One of the most surprising and enjoyable (for me at least) revelations in the movie Lightyear was the introduction of Darby Steel. I can admit that from the promotional images and early toy reveals, I completely thought this was a male character. But, no, Darby is a cranky and cantankerous ex-con who has a Suicide-Squad-style agreement to shorten her sentence by joining Izzy and the Junior Zap Patrol. For the majority of the movie she is wearing the hodgepodge dented and reclaimed armor that the rest of the resistance group are wearing (not the most visually appealing design for my collection). But by the end of the movie, she gets the full Star Command Space Ranger uniform - and thankfully she got a toy in this look. I never saw this figure in stores, but she was readily available online. Darby's specialty (i.e. criminality) in the movie was her MacGyver-like ability to turn anything into an explosion. She's so fun and unexpected for a saccharine Pixar property. Let's check out Darby Steel below!
UNITING ALL WOMEN OF PLASTIC
Showing posts with label Lightyear. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lightyear. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 1, 2023
Lightyear 5" - DARBY STEEL!
Sunday, February 19, 2023
Lightyear 12" - IZZY HAWTHORNE!
My final Lightyear post for this week. Thanks for humoring me as I had a serious backlog and was suddenly inspired by Black History Month to finally open and photograph all these Izzy and Alisha toys. (There will be a Darby post at some point in the future). I mentioned before that the 12" Alisha figure was my favorite of the entire product line. And while this Izzy figure isn't my favorite design, I love that she is the same scale as my favorite Alisha so she's not so lonely in the display. Additonally, there may or may not be a 12" figure of Izzy in her Star Command Space Ranger design coming. It's kind of blanked out on Amazon and Entertainment Earth has her listed with an ever-changing release date. It could easily me a simple swap of this Jr. Zap Patrol head with the Alisha body, but the solicit pics show full Buzz Lightyear wings. I guess time will tell if it ever gets released. In the meantime, I'm very happy to get at least one 12" figure of Izzy in the line (actually there are two.. see below). Let's check out Izzy below!
Saturday, February 18, 2023
Lightyear 5" - IZZY HAWTHORNE!
It's amusing to me that my favorite part of the Lightyear movie is when Izzy finally donned the Space Ranger uniform at the end. I think a childhood full of shows like He-Man and Voltron that dangled transformation sequences in front of us as the pinnacle of awesomeness has effected my adult perceptions. Without any advance knowledge, I knew that Izzy, Mo, and Darby would get official uniforms eventually (these toys weren't shown until well after the movie debuted) and I watched the entire movie in hopeful anticipation of a simple costume change. The second wave of the Crystal Grade series (I think it was exclusive to Walmart) finally gave us a single poseable figure of Izzy in this design. There was a cumbersome action-feature-laden version and several included in large multipacks, but this was the most readily available. I keep finding new products every time I Google and it's honestly a little overwhelming. Still waiting on an Alpha Class in this design, but oh well. Let's check out Izzy!
Friday, February 17, 2023
Lightyear 6" - IZZY HAWTHORNE!
An interesting thing about collecting a variety of different products from a certain toyline, especially when all produced by the same company, is that you can really see a diversity in quality. I actually think all the Lightyear products have been of good quality. Not a single piece is something I would write off as junk. But what does stand out from this comparison is Mattel's more premium product offering, the Alpha Class line. Right away, the scale is impressive. While all the cheaper, playable figures are in a 5" scale, this line is 6" which instantly has more appeal to the collector community since it matches the scale of the most popular toylines. The packaging is more display-ready (for those that like that), the articulation is greatly improved, and the accessories are detailed and smart. My highest indicators of toy quality though are paint application and the plastic itself. This Izzy is constructed with very durable high quality plastic with an impressive texture and paint to match. Let's check out Izzy below!
Thursday, February 16, 2023
Lightyear 5" - IZZY HAWTHORNE!
Izzy Hawthorne is the main female character in Lightyear. As the granddaughter of Buzz Lightyear's former partner, Alisha, the time-displaced Buzz finds a touchstone in the young rebel leader. Izzy was leading a ragtag trio of cadets (along with Mo and Darby) on a perilous mission to destroy a large cruiser containing Zurg's robot warriors when Buzz appeared and joined the fight. When I first saw Izzy's armor, I had mixed feelings. I expected everyone in the classic Star Command uniforms, but I could tell from the merchandising that this post-apocalyptic rusty-colored armor would be the Izzy's primary outfit. I didn't love the design at first, but I eventually realized that it reminded me of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. Not a specific character persay, but rather a general feel. Especially the rivets on her shoulderpad and her Ohm-like helmet. It may be a stretch, but the correlation got me over my initial disappointment and made me really appreciate this look. Let's check out Izzy below!
Wednesday, February 15, 2023
Lightyear 5" - ALISHA HAWTHORNE!
Yet another Lightyear toy product that only showed up at Kohl's. When I first learned of this figure set I didn't know much about the movie yet and didn't realize Izzy and her Grandmother Alisha were different characters. All I knew is that I was obsessed with this woman in the Star Command suit (and in some promotional material she was just referred to as Commander or Cadet Hawthorne, further confusing me). But by the time I learned more and finally saw the movie, my favorite part was the Grandmother/Granddaughter generational dynamic between the two female leads. Of course they don't share any scenes, but their individual relationships with the time-skipping Buzz are the heart of the movie. This two-pack features their struggles on the wild planet of T'Kani Prime where they are constantly attacked by living vines and aggressive insects (and subsequently stranded). I love when an antagonist in a film or show is unbridled nature so I really appreciate getting these accessories. Let's check out Alisha below!
Tuesday, February 14, 2023
Lightyear 12" - ALISHA HAWTHORNE!
One of my favorite tropes of modern character creation is when an established male design is applied to a new female character. The Buzz Lightyear costume debuted in the first Toy Story movie way back in 1995 and is probably the last design I expected to be applied to a female character, but 27 years later we get the movie Lightyear and a ton of characters wearing the classic Space Ranger uniform, including three prominent females. This 12-inch-scale figure of Alisha Hawthorne is my favorite figure of all the Lightyear products. It is well articulated, a perfect likeness of the animation model, and very playable. The downfall was that she was next to impossible to find. Only a few weeks ago (roughly 8 months after the theatrical release) did she seem to show up in wide distribution at places like Walmart and Target. Before that, she only sporadically appeared in places like Kohls. If you're going to add any single Lightyear figure to your collection, this should be the one. Let's check her out below!
Monday, February 13, 2023
Lightyear 6" - ALISHA HAWTHORNE!
Lightyear was an interesting movie. Of all Toy Story characters that I would want to see an entire animated universe developed for, I never would have guessed that Buzz Lightyear would be the one to see. Back in 2000 he had an animated series called Buzz Lightyear of Star Command that I understand had a decent following (I reviewed the Mira Nova Happy Meal toy from that show). So I can understand the precedent for producing a full-fledged theatrical movie based off the character. My favorite part of the movie was the Grandmother/Granddaughter roles of Alisa Hawthorne (Uzo Aduba) and Izzy Hawthorne (Keke Palmer). The trailers already spoiler this aspect, but Buzz spends time in a world where time proceeds differently and returns to find his world has moved on. In place of his trusty partner, Alisha, is her feisty granddaughter, Izzy. Both really great characters that each had tons of product made. I'll be reviewing seven in the next seven days. Starting with Alisha in her Commander uniform.
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