale with Kenner's Terminator 2 toy line if you wanted to these as a companion piece to a genuine Arnie classic! 


The full set of figures available: 


-Dynamite Jack Slater  
-Hook Launchin' danny
-Evil Eye Benedict 
-Axe Swingin' Ripper
-Heat Packin' Jack
-Undercover Jack
-Skull Attack Jack


Vehicals:
-Slater's convertible
-Evil eyed roadster