Schtroumpf V35 Movie Viewer (Mupi)

Schtroumpf V35
Mupi
1981

Ah, Schtroumphs. Such a classic cartoon. I don't think I watched all nine season of it, but I certainly have fond memories of the earlier seasons - At least through three or four (if not more). It was and still is one of my all time favorite 80's cartoons.

For those of you scratching your head wondering just what the heck a Schtroumpf is, it's French for Smurf. If you're wondering what a V35 is, it's a format of cassette. Put them together, and you get Smurf cassette.

Though it was a highly popular cartoon in the 80's, the Smurfs actually began way back in 1958 when artist Peyo introduced them as a comic series. Over the decades of their existence, hundreds of Smurfs have been created for comics, television and even movies - Each with an adjective based name which essentially dictates their personality.

As is the case with a highly popular franchise merchandise is inevitable, and Smurfs have seen a ton of it. Figures, comics, clothing, food and pretty much every other type of merchandise you can think of. Today we're looking at the Portuguese Movie Viewer from Mupi.

Readers of The Toy Box will remember us covering the Kenner Movie Viewer in detail a few years ago. The Mupi V 35 viewer is similar to this design. It was a rectangular plastic box which you inserted a plastic cassette into, and turned the dial while looking through the viewer.

 Schtroumpf V 35 Movie Viewer

The back of the box advertised, or more accurately listed six different cassettes which you could purchase. Each one featured its own Smurf related story. A fun fact of these cassettes is that they utilized Super 8 film - A highly popular method of film of the era which superseded VHS tapes. Of course being a simple viewer device, none of the cassettes featured any sound.

 Le Geant affame (The Giant Starves)*Soupe De Schtroumpf (Soup of Smurf)

Les Schtroumpfeurs De Pluie (The Rain Smurfs)

How horrible! The first tape is about a starving giant, and the second about Smurf soup? Yikes!

 La Potion Magique (The Magic Potion)*La Schtroumpf Robot (The Smurf Robot)

Les Schtroumpfs Et Le Petit Prince (The Smurfs and the Little Prince)

We've seen only a handful of these available via secondary markets in the USA, and fortunately they're reasonably priced considering their age and that they were only available overseas. For $200.00 you can not only get the viewer but all six cassettes - In their boxes. That seriously isn't bad.

Mupi has produced numerous versions of their Movie Viewer, each with different themes and cassettes. Though we won't be going into any others today, we'll be sure to touch on them in the near future.

***BONUS***

Smurfs Vinyl Records and Cassettes

Sessions / Starland

1978 - 1983

If you're a child of the 80's, a Smurf fan or both, chances are high you owned at some point in your life owned (or like us still do own) Smurf vinyl records or cassettes. No, these aren't story's which you could read along to, but rather full fledged music albums with original material - Well, except the Christmas album.

Though Smurf albums are still made here and there to this day, it's the ones from Sessions / Starland which hold a special place to most collectors. As we said above, a lot of Smurf collectors owned these albums, and grew up with them as kids.

Father Abraham in Smurfland (1978)*Smurfing Sing Song (1980)*The Smurf's All Star Show (1981)

Best of Friends (1982)*Smurfs Party Time (1983)*Merry Christmas with the Smurfs (1983)

Here's an interesting liner note for the first Smurf Album, Father Abraham in Smurfland - It features a song called Smurfing Beer. We suppose this is due to the fact that alcohol is served somewhat regularly to young kids in some foreign countries. As such, this wouldn't be as taboo a subject as it is in the USA.

These days you can track down the cassette versions of these albums for relatively cheap. We actually purchased all of them for just a buck from one seller about a year ago. Surprisingly all but two of them played without any issue. That's pretty amazing for cassettes which are over thirty years old.

Of course vinyl is also an option - Though it will cost you about five to six dollars an album, and some of them are a little difficult to find.

Unfortunately these were never released on CD, and chances are high they won't ever be. However, there are multiple options for (legally) transferring records and cassettes to digital, and then burning them to a CD. Of course, first and foremost you need to own a copy on either of the two available formats.

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Movie Viewer (AKA Movieviewer) (Kenner)

Movie Viewer
Kenner
1975 - 1979

Kids these days don't know how good they have it when it comes to media entertainment.  Back in the 70's, we kids were lucky if our parents were rich enough to purchase video cassettes, let alone the VCR to play them on.  Back in those days, your average VCR cost about $1,300.00 - in today's standards, that's about $5,000.00.  In fact, the standard format of what most people call a "video cassette" didn't even come about until 1976 when the first VHS cassette VCR was developed and marketed in Japan.  This wouldn't hit US shores until October of 1977, and your average movie would set you back anywhere from $50.00 to $100.00 (the first released were M.A.S.H., The Sound of Music and Patton).

During this time, companies such as Ken Films, Blackhawk Films, Castle Films, and other such companies were appeasing movie fans at a much cheaper price with 8MM, Super 8MM and 16MM reel to reel films.  However, with this cheaper price came reels that only included selected scenes of films, some of which ran for as little as two minutes.  The first batch of films started out as black and white silent films, but as time progressed the various companies would also produce films in color, and eventually with sound.

So how does all of this come together for Kenner's Movie Viewer?  It's simple really.  It was a way for Kenner to market movies and television to children in a cheaper format, which in turn could be used to market more toys.  If children had the ability to watch film strips of television shows or movies, this in turn would make the action figures based on said films more marketable.

Each Movie Viewer cassette came in a bright red plastic casing, which inside featured a strip of 8MM film that contained approximately sixty seconds of footage with no sound.  A spindle with a groove on the side of the cassette would catch on the Viewer's knob mechanism when it was inserted into the side of the "machine", and turning the knob manually with your hand would cycle the film in a continuous loop.

Using pretty much the same technology of a View-Master, the mechanism would allow the person to hold the machine to their eye, looking through the small "lens" on the back side at the film.  Light would shine through on the other side of the chamber, providing just enough illumination to see the film inside.  It was essentially a self powered 8MM projector for kids, and we loved it!

Kenner began its Movie Viewer series in 1975 with the highly popular Snoopy Movie viewer.  It would be the first of many Viewers over the course of the 1970's, and worked so perfectly that up until the time it was discontinued, the design never changed.  Sure the Viewers came in different colors with various sticker logos on them, but the basic design stayed, as did the design for the red cassettes.

The Snoopy series encompassed twelve individually packaged cassettes, and one which was only available with the Viewer itself.  Each cassette was numbered at the top of the box portion of the package, and also included the name of the film.  The only exception to this is Slide, Snoopy, Slide, which was packaged with the Viewer, and thus did not have its own individual box.  The Viewer itself was green with a yellow crank knob.

Snoopy Movie Viewer with Slide. Snoopy, Slide Cassette

MOVIE CASSETE

1) I'll Be A Dirty Bird

2) Good Grief

3) Roll Over Beethoven

4) Snoopy's Garage Sale

MOVIE CASSETTES

5) Chow Hound Snoopy

6) Skateboard Olympics

7) Blockhead's Bobble

8) Hang On, Snoopy

MOVIE CASSETTE

9) The Easter Beagle

10) Sherlock Snoopy

11) Lucy Vs. The Masked Marvel

12) Curse You, Red Baron

Kenner followed up with the highly popular The Six Million Dollar Man Movie Viewer (also in 1975).  This particular Viewer featured a blue color, with white crank knob, and had six individually packed cassettes.  The seventh cassette, The Crash...The Creation of the Bionic Man, was packed in with the "machine" itself.

The Six Million Dollar Man with The Crash...The Creation Of The Bionic Man Cassette

MOVIE CASSETTE

1) Bionic Feats

2) The Bionic Man In Action

3) Col. Steve Austin Adventures

MOVIE CASSETTE

4) Col. Steve Austin In Pursuit

5) Bionic Rescue

6) Col. Steve Austin Tackles Danger

In an attempt to gain interest from young girls, Kenner also produced the Bionic Woman Movie Viewer that same year.  The Viewer itself featured an all red look with the exception of the white crank knob.  Only three individually packaged cassettes were produce with an additional fourth cassette, If The Shoe Fits..., which was packaged in with the Viewer.  It unfortunately never really took off for girls.

The Bionic Woman Movie Viewer with If The Shoe Fits... Cassette

MOVIE CASSETTE

1) C'mon, Jaime

2) Attempted Escape

3) The Bionic Woman To The Rescue

In 1976, Kenner released six Cartoon Cassettes which featured;

1) The Flintstones: Hold That Tiger
2) Hong Kong Phooey: The Clutching Claw
3) Scooby Doo: Scuba Scooby
4) Great Grape Ape: Gridiron Grapple
5) Pebbles & Bamm Bamm: What A Figure
6) Speed Buggy: Love Buggy

Out of all the Movie Viewer products that Kenner produced, these six Cartoon Cassettes are the most difficult to track down.  We've seen about half of them, but none of them had the original boxes.  If anyone has any of the above in the box, please send us photos.  We are happy to credit anyone who contributes.  Please send all photographs to thetoybox1138@gmail.com.  Thank you.

Enter, Star Wars...

These days it's relatively unheard of to have access to a film (legally) while it's still running in the theater, so when Kenner released one of its first products based on the film, kids and adults went nuts.  Despite being only sixty seconds of footage, fans of the film were eager to see anything and everything they could over and over and over again.  What better way then in the palm of your hand?

Despite its major popularity, Kenner only produced four individually packaged cassettes, and the fifth, May The Force Be With You, which came packaged with the Viewer.  There's no real answer known to the general public as to why there were so few cassettes, but we speculate that when the film took off like it did, Lucasfilm and/or Fox pulled the plug on the cassettes to encourage people to continue to fill theater seats.

With the exception of the Star Wars logo sticker, this model was the exact same as the Six Million Dollar Man released version from 1975.

Star Wars Movie Viewer with May The Force Be With You Cassette

MOVIE CASSETTE

1) Destroy Death Star

2) Danger At The Cantina

3) Battle In Hyperspace

4) Assault On Death Star

The final Movie Viewer can be traced to one that we've already mentioned - Alien.  From the start, Alien products from Kenner were facing an uphill battle.  The science fiction/horror film may have been doing great in theaters, but the rated R film was far from marketable to children - At least back in those days.  If parents weren't taking children to see the film in theaters, why would they buy them a hand held cassette player with sixty seconds of footage from the film?  Well, long story short, they didn't.

After a very short lived shelf life, Kenner pulled the plug on all its Alien related products, leaving this Viewer with only the one cassette it came packaged with - Alien Terror.  This was sadly the last Movie Viewer Kenner would release in general.  The Viewer was given one final paint job of dark gray with a white crank knob.

Alien Movie Viewer with Alien Terror Cassette

During the popularity of the Movie Viewer, Kenner also explored other avenues which would make use of the same cassettes.  These included the Six Million Dollar Man Bionic Video Center and Snoopy Drive-In Movie Theater.  These two particular items incorporated the same hand cranked knob technology, but also contained a small screen that would project the film on it from behind.  This was made possible with three "D" cell batteries which powered a bulb inside.

Much like the Movie Viewers, Snoopy's Drive-In Theater came with its own unique cassette, Woodstock's Dream House.  The Six Million Dollar Man Bionic Video Center included a prior released cassette, Col. Steve Austin Adventures.  It contained a seat in front of the screen that you could place your Col. Steve Austin doll, but the doll itself was not included.

These days it's incredibly difficult to track down the majority of the Kenner Movie Viewer cassettes, especially mint in the box.  They're just not as readily available as the Viewers themselves.  Oddly enough, while the Star Wars Viewer and Cassettes seem to pop up more often than the rest, they also seem to have the higher asking price - Probably solely for the Star Wars name.

Fisher Price competed with their owner Movie Viewer which was much more successful on the market, and lasted well into the mid 1980's.  However, this was probably because they also had a far superior library of cassettes which extended to franchises such as Sesame Street, Disney, and several cartoons of the era.

Join us next time when we take a look at Kick-Ass 2!

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Alien (Funko / ReAction Figures)

Alien
Funko / ReAction Figures
2013

Super 7's retro based Alien line has been met with very mixed reviews from collectors.  While some praise the line for its true to form renditions of what would have been a classic Kenner series, others say it's too much of a step backwards for action figures in this day and age, and only encourages toy manufacturers to keep things basic in terms of articulation while at the same time charging outrageous prices based on nostalgia, and not necessarily quality.

The original concept for the line began in 1979 when Kenner was looking to once again capitalize on the latest and greatest science fiction film of the year.  However, once prototypes were produced, it became apparent very quickly that Kenner would be facing an uphill battle trying to sell toys to children based on a rated R film.  Though some products did get produced, the action figure line was scrapped prior to going into production.

Enter Super 7 over three decades later.  Whatever side of the fence you're on, the fact remains that without Super 7, these long lost Kenner toys would have never seen the light of day.  They were able to obtain the rights to the line, and meticulously went to work on creating the vintage series you see before you today.  They even took a page out of Kenner's book and presented the series as an Early Bird Package at San Diego Comic Con in 2013.

The infamously designed cardboard box guaranteed buyers that they would receive a complete set of figures between October and December 2013, and as an incentive to the $100.00 buy in price also guaranteed a secret chase figure that at the time was not revealed.

EARLY BIRD PACKAGE

When the figures started arriving via mail, fans and collectors were treated to vintage style cardbacks very reminiscent to those of the vintage Star Wars line.  Each figure was packaged on the left with a scene straight out of the movie encompassing the majority of the rest of the otherwise blue card.  In the center was the vintage logo for the line straight out of Kenner's original design.

EARLY BIRD FIGURES

Ash*Dallas

EARLY BIRD FIGURES

Kane*Ripley

The promised chase figure turned out to be a clear version of The Alien, and to date it has only been made available to those who purchased the Early Bird Package.

EARLY BIRD FIGURES

The Alien*The Alien (Clear Chase Variant)

To help promote the series, Super 7 created the fake Cancelled Toyfair 1979 Advance Promotional Sample.  The company falsified a story that they had found a storage bin full of prototype versions of Kane and The Alien.  Mind you, their intentions were never to dupe anyone as below the fake story was also the truth behind it.  The bottom line, they simply thought it would be neat to create a "what if" scenario of prototypes, and truth be told, it was neat.

CANCELLED TOYFAIR 1979 ADVANCED PROMOTIONAL SAMPLE

with The Alien and Kane

With all the Early Bird Packages fulfilled with buyers, Super 7 produced the retail editions of the series.  This would include all new packaging that now featured a black outlining as opposed to the prior blue one.  We commend Super 7 for not only being creative, but for helping to keep the first company supporters investment of the toys somewhat unique and valuable to the full blown retail released versions.

RETAIL EDITION FIGURES

Ash*Dallas*Kane

RETAIL EDITION FIGURES

Ripley*The Alien

Funko continued their San Diego Comic Con releases in 2014 with the first playset from the series, Egg Chamber. For those of you who were unable to attend this years convention, don't resort to secondary markets just yet unless you're a package collector. A retail version is scheduled to hit select store shelves later this year, and much like the figures above will come in a black packaging.

PLAYSETS

Egg Chamber

In addition to the Egg Chamber, Funko also came to San Diego Comic Con with several Deep Space Mystery Eggs. Four figures in total were made, but each came in two variations. The rarest version are the clear, and the common versions are the black with glitter.

DEEP SPACE MYSTERY EGG

Clear Ripley*Clear Alien*Clear Ripley in Space Suit*Clear Chest Burster Kane

DEEP SPACE MYSTERY EGG

Deep Space Ripley*Deep Space Alien*Deep Space Ripley in Space Suit*Deep Space Chest Burster Kane

In addition to the Alien line, several new lines have been announced, some of which may already be on store shelves as of this post.  Will Funko and Super 7 milk this train until people are sick of it?  Or will this be widely received by collector's as the new thing to do?  Time will tell that answer.

***UPDATE***

Wave two of the Alien line hit shelves in 2015.

 Alien (Metallic)*Chest Burster Kane

 Face Hugger Kane*Ripley (in Spacesuit)

***BONUS***

As we said above, despite Kenner eventually passing on the idea to produce a series of action figures on the film Alien, a handful of products did get developed and released.  The most popular, and considered a holy grail among collector's is the very large, highly detailed Alien.

Standing at 19 inches tall, to this day this "figure" represents how action figures/dolls should be done.  It features a rotating waste, ball joints on the arms, a removable portion on its head to reveal the skull - which also glows in the dark.  However, the best feature is the mechanism on the back of the head which opens the mouth and expels its inner jaw, also known as the "attack tongue."

To date this remains the definitive Alien collectible for fans, and it won't come cheap.  Mint in the box versions have sold for two to three thousand dollars, while open ones, or poor in the package ones have garnered anywhere from $500.00 to $1,000.00.

We wonder what cartridge the kid on the box of the Alien Movie Viewer is actually watching.  Even back in 1979 parents were not big supporters of their children seeing the film, so we doubt that in such a modest time that any child would actually be viewing the actual Alien cassette - Let alone smiling about it.  Let's be honest, kids back then scared easily, not that they don't these days as well.  But we children of the 70's and 80's weren't as desensitized as kids these days.  Alien would have terrified the majority of us.

Regardless, Kenner moved forward with releasing this all new dark gray Movie Viewer which included the cassette, "Alien Terror".  It would be the one and only cassette created for the Movie Viewer series in general.

This last Kenner product is actually more well known for the box containing an image of the prior mentioned 19 inch action figure.  It was, "An exciting new game of elimination and escape for 2 to 3 players."  We're talking of course about Alien Game.

The object of the game was to be the first player to get one of your astronauts into the space shuttle Narcissus.  However, at the same time, you have a secondary objective - Use your Alien to eliminate the other player's astronauts.

The box contained one game board, twelve astronauts, four Aliens, two dice and an instruction booklet.  An average game would last about thirty minutes.

Join us next time when we dig deeper into Kenner's Movie Viewer line!

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