Because...

Because I had to meet an employee this morning, I woke up early.
Because I woke up early, I wanted coffee.
Because I wanted coffee I stopped at Wawa.
Because I stopped at Wawa, I got their crappy quality cups.
Because they provide crappy quality cups, the lid popped off.
Because the lid popped off, it spilled all over my shirt.
Because it spilled all over my shirt, I needed a new shirt.
Because I needed a new shirt, I had to go to Target.
Because I went to Target, I found the new wave 2 Super Mario Bros. movie figures.

Thanks, Wawa! 

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Bowser Yowser!

When I first opened my Target shipping box with my Super Mario Bros. Bowser inside, my first thought was, "Good on you, Target. You've finally learned how to safely ship action figures."

Good sized box. Sufficient padding. Nothing looked like it was kicked or stomped on. Kudos!

The size of the box immediately puts into perspective just how much larger this figure is when compared to the heroes from the line. I'll show a side by side comparison at the end of this post. For now, let's take a look around each of the sides for Bowser.

Pulling the figure from the box is no easy feat. There are a ton of stings and bands holding him in place. Also, be careful if you buy this figure. The watering accessory blends very well into the box, and could be accidentally disposed of if you're not looking for it.

There's also a set of instructions tucked underneath the inner cardboard insert / backer.

Pulling the figure out, the joints immediately feel looser, I'm talking, wobbly loose. Additionally, the figure has a more rubbery feeling than the hard plastic of the others.

Regardless, this looks good from every angle, and there's no mistaking it's Bowser from Super Mario Bros. lore.

The shell actually comes off, and this is where you will find the compartment for batteries. A portion of his hair can be popped out to access the well for holding water. It's the pony tail looking portion in the above photo.

Because I have no interest in my figure molding from the inside, I'm not even going to try the fire breathing effect out. I have, however, seen people show this in Youtube video reviews, and it certainly looks cool.

The figure boasts fourteen points of articulation, all of which is limited to the arms, legs and tail. The head neither swivels, nor can it be moved up or down. Additionally, the mouth does not close. Thee lack of details are unfortunate, because Bowser comes with a ten dollar price increase over those of the five inch figures in the line. I get that there's a lot more plastic involved here, but at $30.00, I was hoping for a bit more movement.

Unlike the other figures, this one does not boast the "realistic eyes" feature. But they still look really cool.

Bowser incorporates well into the line, and his increased size gives you a bit more play options than mere side by side interactions.

Don't let this battle scene fool you. It was a pain in the backside to set up. Between the balancing act of having him step on Toad, and the loose joints not being able to support Luigi's weight...Nightmare!

Still, when the shot was finally ready to take, I admittedly got a lot of fun out of it.

I had no intentions of collecting this line when I first saw it in Walmart. However, I think what drew me in to do so was not only the fact that the figures look amazing, but they weren't a hassle to get.

While I ended up getting them from three different locations over the course of multiple days, ultimately, Target had them all. Granted, I did have to buy Bowser off their website, while the others were readily available on shelves. But, the takeaway from this is that I didn't have to look at secondary markets or pay scalper rates just to get a new toy. It was on store shelves / websites, as it should be with all toys.

Basically, at the end of the day, Jakks Pacific made it easy for fans to buy their products. So I did.

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Well...

 

I tried my best to stick to the plan of just Mario and Luigi. However, when I was at a local GameStop and saw...

Toad was the tipping point for me. He looks so freaking awesome! At that point, Peach was a no brainer to complete the set of "heroes".

The articulation on these two versus those of Mario and Luigi is far inferior. While the aforementioned two have sixteen points of articulation each, Peach and Toad have less than ten. While this doesn't hurt them visually, it certainly hinders the poses you can get out of them.

Peach is the weakest of the bunch. She's simply a solid hunk of plastic with a twisting waist and head. While the arms have a bit more functionality, they serve little purpose due to the bottom half having no movement at all. Basically, the range of poses you're going to get out of this figure is minimal at best. This is not a twenty dollar figure by any stretch of the imagination. This is a glorified Happy Meal toy.

The figure comes with the character's token pink umbrella, but sadly because it is close, coupled with the minimal articulation, there's not much you can do with it either. Like Mario and Luigi, Peach has eyes that seem to follow you, regardless of the direction or angle you turn her. It's both cool and creepy at the same time.

What Toad lacks in articulation, he makes up for in being adorable. Recent events have reinvented the character to that of a mere citizen of Mushroom Kingdom to that of the head chef of the realm. As such, it's not surprising to find he comes with a frying pan accessory. I really dig how Jakks Pacific incorporated a slot in his non-removable pack to hold the item.

I don't know if it's just mine, but the right arm keeps popping off at the elbow. It's easy enough to get on, but it really hampers movement.

While the package references that Toad also sports, "realistic eyes", his don't follow you the way that they do on the other hero characters. The figure's legs also bend, and this is quite handy, as the backpack makes him so top heavy that he falls often.

With that said, I guess I'm on the hunt for Bowser to round out wave one. I'm hoping they make a second wave, as I would love to see Donkey Kong, some Goombas, and other various villains. I don't think the line will last much longer than the movie being in theaters, so hopefully this happens sooner than later.

Well...It looks like these are no longer a shelf topper, and more so becoming their own shelf. Guess I am going to have to rework some things here.

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The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Jakks Pacific)

 

The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Jakks Pacific
2023

It's been such a long time since I've posted something about a toy line that I almost forgot my own format. Sheesh....

While out perusing my local Walmart this afternoon, I came across wave one, well, part of wave one, for the new figures based on the upcoming The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

Contrary to what the photo above shows, I had to dig, and I mean, dig, for the two Luigi figures they had. They were not in the same area as all these Mario and Peach figures, and there was no Toad or Bowser to be found. That wasn't a bad thing, per se. With the immediate inclining that I needed these figures for my Nintendo shelf, the the thought of spending $100.00 wasn't appealing.

Truthfully, I could have been just as happy with Mario, and calling it a day. However, when I found Luigi, I felt he too needed to come home with me. As for Peach, I feel like she's going to be a peg warmer for a long time to come, and opportunities will arise to grab her in the future if I absolutely have to.

My first impression, well, with exception of how cool and spot on these looked, was that the boxes were far too big than what they needed to be. They could have easily been chopped in half. My second thought was that with the lack of accessories, they were also priced at a higher premium than they should have been. At $20.00 a piece, there is definitely a bit of justification needed for why so much for so little.

Again though, the figures themselves are spot on, and really hit that nostalgic note for me. These are the Nintendo figures I needed growing up. I would definitely consider getting the rest in the line if I came across them in the wild, but I am by no means going to go out of my way for them, nor pay an up charge on secondary markets. Of course, that would also depend on the space being available to display them.

What the figures lack in accessories, they definitely make up for in paint, detail, and sculpting. The details are down to the most minute, even including little gold buttons on the pants pockets. You don't even get that level of attention in most higher class figures, such as G.I. Joe Classified and Star Wars The Black Series. With that said, the inclusion of mushrooms, fire plants, etc., would have been a definite incentive to purchase more from the line.

They're also fairly gurthy figures, with a bit of weight to them. There's a lot of plastic in these things, and they feel solid from top to bottom. Inspecting them closer, it's a shame the hats aren't removable. While I get the plunger accessory, I'm admittedly scratching my head at the flashlight that came with Luigi.

But, again, the details are there, regardless of what angle you look at them from.

For now, the two top my NES collection, which was the intended purpose. As you can see from the photo, this is where the space limitations come into play. I'm not looking to crowd the shelf with figures. They're a centerpiece, not the focal point.

For now, there are five figures in the series, and I suspect others will come. I don't believe for a second we won't get the likes of Donkey Kong, Yoshi, various villains, and a multitude of Mario variants. Jakks would be leaving money on the table not to go overboard.

These are definitely figures I'm intrigued by, but between price and space, I don't know that this is a line I can fully invest in. But, if there were one I was going to, this would definitely be a contender.

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