Disney Store Exclusive Peter Pan Minimates
I've got mixed feelings about Minimates, Diamond's answer to Lego figures. On one hand, they're a lot of fun: I prefer them over Lego minifigs, in fact. On the other hand, I have a hard time justifying the price. Ten bucks for a pair of Minimates feels absurdly overpriced.
The vehicles are usually a better deal: those usually start around $10 to $15 for a car and a figure, then quickly plummet in price as they linger on the shelves.
A few years ago, the company released a handful of pirate ships. The most interesting variant, at least in my opinion, was one they did of the Jolly Roger, from Disney's Peter Pan. I'd have a hard time explaining why I find this version interesting: I actually hate Disney's take on the story. They butchered it, pulling out all of the darker elements that make it interesting (and this is coming from someone who thought their take on Hunchback was fine).
Regardless, something about these toys appealed to me, so I made it a point to check them out when they hit the shelves at The Disney Store. Then I glanced at the price tags, put them back, and quietly walked away.
The vehicles are usually a better deal: those usually start around $10 to $15 for a car and a figure, then quickly plummet in price as they linger on the shelves.
A few years ago, the company released a handful of pirate ships. The most interesting variant, at least in my opinion, was one they did of the Jolly Roger, from Disney's Peter Pan. I'd have a hard time explaining why I find this version interesting: I actually hate Disney's take on the story. They butchered it, pulling out all of the darker elements that make it interesting (and this is coming from someone who thought their take on Hunchback was fine).
Regardless, something about these toys appealed to me, so I made it a point to check them out when they hit the shelves at The Disney Store. Then I glanced at the price tags, put them back, and quietly walked away.
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Jump forward to about a month ago, when I found myself back at the Disney Store. I came across these again, this time in the clearance section. Much to my surprise, they had all three sets - the entire line - marked down. I picked them up on principle. The "Peter Pan Pirate Ship" comes with Mr. Smee and Wendy. The other two are four packs. One contains Peter, Cubby, Tootles, and Nibs; the other has Captain Hook, a human-size version of Tinkerbell, Michael, and John. This of course means you had to buy all three sets if you wanted Peter, Wendy, and Hook. |
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Appearance and Construction: Jolly Roger Set: 6/10 Minimates: 9/10
Let's start with the ship. It's always hard scoring things like this, since it's difficult to classify. It's not a building set, but it's essentially intended to look like one (or at least not look out of place alongside minifigs. So... it's a collectible intended to evoke the appearance of a building set, but still look more or less like a collectible.
That's hard to rate. Fortunately, they've made it a little easier by using surprisingly cheap sails. These are essentially just pieces of cut fabric that are connected to the plastic beams. It's not even nice looking fabric: from a few feet away, they might as well be paper cutouts.
This drags down the look of the piece. The rest is pretty solid, provided you're okay with the premise.
The Minimates look fantastic, as usual. Thanks to over-sized suits, the characters' girth changes a great deal. This is particularly impressive on Smee, whose huge stomach is actually part of his shirt. Same goes for the lost boys in animal suits - they look great.
That's hard to rate. Fortunately, they've made it a little easier by using surprisingly cheap sails. These are essentially just pieces of cut fabric that are connected to the plastic beams. It's not even nice looking fabric: from a few feet away, they might as well be paper cutouts.
This drags down the look of the piece. The rest is pretty solid, provided you're okay with the premise.
The Minimates look fantastic, as usual. Thanks to over-sized suits, the characters' girth changes a great deal. This is particularly impressive on Smee, whose huge stomach is actually part of his shirt. Same goes for the lost boys in animal suits - they look great.
The figures are all the same height, but I tend to write that off as an aspect of the format. Lego has started experimenting with Dwarf and Hobbit sized minifigs, but that's certainly the exception.
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I'm not going to go through each of these - that would take far too long - but I will draw special attention to Pan and Hook. Peter looks good, though the uniform bodies is very notable when he's side-by-side with his nemesis. His hat is awesome, though. Captain Hook is easily my favorite. The outfit is gorgeous, and the signature hook looks fantastic. The main reason I'm scoring these with a nine and not a ten is the construction. Minimates aren't bad compared to some of the smaller companies competing for the same niche, but they never feel anywhere near as sturdy as Lego figures. |
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Packaging and Extras: --
The packages are fine, but not exceptional. They're fairly small, which is surprising given how much they run. If I were trying to sell a pirate ship for this kind of cash, I'd use every trick up my sleeve to make it seem as large as possible. Maybe this is why they wound up clearanced.
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I like that the art on the backs of the 4-packs show different moments of the same fight. It's a nice touch: I don't know why they didn't continue the trend with the ship and give us a third image, instead of a repeat.
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Regardless, I'm not giving or deducting any points for packaging. Actually, I'm not giving or deducting points, at all, despite the inclusion of a good number of extras, though the definition of an accessory gets a tad complicated when it comes to minifigs. Depending on your point of view, anything here could be considered an accessory - including the minifigures themselves and the ship - or they could all be considered part of the set. Is it the ship that comes with two minifigs or two minifigs that come with a ship? All depends on your point of view. |
Using a more traditional definition, there are a decent number of iconic accessories: Peter has his knife, Hook has his sword, and John has his umbrella.
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Pan and Tinkerbell have flight stands which attach to their waists, and almost everyone has a clear base (the Pan four-pack only came with 3, and the ship only had one, leaving me two short - it's an odd omission, given how cheap these must be). To be fair, the ship itself has a peg built into the crows nest, so it's not quite as bad as I'm making it sound. Peter also has one additional accessory: a more accurately sized Tinkerbell who attaches to his back and "flutters" over his shoulder. Cool! At a lower price point, I'd hand out bonus points like candy at Halloween, but - given what these are supposed to cost - I think this number of extras is more or less expected. Same goes for the two figures that came with the ship. |
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Play and Display: --
Technically, there's a lot of play potential here. The Minimates are modular pieces: you can swap heads, outfits, accessories... anything. But why would you want to? These are specific characters, so there's not a lot of benefit to pulling them apart.
Peter and Hook's weapons all slide into sheaths at their side, which is a cool touch (though not unexpected).
The ship, on the other hand, does exceed my expectations, at least by a bit. We'll start with a trivial feature: the whole thing is resting on small, plastic wheels, which allow it to glide over flat surfaces.
Next, the ship's wheel does turn - again, nothing spectacular, but better than the alternative.
The doors to the Captain's Chamber open; alternatively, the roof to that section is built on a hinge, providing better access. If you remove his coat, Hook to can sit on his chair, but the only way you'll get the roof to close is if you remove his hair, as well.
The area over the grate in front is also built on a hinge, allowing it to open (the entire section, including the mast, is part of the hinge). If you want to get to the inside, you can pull off the entire front 3/4ths of the floor, revealing the interior.
Peter and Hook's weapons all slide into sheaths at their side, which is a cool touch (though not unexpected).
The ship, on the other hand, does exceed my expectations, at least by a bit. We'll start with a trivial feature: the whole thing is resting on small, plastic wheels, which allow it to glide over flat surfaces.
Next, the ship's wheel does turn - again, nothing spectacular, but better than the alternative.
The doors to the Captain's Chamber open; alternatively, the roof to that section is built on a hinge, providing better access. If you remove his coat, Hook to can sit on his chair, but the only way you'll get the roof to close is if you remove his hair, as well.
The area over the grate in front is also built on a hinge, allowing it to open (the entire section, including the mast, is part of the hinge). If you want to get to the inside, you can pull off the entire front 3/4ths of the floor, revealing the interior.
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The cannons slide forward and backward, but only the smallest amount. The anchors on the side of the ship pop out, though this feels more like a side effect of the construction process than a real feature.
Lastly, there's an extending plank on each side of the ship; certainly a welcome addition. I almost gave the ship a bonus point. Then I remembered what I don't like about it: this is too small. It certainly won't hold all ten figures from this series - more than five is pushing it - and that feels wrong to me. What's worse, the opening hull and Captain's Chamber are undermined by the lack of space. You can lay a figure down in the hull to store them, but they don't fit standing up. Given what the suggested retail price of this was, this should really be more substantial. And just what is that suggested retail price? Glad you asked.... |
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Price Tag and Final Analysis: Ship: 6/10, Minimates sets: 9/10
I've been dancing around the price tags the whole review. The four packs originally went for $19.50 each, and the ship was priced at $29.50. That means, if I'd paid full price, the toys I reviewed today would have run me about $70.
Ouch.
Fortunately, I didn't pay full price. I found these marked down to $4.99 each. That's almost 75% off the 4-packs and more than 80% off the ship. Fifteen dollars is a really good deal for all of these, and $70 is ridiculously high. Based on the quality and quantity, I'd say the whole thing would be a fair deal at $35 - ten each for the figure sets and $15 for the ship. That's half what these go for.
I picked these up about a month ago, so I have no idea if they're still available - probably not, to be honest. Still, if you're a fan of Disney, it doesn't hurt to check. The Disney Store has one of the best clearance sections still around, along with some great new stuff (some of which is surprisingly reasonable in price, too).
Ouch.
Fortunately, I didn't pay full price. I found these marked down to $4.99 each. That's almost 75% off the 4-packs and more than 80% off the ship. Fifteen dollars is a really good deal for all of these, and $70 is ridiculously high. Based on the quality and quantity, I'd say the whole thing would be a fair deal at $35 - ten each for the figure sets and $15 for the ship. That's half what these go for.
I picked these up about a month ago, so I have no idea if they're still available - probably not, to be honest. Still, if you're a fan of Disney, it doesn't hurt to check. The Disney Store has one of the best clearance sections still around, along with some great new stuff (some of which is surprisingly reasonable in price, too).
