“It’s got corn for crunch, oats for punch, and it stays crunchy, even in milk.”
Well, that tagline is obviously speaking of the Cap’n Crunch cereal and not the actual Cap’n himself, but I would say that the action figure that we are featuring herein would also stay crunchy for a very, very long time. I cannot really imagine why you would want to test a thing like that, but I digress…
For some reason, I have always had a soft spot for cereal and restaurant mascots. I don’t know why, I was never really allowed to eat sugary cereals or go to places like McDonalds as a kid, but I have always had a fascination with those diabolical corporate characters, designed to take your money and make you fat. So my action figure collection has boasted the like of the McDonaldland crew and the General Mills cereal monsters for a long time now, but, for some reason, I completely overlooked this figure of Cap’n Crunch when it was originally released.
The now-defunct Funhouse Company released this figure all the way back in 2001, along with some supporting characters and variations of the Cap’n. I don’t know of any other figures released by Funhouse, but when I saw the Cap’n here pop up on eBay, I knew I had to have him in my collection. I had the chance to also snag his archenemy Jean LeFoote, but since he had been replaced by the Soggies by the time I was watching Crunchberry commercials, I decided to just go with main star of the brand.
I think it is fair to say that when you are dealing with a cereal mascot action figure, you not really expecting anything hyper-detailed or super-posable, but, that being said, this is a nice action figure homage, especially considering the figure is now 13 years old. 2001 was right on the cusp of big “action figure evolution” where sculpt, paint, and articulation became priorities, but the good Cap’n still stands up well today.
The Cap’n (or, by his military markings is actually, COMMANDER Crunch) is a fairly simple design for a marketable cartoon character, and this figure does a great job of capturing the likeness. He has his affable and rather excited facial expression (I am sure he just spotted some crunch berries or something) and all of the costume detail is there as well. The figure is unmistakable as Crunch, and while he lands amongst newer corporate icon figures on my shelf, he stands up well to them. His blue hat and jacket are eye-catching, and I can almost hear his voice in my head.
This is not the most articulated figure ever produced, but then again, it doesn’t really need to be. He is an aged sea captain, not Spider-Man, so he can stand on the poop deck and shout orders instead of swinging from the mainmast. He features a neck twist and partial ball-jointed shoulders. He also has a ball-jointed waist that allows him to not only turn from side to side, but also back and forth and any combination thereof. I think this was a pretty innovative point of articulation for the time, and for a character of the Cap’n’s, um… carriage? it works really well.
The Cap’n also comes with some accessories: a treasure chest, map, stickers, and his iconic Crunchascope. The chest and telescope are relatively simple but serviceable, and I like that the chest can open and close. The Crunchascope can fit into either of the Cap’n’s hands, and even though he is lacking any kind of wrist articulation, he can still hold it right up to his eye to peer through for Soggie sightings.
I am glad I added this figure to my collection as it is a great representation of Cap’n Crunch. While I originally passed on LeFoote, I might try to go back and get him later on. I have to wonder what the Funhouse Company could have accomplished had they stayed in business, but I do thank them for this fun, albeit late, addition to my collection.
