Long ago, in a magical time, a good king named Aethelred ruled a peaceful and prosperous kingdom.

Now his kingdom had many treasures, but it's greatest prize was Princess Daphne, the king's only child. Brave knights and handsome princes came from afar just to pay her court, for she was a maiden of exceeding beauty and grace. but, though they laid vast riches at her feet and pleaded most earnestly for her fair hand, the Princess Daphne refused them all. For her heart had long been given to another... to Dirk the Daring, the king's champion and bravest knight.

Then one day, Mordroc, an evil wizard who ruled over a shadowed land, appeared in Aethelred's kingdom and demanded that the king deliver up his kingdom and people to him. When Aethelred refused Mordroc's vile demand, the wizard kidnapped the beautiful Daphne and imprisoned her in a crystal sphere in the horrible dungeons beneath his enchanted castle.

Mordroc then sent Aethelred this message: Relinquish your kingdom before the setting of the sun or your beloved daughter will perish.

Aethelred and all the people of the kingdom were plunged into despair. All, except for Dirk, who vowed to go to the enchanted castle and free the princess... if he could survive the dungeon's many perils... if he could reach the dragon's lair...

-Dragon's Lair - 1984 manual


I gave a lengthy history of the original Dragon's Lair 3D game in my review of Dirk the Daring (http://www.epinions.com/content_74494480004), so I'll refer you to that if you're interested in some background on Mordroc (other than the one given above). Suffice to say, he's an evil little wizard with a bright Day-Glo staff...

I must admit, I like the Mordroc figure (by Anjon Toys) even more than Dirk. But allow me to do this in sequence. First, as always, let's get the packaging out of the way...it has some great graphics, but it's your usual cardboard j-card with a plastic blister bubble. Also, the graphics on the back are the same for every figure, which is kind of boring. The blister does feature some nice little cardboard graphics at the bottom, though.

Now: the sculpt. The sculpting on Mordroc is impressive. As with Dirk, design studio Sculpt This has done an amazing job capturing the distinctive look of Don Bluth's animation style. The expression on Mordroc's face is priceless. The details are perfect, from the wrinkles on his face to the scratches on his fingernails.

His articulation is great too. You have to take his removable, soft plastic robes off to find it all, though it works even with the robe on (great job, Anjon!). Mordroc sports ball-jointed shoulders, bicep twists on both arms, wrist and ankle twists, thigh swivels, and a ball-jointed head. Wow. That is one hyper-articulated necromancer.

Dirk came with a huge monster as an accessory. Given Mordroc's smaller size (he stands at just under 5"), I'm a bit surprised with him in the accessories department. I suppose you could consider his removable robe an accessory. Other than that, he has the aforementioned bright orange staff and two little rubber bats to keep him company. The staff has a "ruby" at the top, made with red translucent plastic.

Overall, I really like Mordroc. The sculpting is just perfect; he has more personality than I've seen in a while in an action figure. Look for him in one of my upcoming "figuretoons" on the soon-to-open www.OAFE.net.

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BONUS!

Check out the new Dragon's Lair 3D game at www.dragonslair3d.com

Get the scoop on the Dragon's Lair cartoon at http://www.yesterdayland.com/popopedia/shows/saturday/sa1257.php

And of course, as always, visit www.oafe.net (coming soon)

Suggested For: Fans of Dragon's Lair and interested toy collectors
Bang For the Buck: 5 - Mordroc is small, and doesn't have as many accessories as Dirk does.
Best Feature: Sculpt/likeness

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 9.99
Type of Toy: Action Figure