Two somewhat recent animated films that truly stuck out from the crowd have been recreated into interesting figures for Funko's Legacy Collection. Now, the films were Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) and the Guillermo del Toro produced Mex-mythical wonder The Book of Life (2014). Both of these films caught us by surprise with new approaches to animation as well as original stories interpreted for the screen. For the most part, both of these features were reinterpreted and licensed as collectibles only by Funko. And hats off for the emergence of memorable characters that were a bit less mainstream in the general market. For Book of Life there were some random figures made for McDonalds Happy Meals, but otherwise not commercially available.
The Book of Life is a 3D computer-animated musical through 20th Century Fox. The characters were voiced by Channing Tatum, Christina Applegate, Zoe Saldana, Diego Luna and several others. It's all about storytelling. The film delves into the Land of the Forgotten and has a quasi Day of the Dead theme running throughout thanks to the characters of Xibalba and La Muerte (she was in Pop! form but is not available in the Legacy Collection). Here's a trailer clip so you can get warmed up, but I highly recommend watching the full feature - it's enriching, endearing and a lil left of center:
And these are our illustrious Legacy cast.....
Manolo is a cross of a matador and a blocky marionette, Maria is almost anime-esque with a precious handmade Mexican puppet appeal, and Xibalba is colorful and dark, simply magnificent on so many levels - by far the best Legacy figure made to date. They each come with some accessory: Manolo (guitar and two "swords"), Maria (sword) and Xibalba (serpent/staff). They all have jointed articulation and the same style of stone-like stand, two are flat bottomed and Manolo stands on feet pegs. The paint on all three figures is close to perfect, a few misteps on Manolo's face and Maria's hair - but nothing too noticeable. They are colorful and bring these otherwise flat screen characters into the physical realm with new life. Here are a few details:
The Xibalba figure has a huge wingspan and they were fairly easyo to put in place. His headress also has a lot of unique and ornate detail, with skulls aplenty, a handful that are actually attached by little rings so they swing back and forth when moved - an unexpected added detail! The purple, teal and lime paint touches make him quite contemporary and only further emphasize his animated qualities. The gangly fingers hold the staff in a few different ways and his thorny crown stands erect in muted metallic silver.
Funko went above and beyond on this figure with a sense of craftsmanship that shows ingenuity and unconventional. I have not seen too many action figures out there to match the number of elements here.
Maria is the love interest of Manolo, and they've embued her figure with an elegant Latina sensability, proud and engaging. Her crimson skirt and lace hombre fuse well with her otherwise stick thinness. Unlike the way this boney limbed quality may not work on other female figures in this line, here it is apt and actually aids in balancing the voluminous hair and lower portion. She is almost china doll like, yet wielding a sword which gives her a certain boundary, and inferred strength.
The huge poytail, like a horses tail mixed with ocean waves is perfectly animated, almost Murakami-like in structure and style. It's a simple figure compared to the others, yet no less effective. The limited extras help the collector gaze directly into her humongous eyes, warm and a bit tentative.
And finally Manolo. The colors and numerous paint and sculpt details are just so wonderfully tedious, it sleighs. Now, the one issue I have with this figure is that the head does not swivel, making him the most robotic of the three here. Though his Elvis meets Nightmare Before Christmas pompadour slope is phenomenal, as is his simple smirk that seems to be mid-serenade. They have captured his character perfectly and his mariachi embellished jacket is remarkable. His building block arms are what makes this sing.
The guitar has a wonderfully wooden feel and is reminiscent of the one he played in the film, a nice accompaniment. He's more a casanova than a street fighter, but he proves himself both on celluloid - and in action figure form.
Well, I have to say that Fantastic Mr. Fox (92% on Rotten Tomatoes) was an oddity from so many perspectives, not only that it seems absurd within even the realm of Wes Anderson (in his first adaptation), but it proves that stop-motion animation is alive and well! Voiced by everyone from George Clooney and Meryl Streep to Adrien Brody and Jarvis Cocker (of Pulp) the film brings to life a lesser-known classic novel by the great Roald Dahl, about foxes and farmers and daily livelihood. Let's have a quick peek:
Donning his "modified tube sock" Ash (Jason Schwartzman) has a comedic, deer-in-the-headlights at times approach to life. He comes with a spare, swappable head in a black starred mask as well. The sculpt is inventive, and he's quite poseable, but it's a bit tough getting him on the clear stand (small feet that aren't flat, and standard lightweight base). The figure's head is where all the impact is. This lil' fox is crafty and hooded and comes complete with a tail that locks into a few positions. His suit, however, is just white on white on white and some of the details get lost here.
The two strong details here are the rubbery white cape that has some give, and the unmatched socks he's wearing, one is inside out - it was a nice added touch. Though there are small sculpt lines in the shirt and "mask" he's a bit lacklustre mostly due to the almost total white wash costumery. He was a lot of fun to pose.
Rat as portrayed by the voice of Willen Dafoe is quirky and gangly. This figure was a bit of a chore to get to stand up as you would imagine on those twigs for legs, and he's a bit taller than the others. His tail moves into a few up and down positions but does not swivel. The paint application on this figure is simple, but repeats the figure dimensionally.
He comes complete with a bottle of hard cider and a switchblade. This figure's head swivels nicely and he has good articulation at the waist which is limited in other areas. His one bucktooth is a bit distracting, but characteristic nonetheless. The strongest aspect of this figure is his nicely stripped sweaterand head shape, these help balance some of the otherwise lesser aspects of this figure.
Find ReAction figures online and at many local and national retailers.
FANTASTIC MR. FOX: Ash, Rat, Mr. Fox and Kylie ($16-21)
THE BOOK OF LIFE: Manolo, Maria and Xibalba ($17-18)