Hey you guuuuuys! Well, it has been twenty years since we shared a Baby Ruth with Sloth but finally the gang from the Goondocks have found their place in action figure immortality thanks to Mezco Toys. So, was it worth the wait? Can we take a page from Cyndi Lauper’s greatest hits and proclaim that the "Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough"? Check out our review, filled to the brim with tasteless "One-Eyed Willy" jokes.
If you are a child of the 80’s like me, The Goonies is more than likely etched into your permanent psyche. Let’s face it, for a child of about 5 (or a child of about 27) that movie has it all: a great adventure, fun characters, pirate treasure, water slides, booby traps, Baby Ruths and just enough cursing that you can have a good giggle while making sure your mom isn’t in the room. Needless to say, I have been waiting for Goonies figures for most of my life and I finally have them, but now that I do, I have some mixed feelings.
This series has five figures of the main cast: Mikey, Mouth, Data, Chunk and, of course, Sloth. Each of the individual character’s transfer from screen to plastic falls somewhere in between great and "meh". There is not really an example of an outstanding figure, but, then again, there is not really a terrible figure in the bunch. One of the first things that you will notice is that this line has been produced with Mezco’s "tooned" style. The sculpts, especially the faces, have a bit of a cartoon quality to them that Mezco seems to apply randomly to their licenses. Personally, I have never been a huge fan of the style, but it is not as prevailing here as it has been with various Mez-lines in the past. Let’s look at each figure individually.
Mikey
The defacto "leader" of the Goonies, Mikey is responsible for inciting the group’s search for One-Eyed Willy’s "rich stuff". He has a fairly solid sculpt with some very nice detailing in his jacket and pants. However, he suffers quite a bit from being a bit pre-posed, something I personally have never liked. As mentioned above, he has a bit of a cartoon quality about him in the face. While certainly not a dead ringer for an adolescent Sean Astin, he does look like Mikey. In comparison to the rest of the series he has pretty solid paint applications, though he does have a bit of a blank stare in his eyes. Articulation is one of my major gripes with this line (along with paint which I will get into more in a moment) and Mikey is pretty limited with only five points.
Now, I don’t really need my Goonies figures to be as articulated as my Marvel Legends or DC Superheroes, but when his sculpt is a bit pre-posed, the articulation (or lack thereof) only compounds the problem of an awkward stance. It is not something to get too bent of shape about, but he looks like he is trying to elbow the guy standing on his right. He is a big winner with accessories though, he has the map, Copper Bones key, Spanish Doubloon, bag of marbles (for hiding treasure) and alternate hand with his trusty inhaler and a base (something included with all the kids, though they are all unique). Overall, Mikey makes for a pretty solid figure, if not a little bland.
Data
"I’m James Bond 007, not 00-negative!". In the movie Data is armed to the teeth with various gadgets for flying into neighbor’s houses to setting "booty traps". Mezco did a great job including all of the notable ones with Data, He has his Bully Buster (the boxing glove), dynamite, Pinchers of Peril (the teeth), a dart to load into his 007 utility belt (which DOES open, just like in the movie) a snap on backpack to hold everything and a pirate ship deck base.
He is the big winner of the bunch in the paint category as well with some very nice detailing on the metal chest piece and in the patches on his jacket. The paint is not perfect though, there is just something "off" about his face (something I find in common with all of the figures in this series and I really do think it is the paint, not the sculpt). Also, while the sculpt is very nice, probably the most detailed in the group, he is so pre-posed he can only be placed in one position and still look natural. Sure, the pose makes sense (about to fire a dart from his belt) but since his articulation is also very limited, it is pretty much that or nothing. Overall though, Data is probably my second favorite figure of the bunch.
Mouth
FELDMAN ALERT! Yes, half of the Coreys has landed on my shelf. Of all the figures in the group (save possibly Sloth) Mouth probably has has the most "on" head sculpt. It looks like Mouth, and possibly more importantly, he looks like Feldman. However, I am sorry to say, that is where most of the appeal of the figure ends. He is not a *bad* figure, far from it, he is just pretty bland. All of his paints are solid, though I wish Prince would have allowed them to put him in his Purple Rain t-shirt. Also, while it does not say so on the little black tag, he is sporting a very good facsimile of a Members Only jacket.
Of all the figures he has the most "vanilla" pose and the articulation he does have works pretty well in his favor. He probably scores the lowest in the accessory category though not for lack of trying. He comes with a lantern, pirate sword, pirate treasure and his patented hair brush. I guess, aside from the brush, Mouth did not tote along as many memorable things one the adventure as the other kids, but perhaps it would have been nice to get the string of pearls he hides in his mouth. Overall a good figure but, as I said before, a little bland.
Chunk
Oh Chunk, I wish I could say that your figure turned out more amazing than the time Michael Jackson came over to your house to use the bathroom, but alas, it falls well short. If I had to pick a least favorite figure of the bunch, it would have to be Chunk, and I wanted so badly for him to turn out well. First, the pose is about as unnatural as you can get and his arms just kind of hang way out from his sides. It is not horrible and I suppose you can pass it off to him being a hyper-active little tubby kid, but it leaves me pretty cold.
The paint of his plaid pants and floral shirt is really solid and the detail good, if not a little generic. HOWEVER, the paint on the face is pretty down right bad, and that really kills the whole figure for me. Simply put, it doesn’t look like Chunk to me. The eyes are way off and have that thousand-mile stare, and the teeth are so stained with a red paint wash, he looks like a vampire. I dunno, maybe it is just me and you might like it better, but I just cannot get over the paint apps on his mug, especially when the sculpt looks to be there. *sigh* As is often the case, the paint on the master on the back of the card really looks nice, I wish they would have taken more care in getting right in the final piece.
As for accessories, they are all appropriate- a ship deck base, milk shake and slice of pizza (for smashing arcade windows) and Mikey’s mom’s statue of David (missing her most favorite piece). Overall, I have to say that Chunk is the most disappointing piece in the whole series. And he can’t even do the Truffle Shuffle.
Sloth
I am happy to say that, the movie’s most memorable (and most aesthetically deficient) character also makes for the best action figure. He really is a step above the rest of the series and while his look is certainly the most interesting for an action figure, you can tell Mezco and the sculptor took a little extra time bringing him to life, complete with a face only a mother could love. It seems as though all of the little quirks about this line that were detrimental to the rest of the figures actually work in Sloth’s favor. His face already had a cartoonish quality to it and it is captured very well here. His eyes are perfectly off set, his hair tuft in nice and stringy and the fact that his mother could not afford to get his teeth fixed comes out perfectly here.
The rest of the sculpt is nicely detailed too and he is massive compared to the kids, just as he should be. He pose works well too, he looks like he is about to shout "Hey you guuuuuuys!" in all of his goofy glee. His accessories are spot on too, he comes with his pirate hat and sword and candy bar (we all know what kind). Overall, best of the bunch. Easily. If I was having a touch of buyer’s remorse on this set from the kids, Sloth makes it all worth it.
In the end, I am pretty happy with this set of figures. Now aside from the great Sloth figure, that might be the nostalgia talking but I would not be surprised if Mezco is banking on that emotion to move a bunch of these babies. Could they have been better? Sure, but I am glad I have them. They add some nice variety to the shelf and I am sure all of the people who come over to my house will have some memory of the movie to share when they see these guys. If you could only get one figure though, make it Sloth. I am sure that he is the one most would pick anyhow, but he really is the best of the bunch.
So that wraps up what we hope will be a continuing series of reviews. Like I said, if you have any inkling of getting Sloth, do it. He is a great figure and is a much needed pop culture icon on your collection shelf. I would recommend waiting to see the rest for yourself to make the choice of purchasing them. I am happy and I hope that (even though it seems unlikely) that we can get a second series with the older kids (Brand, Andie and Stef) and the Fratellis (Jake, Francis and, of course Ma). Thanks for reading.
{gallery}reviews/toys/goonies{/gallery}
Additional Links
