Thanks to a resolve to cut back on my toy spending, I was successfully able to not give in to the completist urge and collect all the figures in the current Happy Meal set. McDonald’s is now offering Smurf movie toys with every Happy Meal you buy, and they seem to be quickly running out, despite what looked like a slow start.
I’m not really excited about the movie. In fact, I’m somewhat disgusted that Hollywood even thought that this would make a viable live action franchise. The cartoon (based on the 1950’s French comic strip Les Schtroumpfs) was more a high fantasy adventure fantasy, and worked as such. It defined Saturday mornings for a generation of 80’s kids in the US.
The movie has taken the concept and tried to smoosh it into the real world, much like 1987’s Masters of the Universe tried to do with the He-Man universe. Suffice it to say, it didn’t work for either film. I like to think Peyo would have shot himself after seeing it.
The McDonald’s toys aren’t bad though. They’re all basically unarticulated miniatures with action features or accessories that have action features. The sculpt follows the more realistic movie renderings, which is a shame, but I guess you wouldn’t notice it if you didn’t grow up with a huge crush on Smurfette.
Did I say that out loud?
There are 8 figures in all:
- 1. Clumsy’s Magic Wand
- 2. Vanity in Love
- 3. Gutsy Dancer
- 4. Hefty Weight Lifter
- 5. Papa’s Potion
- 6. Brainy’s Toast!
- 7. Smurfette Hair Care
- 8. Dizzy Baker
The accessory is a black cauldron with a transluscent purple, bubbling mass of plastic on top covering 3 colored LED lights; one red, one yellow, one blue. Once you turn it on, and then press the button, the lights come on in sequence, either on their own or overlapping so you get a whole mess of colors flashing at you. It’s enough to give you an epileptic fit.
I do wish they had just stuck with the switch, rather than adding the button. The thing is a pain to photograph since you need to have a hand holding down that button for the sequence to complete a loop. It’s a long sequence so after a few tries, your hand begins to shake a bit (my hand muscles are all used to typing now – I’ve de-evolved and my finger muscles have atrophied. I probably couldn’t survive in the wild).
A Happy Meal goes for about Php 80 to Php 150 (I think) depending on if you want a Burger McDo or Chicken McNuggets. That’s about Php 20 or Php 30 bucks more than the food costs alone, but that’s still some great value for a miniature. Japanese Gashapons are easily 10 or 20 times that much and not all that bigger.
I’m glad I picked this one up, but I’m even happier that I didn’t give in to the urge to get them all.
Of course, I did hunt down all 6 of those Coke Can Glasses even though I don’t necessarily need them, just to complete the set.
Sigh.
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