Big Lick NOVA 2024 - Guy Gilchrist

 

Hands down, my all time favorite interaction at Big Lick NOVA 2024 was meeting Guy Gilchrist. When I first stepped up to his table, he asked me, "What can I do for you? I've got anything you like!" To which I responded, "Muppet Babies on DVD?" I wish I could recall his verbatim response, but basically, he said no to that one, and explained that it was Disney who was holding up its release. Figures...Jerks.

Mr. Gilchrist's table was filled to the brim with Muppet memorabilia, sketchbooks, original artwork (which was also for sale), and a slew of prints. Everything was so awesome to thumb through, even though the majority of it was beyond my budget.

More on this item next week!

Guy has worked on several 80's properties, many with Jim Henson. He is also credited as managing the publishing and merchandising of several big franchises, such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (the original cartoon), Pink Panther, Tom and Jerry, Looney Tunes, and Muppet Babies, to name a few. I spent quite a bit of time at his table talking about his various projects. Overall, it was my absolute favorite interaction of the day.

If my budget were unlimited, or his prices lower, I certainly would have picked up more from his table. Since both weren't, I had to limit my options to three prints, and the above item, which I'll talk more on next week. He personalized every print he signed.

"Cowabunga dude!"

"You remind me of the babe!"

"Dream big dreams!"

These look great mixed in with my other cartoon related prints, and of course, my massive collection of cartoon series on DVD.

Prices for Guy were all over the place, and depended on what you got. As noted above, three prints were $125.00. Smaller prints were three for $100.00. Original art varied. What was odd was that despite his high prices, his signature on the item noted above, with the sketch, was only $50.00. But, again, we'll talk about that next week.

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Who Framed Roger Rabbit: Animates (LJN)

For those of you who fondly remember the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, consider reading the original novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit? by Gary K. Wolf, in which the film is loosely based on. You'll get a whole new story, and quite honestly, a less Kid friendly version.

With that said though, Who Framed Roger Rabbit was an amazing movie. Not only did it push the limits of technology during its time with its flawless blend of live action and animation, but simply put, the movie was good. The characters were likable, the cast superb, and the story fun.

With its blending of Disney and Looney Tunes characters, the film brought with it a re-emerging interest in golden age of American cartoons. The down side this was that with this, it also brought fourth a lot of attention on what may have been periodically correct jokes at the time, but certainly wasn't politically correct anymore. This unfortunately led to a lot of classic cartoons being heavily edited when being re-aired for a new generation.

The film follows characters Roger Rabbit (voiced by Charles Fleischer), and Detective Eddie Valiant (played by Bob Hoskins) as together they try to solve the mystery of just who framed Roger Rabbit. In the process we meet several interesting and key animated characters such as Benny the Cab, Baby Herman, Smart Ass (the leader of the weasels), Jessica Rabbit, and the live action characters Dolores and Judge Doom. Everything is weaved together perfectly to provide a film Noir sense and setting, with a fun yet interesting story.


Unfortunately LJN was a company well known for doing things cheaply, and ruining a lot of franchises. They have been blamed countless times for producing some of the worst Nintendo Entertainment System franchised based games, and when it comes to toys produce some of the lowest quality ones you'll find. This is sad, yet interesting at the same time.

It's sad because a lot of big name franchises such as Roger Rabbit, which have a plethora of characters to choose from ends up being a short lived series due to the lack of excitement the toys generate.

It's interesting because despite this, LJN seemed to be awarded a lot of contracts during the 80's for high budget movie licenses.

LJN produced two separate lines based on the film in 1988, but both were essentially the same. The first line, which we will look at today were the Animates. The second line was the Flexies (AKA bendable figures).

The Animates figures had limited joint movement, typically only in the legs and arms, and were pretty poor renditions of the characters from the film in terms of sculpting.

Out of the entire series, Benny the Cab was the only saving grace, and to be honest, while packaged the same, and almost large enough to accommodate one figure at a time, has no indication on the actual package that it is part of the Animates line - Though most collectors consider it to be.

All and all, it's a pretty sad line, and if anything it is a perfect example of what not to do. As we said above, LJN has a history of repeatedly destroying high budgeted movie licenses, and we really aren't sure how they continually got contracts for them.

Unfortunately for Who Framed Roger Rabbit no other company has ever stepped up to the plate to produce a definitive collection of toys. With Disney holding the rights to film, we don't see this happening any time soon either as they have always been incredibly protective of their licensed properties. I suppose this one just has to be filed under, "Take the good with the bad."

Join us next time when we take a look at 300!

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Looney Tunes (Tyco)

Looney Tunes toys have been a childhood staple ever since Bugs Bunny first walked on the screen and said, "What's Up, Doc," in 1940 (the character was created in April of 1938, but didn't make his official appearance until July 27, 1940).

While you can find Looney Tunes merchandise of all kinds, action figure collectors have been a little more limited in options. While it's true that several variations of toys have been produced, most were simple one-shot figures, and not part of an actual series.

To find a series of figures, one can look to the 1994 series produced by Tyco toys. Small, hard to come by, yet relatively cheap, these five figures are fairly spot on renditions of their cartoon short counterparts - Though the accessories don't make all that much sense to the characters- such as Bugs Bunny's carrot launcher.

One of the best things to stand out from this series is the individuality of each package. Rather than just have a generic packaging for all the figures, each figure's package is specifically designed to coincide with the figure inside.

The series had great potential, but sadly never got the chance to thrive. Characters like Daffy Duck, Foghorn Leghorn, Porky Pig, Sylvester the Cat, and even more Looney Tunes characters than one could ever list would have made for an excellent second series and beyond. While it's disappointing that more figures weren't made, for Looney Tunes fans, this series is a must.

Join us next Monday for our look at Indie Spotlight: Comic Book Heroes!

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