Archive for the ‘Holiday’ Category

The Abominable Snowman (aka “The Bumble”)

Wednesday, December 24th, 2008

I’m briefly interrupting my painfully slow revelation of the York Toy Show toys to feature a seasonal, Christmas toy.

I wanted to show you all a bizarre, freaky, strange Christmas toy like I did last year, but nothing really compares to a gyrating Mr. & Mrs. Claus in the bathtub.

I went to Wilsons 5¢-$1.00 to hopefully find something freaky again, but I had no luck. (I did see some more of the singing bathtub Clauses if anyone out there want’s one.) Plus, I’ve been pretty busy lately, so I haven’t had a lot of time to go searching for Christmas toys.

Mr. & Mrs. Claus in a tub

Eventually, I remembered that I already have some Christmas toys. I actually brought them to work years ago around Christmas time so my desk would be more seasonally festive (instead of scary). They’d slipped my mind, because I actually ended up lending the toys to my friend Megan (since my desk was so crowded and hers was so boring ;) ), and they’ve  lived at her desk for at least two years.

Maybe it’s not what you expected, but the toys I’m referring to are from the Rudolph and the Island of Misfit Toys toyline by Playing Mantis. They debuted years ago… probably 2001. They’ve been re-released over the years by a different company I think, because the quality of the toys seems cheaper. Cheapy plastic and paint jobs.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by Playing Mantis

My immediate thought was “I’ll feature the Bumble.” He’s cool, and I remember being scared of him as a kid. Then I thought, it’d be cool to feature some of the Misfit Toys that come packed along with the other figures from the toyline like Yukon Cornelius, Santa and Rudolph.

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Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Misfit Toys

Well, after setting them out to photograph them, I felt like they worked “conceptually” for the blog, but they are too visually boring or uninteresting to feature (so, I’ve included a photo, just to show you that you weren’t missing much).

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Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Abominable Snow Monster

The Bumble is cooler than those misfits.

He’s big, plastic and covered in white fur. He looks great. Is it just me or does he seem more cute, huggable and sane in this toy likeness? I think it was his whacked-out expressions, sharp teeth and roars that freaked me out as a kid. It seems like that’s been toned down a bit. They made him shorter and chubbier than he actually is in the animated classic. It’s been years since the cartoon, so I guess he’s been putting on the pounds since then.

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Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Abominable Snow Monster

His jaw even moves slightly, but not enough to make it look like he’s talking or anything. It’d be kind of neat (but totally unreasonable)  if the figure had removeable teeth like the cartoon. Maybe they’d snap in and out or something. You remember when Yukon pulled them all don’t you? It seems pretty damn raw/cruel now that i think about it, but as a kid, a toothless Bumble was a friendly Bumble.

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Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Abominable Snow Monster

I couldn’t find any clips of the old Rudolph Cartoon I liked on YouTube, but I did find this little gem. The intro does nothing for me, but the Bumble section makes me smile.

Enjoy, and have a Merry Christmas everybody (even though I just gave you a disappointing Christmas entry).

Posted in Cartoons, Holiday, Monsters | 7 Comments »

WWLJD – What Would Lil’ Jesus Do?

Friday, March 21st, 2008

Jesus is back!

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Squatty Jesus Toy

Only he’s 2 feet shorter?! What the heck?

I picked up this little Jesus from the Dollar Tree a long time ago. He was one of a series of biblical figures (maybe I’ll feature the other ones some other day). All of them were squatty for some reason (that’s pretty much why I bought ‘em… cuz they were just so goofy looking).

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Squatty Jesus Toy

He’s returned with a mullet now too? C’mon!

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Squatty Jesus Toy

Each figure also came with a small plastic sheet with an illustration on it (kind of a cheapy version of a diorama).

I wish I still had the sheets, because Jesus’ “scene” depicted a few infamous scenarios. First, there was his tomb with a huge boulder rolled away. But what made it great was the fact that right outside the tomb there was a saw horse with a hand saw and wood… you know.. depicting the fact that he was a carpenter (good to know he had such a committed work ethic… getting right to work after rising from the dead). And lastly, there was a little basket full of loaves of bread and bundles of fish (in case he’s hungry after all that wood cutting). If I miraculously find Jesus’ little diorama sheet, I’ll post it here.

Anyway, I hope you all have a safe and happy Easter weekend. Enjoy your friends and family, and thanks for dropping by to read the blog before your obligatory church visit ;)

Happy Easter!

INFO UPDATE :

Holy moley! I was going through some boxes recently and I stumbled upon that little plastic sheet scenery I had mentioned earlier. I thought I’d lost it.

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Jesus action figure with landscape

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Jesus Landscape

I see my memory of the scene was a bit inaccurate. Turns out I had mistaken the “loaves and fishes” story with the “water to wine” story… which actually makes the scene even funnier. It’s complete with pond, chalice and wine bottle. Now it looks like Jesus rose from the tomb, did a bit of woodworking and finished up by pouring himself a drink.

One thing I didn’t recall from the scene was the dark, looming shadow of the cross. Kinda creepy.

Lastly, there’s some legal info on the scenery sheet that can give us a bit of insight to where this toy is from. The legal copy reads: “Licensed by BuyProduct, Inc. Merrick, NY 11566 Made in China.” I wasn’t able to find anything new.

Posted in Cute, Holiday, Human?, Religious | 9 Comments »

Rub-a-Dub-Dub 2 Clauses in a Tub

Sunday, December 23rd, 2007

I recently realized I don’t have any weird Christmas-themed toys lying around, so yesterday, I decided to go on a search for something odd to feature on the blog. I really had no idea where to start. Luckily, a friend of mine recommended a place filled with all kinds of random crap – Wilsons 5¢ and $1.00 (typically known as Wilson’s 5¢ and 10¢). Once there, I dug around a bit, rummaging through some stuff you might expect – snowman rubber duckies, reindeer with light-up noses, santa bobble-heads, etc. I was a bit disappointed. There was some “cute” stuff but not a damned thing that I’d consider a “weirdo toy.”

On my way out, I walked by a stack of boxes that presented a disturbing sight. At a glance, I didn’t know what I’d seen. I just knew I’d seen Santa’s nipples, and it seemed very, very wrong (That’s a good first step to being a weirdo toy). On closer inspection, i saw Santa and Mrs. Claus bathing together. This may be the first time we’ve seen this couple so scantily clad. Not your typical holiday scenario. This seemed a bit wrong too (Hmm. A good second step to being a weirdo toy). I picked up the toy and found its power switch. Once activated I realized this wasn’t just a weird half-naked depiction of Mr. and Mrs. Claus bathing together, but it was a sound-activated, singing and dancing, half-naked Mr. and Mrs. Claus (Okay, that’s it! This is now a weirdo toy). Well, only Santa actually sings. And of course, he’s singing “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”

Santa Claus is Coming to Town
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Mr. & Mrs. Santa in the Bathtub - Animatronic Toy - Action Novelty Corp.

Here’s a look at Mr. and Mrs. Claus in action.

With every gyrating pulse, Santa leans back and forth toward the vibrating Mrs. Claus, accentuating the freaky, rubbery folds of skin that move and flex over the animatronics. It’s slightly disturbing and maybe even a bit perverse, but I think it’s hilarious.

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Mr. & Mrs. Santa in the Bathtub - Animatronic Toy - Action Novelty Corp.

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Mr. & Mrs. Santa in the Bathtub - Animatronic Toy - Action Novelty Corp. Mr. & Mrs. Santa in the Bathtub - Animatronic Toy - Action Novelty Corp.

I’m curious to know why Santa’s belly button is so red and inflamed. It really looks infected. Disgusting. And those bubbles look like weird growths.

The box reads: “Mr. & Mrs. Santa in the Bathtub: Mr. & Mrs. Santa Sing and Swing in the Bathtub.” It was produced by Action Novelty Corp. I couldn’t find any info about the company, but it looks like this isn’t the only Christmas toy they’ve produced.

“Mr. & Mrs. Santa Sing and Swing in the Bathtub”
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Mr. & Mrs. Santa in the Bathtub - Animatronic Toy - Action Novelty Corp.

Well, we now know that even Santa is naughty sometimes. I just hope this disturbing sight of St. Nick hasn’t ruined Christmas for you. Merry Christmas Everybody!

Posted in Bizarre, Funny, Holiday, Human?, Musical | 7 Comments »