Sep 11, 2009

Tonner Miss Piggy Doll Reviews

Friday News and Such - September 11, 2009

The Muppet Newsflash has posted an in-depth look at the bonus features for the new "Sesame Street: 40 Years of Sunny Days" DVD set, released November 10. Includes interviews with Jon Stone, Carroll Spinney (Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch), Kevin Clash (Elmo), and Leslie Carrara-Rudolph (Abby Cadabby) along with tons of never-before-seen behind the scenes footage. Oh yeah, and it also includes some Sesame Street clips.

The first ever Disney fan convention, the D23 Expo, kicked off yesterday in Anaheim, California. eFX Collectibles will be in attendance with their prototypes of the new Kermit the Frog and their updatedRizzo photo puppet replicas, BOOM! Studios has a booth of their own where friend of the blog, "Muppet Peter Pan" artist Amy Mebberson and "Muppet Peter Pan" writer Grace Randolph are promoting the new comic series. "Muppet Robin Hood" writer Tim Beedle is also said to be in attendance. Of course, the biggest highlight of D23 is the Special Muppet Presentation on Sunday. From the D23 website... "The Muppets Studios takes you inside the Muppet world for an exclusive frog's-eye-view of what Kermit and Company have been up to in 2009 — and all the fun and mayhem they have planned for 2010 and beyond!" I'll be sure to keep you updated on any and all of the exciting news from D23!

Frank (muppetguy on Muppet Central Forum) -I have been a fan of Tonner’s character dolls for a few years, specifically the DC Stars line, as I’m a big fan of many of those characters. When I had heard that the TONNER Doll Company and Disney were working together to start a Miss Piggy collection, I was ecstatically thrilled. When first seeing the pictures of the first three Piggy dolls and the two wigs and two dress ensembles to accompany her, I was very much pleased. Tonner has, majority of the time, taken great photos of his products, but in my opinion, the doll looks way better in person than in his photos and the photos really do not do her justice.

When your Basic Piggy arrives, she is first sealed in an all white long box. After opening that, you pull out a simple light lavender colored box with the title “The Miss Piggy Collection” on the top front. There is also a heart shape in a slightly lighter purple giving the box that feminine Piggy Style. Once opening and parting the two pieces of tissue paper that hide her from you, she comes neatly placed attached with three ribbons to hold her tightly in place. Her gloves, shoes and pearl necklace all come individually bagged and stapled to the inside sides of the box.

The basic Piggy in Tonner’s photos seem very simple and the wig seems to be styled in a way that isn’t “Piggy”, if that makes any sense. I’m sure he wanted to be able to show her entire face, but as you can tell in some of my pictures I have with this review, a few curls in the front of her face as in the back behind her, flesh out our Piggy much more nicely.

Looking at the mold of the Piggy face, I feel like I’m looking at Piggy from The Great Muppet Caper era, the Piggy we knew of in her prime. She has simple blush coloring on her cheeks and her eyes seem to be hand painted. Tonner has really captured Piggy’s essence here, in which I believe we haven’t seen in a long time, collectible-wise.

The wigs color is also in the Caper era, the color I feel Piggy should always have (and one I hope the efx poser will have, fingers crossed). The wig is styled with a curly bounce towards the bottom and can be gently spread to give those lovely curl locks we know her to have. The wig is attached to her head via a piece of Velcro on the back and towards the bottom of the head, “The Muppets Studio LLC” is stamped below this.

The dress and the gloves as well as her fabulous shoes are much darker than in the promo photos she’s seen on the websites selling her. She also comes with matching panties, which is what gives her that line around her stomach area in the promo photos! I personally do prefer the end product being a darker dress. Her ring is sewn onto her glove. As we come to the shoes, they are removable. This ensemble gives Piggy the glamour and Vegas-show kind of feel that she’s known for. Not too much over the top (although she is at times), but pushing it with the feather boa bottom with sparkly string accents, not very noticeable in the Tonner photos, gives us that Piggy edge of her fashion style.

The pearl necklace is a bit difficult to get on as it lies very close to where her head is attached to her neck, but I was able to achieve this, so do not worry about this if at first you have some slight trouble.

A minor disappointment when it comes down to this doll is the lack of poseibility. To me, the doll is more statue than doll, because the lack there of. The only articulation Basic Piggy has is in her shoulders, neck and legs. No movement is available at the elbows, or knees, limiting how you pose her.

One big disappointment is that the Basic Piggy doesn’t come with a stand. Piggy is not able to stand on her own. The way she stands in the pictures I have submitted for this review is standing her up against a wall. When I find the right doll stand that works for her (working on as we speak), I will make this information known and available to everyone.

As for the Basic Piggy doll, I rate her as an “A.” I know many people, majority of these people being guys, hear the word doll and run away. To be honest, this is a Muppet collectible that is beyond that word. The only thing that stops this Basic Piggy from being a larger scaled action figure is the wig. Personally, I am happy that she has interchangeable wigs, as Piggy always changes her hair. Some of you reading might be saying, wait, she has removable cloths, that’s doll-like, but there are many figures out there now in the 12 inch scale with real clothing. I just hope that guys who love Piggy or just want something exquisite to add to their Muppet collection doesn’t let the word “doll” stop them from making this purchase.

The same and only real issue I have for all the Piggy dolls are the lack of pose-ability. But, I do have to say, once I opened the box and parted those two sheets of tissue paper, I was amazed, once again.

This Piggy SCREAMS PIGGY! I know, some of you reading this will not get what I’m saying while others will totally get it right of the bat. What I mean by this is the fashion, the couture, the sexiness appeal. Tonner has stayed very true to Piggy’s personal sense of style and fame-ness….I think I just made up a word…

One thing I was glad to see is that her wig is not as “yellow golden” as in the press pics. It’s a softer golden blonde hue and looks fantastic.

The colors of her ensemble of bright magenta and a softer green match wonderfully.

The only gripe I had when looking at the press photos was the oversized hat she wears. Once I placed it on her, she was complete and really and honestly loved it.

This doll definitely says, “Miss Piggy takes a stroll down 5th and Madison!”

First Mate Piggy

I was very happy to see Tonner release a Piggy doll from the Muppet Show era, and which one better to do it with then our own First Mate Piggy from Pigs In Space.

One thing I have to say is amazing are her boots. They are ridiculously hot! The fit on snuggly with a zipper in the back of them. The best way I was able to pull down on the zipper was the GENTLY spread both sides of the boot away from each other and the zipper will move down.

Her gloves come in two pieces. First you have her hand section which fits on like all the other gloves that come with any of the other Miss Piggy Dolls. These though, stop at her wrist. Then you place the cuff over it and closes shut with Velcro. There isn’t much assembling anything on this Piggy.

Her purple dress shirt is fantastic with the Pigs in Space emblem stitch onto it and tiny stars to finish the look we know and love.

Her hair is a darker brown with less curl, bringing us back to the first few seasons of Pigs In Space.

As for the lack of Stands for all the piggy dolls, there is a wonderful remedy for this. I ordered all my Piggy Dolls for http://www.mydollshop.com/. Here she can supply a stand wide enough for Piggy’s waist and hides very well under her clothes.

The prices at http://www.mydollshop.com/ are also much lower than many other sites. Breakdown of Prices, just if people are curious:

Basic Piggy: $85.00
Piggy Takes Manhattan: $170.00

My Fair Piggy and First Mate Piggy are not pictured on the website, but was told by Lynn, owner of mydollshop, that they can be ordered if you call up and ask for them. They are also cheaper. I ordered my First Mate Piggy from her too.

Wigs and separate outfits are also at lower price.

One thing for sure, you will get THE best customer service from Lynn from mydollshop.com. She always strives to help and always keeps you updated on orders.

I hope these reviews help many of you purchase your Piggy collectibles.

~~~~~

Thanks again to muppetguy for the fantastic reviews!

Check back at The Muppet Mindset tomorrow for more of everyone's favorite alliterative day of the week--Sesame Street Saturday!