Animal, Like Most Drummers, Prefers Quiet Nights At Home. YOUR Home.
Written: May 07 '03 (Updated May 07 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Animal's unbeatable sculpt and features--highly detailed and accurate drum set.
Cons: No place for the rest of the band--but there's a simple solution for that.
The Bottom Line: You got twenty bucks? You owe it to yourself to track down your favorite constantly horny drummer, Animal.
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| JediKermit's Full Review: Palisades Muppet Show Electric Mayhem Stage With A... |
Can you tell I’m in a Muppety mood? I’ve been waiting to write reviews on some of these products for months while I’ve ostensibly been working on my senior thesis about 18th Century China. Well, the thesis is done, and it’s time to get back to what’s important in life. For me, that’s toys and Muppets. When you put those two things together, you’ll find I can write pages and pages about them without batting an eyelash. So I’ll try to keep myself in check.
The Electric Mayhem Stage Playset is the second of the Palisades Toys Muppet playsets. The first was the Muppet Labs with Beaker, which at the time, I thought was great. Now the bar has been raised, because Animal and his drum set may possibly be the best of the Muppet Show line. In the first year of this line of action figures, I’ve seen the bar raised again and again, and each successive wave of toys surpasses those before it. That’s a great feeling.
I’ll start with Animal and then cover the playset itself. Animal has always been a favorite of most people. The crazed drummer for the Electric Mayhem finds himself on all sorts of merchandise from those claw machines to one of my neckties to women’s panties (all true). And Animal is one of those barely speaking, at times frightening, but ultimately lovable characters that you’re not sure if you want to hug or run from. I’d probably do both.
The Animal figure does some things that I’ve never seen before in an action figure, that are extremely appropriate to his character. And no, it’s not drinking too much, chasing women, or biting his way through my furniture. The most remarkable thing about this action figure is his head. You see, the Animal puppet had an amazing array of expressions, especially when compared to say, Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear. Animal had a shaggy moving brow that could make him look either happy—delighted beyond his limited vocabulary, or, alternately, angry, tired, or done putting up with your schmoo and possibly the one Muppet who would really hurt you. Palisades has somehow, in an action figure so small, included this mechanism, so you don’t have your Animal figure stuck in a static pose. Very fitting for the character, and it adds a lot of value to the toy. Complementing the eyebrow (which is the coolest trick of an action figure since 1978’s Luke Skywalker’s telescoping lightsaber) is a moving jaw that will either clamp shut or hang open…or anything in between. Excellent, excellent move, Palisades!
So beyond his articulated FACE, what else do I like about the figure? Well, everything. Animal is surprisingly large when compared to the other characters we’ve got, but he seems to be in an appropriate scale. He’s wearing his tradtional Muppet Show duds, a yellow and red vest and brown pants with rope for a belt. He’s barefooted, but does have nifty spiked manacles and bracelets and a collar—attached to the collar is a real metal chain that usually hangs down, but Floyd has been known to use as a leash. As if chains could hold my Animal back. The texturing and paint on his clothing is great—his pants look like they could be made out of burlap (wouldn’t surprise me) and the vest has a satiny finish. His head, besides being articulated, is a faithful rendition of Animal’s distinguished face. Too many companies put out Animals that just have a fuzzy pink head—Animal’s hair is much crazier (and more multicolored) than that, and Palisades has given us a better approximation of what the puppet really looks like.
The playset itself may be what made Animal’s jaw drop…when compared to the Muppet Labs Playset we’ve already seen, this just blows it away in terms of size, detailing, and almost every other criterion. The stage is elevated a few inches off the ground (of course it is, or it wouldn’t be a stage…), so it’s just above “waist-high” to the Muppet figures. Animal gets to play a massive drum set, including 8 different drums and 3 cymbals—many of these are adjustable so you can get it “just right” for Animal’s drum solo…and of course he comes with the sticks to do it right.
There’s also a framework for the lights that extends above the stage, well above Animal’s head. The metallic frame accommodates six snap-on swiveling spotlights making for a nice effect on the stage itself. There’s also a large “Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem” neon logo sign behind Animal, and more neon tubing and detailing on the sides and front of the stage. Other accessories include two large speakers, perfect for blowing those Muppet fans away.
The stage was originally planned to come with some pull-out sections for the other band members to stand on, but those were scrapped; The stand alone stage is great, but it does make Animal seem HUGE and the other band members are kinda left in the cold. A nice solution to this that some other Muppet fans have found are the black food containers that you’ll see holding take-out salads or sandwiches—the matte black of the stage matches up pretty nicely with those, and after a few meals you’ll have yourself a stage fit for Electric Mayhem’s best gig ever—your house! Palisades has already released Dr. Teeth, Floyd, Zoot, and Animal—now all we need is the Janice, the very hot-lipped lead guitarist to bring down the house. She’ll be coming along this fall, so stay tuned!
This is a great set for display or play—if you have the good fortune to come across it at a Media Play, Electronics Boutique, Suncoast or other store, be sure to grab one. Animal will rock your world.
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MORE Muppet Action Figures? You bet!
Series One
Kermit the Frog http://www.epinions.com/content_81549233796
Miss Piggy http://www.epinions.com/content_81637707396
Dr. Teeth http://www.epinions.com/content_81569549956
Dr. Bunsen Honeydew http://www.epinions.com/content_81822191236
Series Two
Fozzie Bear http://www.epinions.com/content_85935820420
Crazy Harry http://www.epinions.com/content_98525613700
Floyd Pepper http://www.epinions.com/content_98514865796
Gonzo the Great http://www.epinions.com/content_98463813252
Series Three
Scooter http://www.epinions.com/content_91825081988
Lew Zealand http://www.epinions.com/content_91457293956
Zoot http://www.epinions.com/content_91549830788
Rowlf http://www.epinions.com/content_90764316292
Playsets
Muppet Labs with Beaker http://www.epinions.com/content_81755606660
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 19.99
Type of Toy: Action Figure
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Epinions.com ID:
JediKermit
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Member: Quinn
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Reviews written: 2122
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About Me:
Books, Movies, and Toys. Is there more to life?
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