Thinking Back, I Probably Would Have Made a Good Frog Scout
Written: Apr 03 '04 (Updated Apr 10 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: The first appearance of Kermit's nephew, some great accessories and articulation
Cons: No sitting action, non-removable hat
The Bottom Line: I'm all for juvenile amphibian nudity. If that makes me sick, I don't wanna be well.
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Today a Boy Scout came to our door selling Scout-A-Rama tickets. It got me thinking about my own years as a Boy Scout, going door to door, begging people to buy those stupid tickets…about the campout where there was a bobcat in my tent eating my Cheetos…the other campout where I chopped Alan in the leg with an axe, my failure to get my Eagle Scout because I discovered cars and girls before I would have finished my little project…ah, Boy Scouts. So glad I’m done with THAT. Ultimately, I was better for the experience, but I think I would have made a much better FROG Scout. The Frog Scouts were a troop of little frogs that were featured prominently in the Deborah Harry episode of The Muppet Show, and turned up several other times in other productions. The most well-known of this intrepid troop is Kermit’s little nephew, Robin the Frog.
Robin actually pre-dated The Muppet Show, appearing in a starring role in “The Frog Prince.” He had a big supporting role in “A Muppet Christmas Carol” as Tiny Tim, and despite his small stature and limited screen time, is one of my favorite Muppet characters. I’ve grown to appreciate him more over the last few years as I’ve enjoyed spending time with my own nephew, and then with my little boy. He’s not a frog, but he does his best. Now that Robin has finally made an appearance in Palisades’ line of Muppet action figures, I feel like a big (or little) gap in that collection is complete.
Their decision to make Robin in his Frog Scout uniform is one that I didn’t like; I would have preferred a signature “naked” version of Robin—the way we saw him most. After getting the toy and playing with it, there are several things about the Frog Scout version that made me see why Palisades may have gone this route.
Robin is tiny—one of the smallest Muppets, and the figure is only about three inches tall. Because he’s so small, some details seem exaggerated—most prominently, his bulgy froggy eyes. They seem a bit too bulgy, almost full spheres atop his green little head. Like a “Manga” Robin. The rest of his sculpt seems to be right on, although his legs seem a little long. It’s hard to gauge, since Robin is usually shown with his legs folded up under him…not standing up like the figure is.
His uniform has all of the obligatory Frog Scout details—a little yellow and green kerchief, a “Pond 4” shoulder patch on his left shoulder, and a round yellow patch on his right shoulder. He’s topped off by a green cap—most of the Muppet figures have had removable hats with magnets keeping them in place, Robin’s is permanently affixed. I would have rather seen him with a magnetic cap, but he may just be too small for the implant. Like an old girlfriend of mine.
Even though he’s small, Robin’s got nothing to be ashamed of in the articulation department. Like most scouts, Robin has a number of joints. His head, hips, and waist are all jointed, plus he has ball-jointed shoulders and swivel joints where his arms and legs meet their sleeves and pants. This means he can do many things…the one thing he really can’t do that I’d like him to do is SIT. Robin’s usually perched on a table, chair, sofa…the action figure isn’t able to sit well at all. Not a big deal.
Like many short characters, Robin makes up for his height with a huge package of accessories. He comes with a large green steamer trunk (big enough to put him in, if you’re so inclined), a little campfire of logs ringed by rocks, a little rubbery bag of trail mix, a backpack, Frog Scout Handbook, and marshmallow-toasting stick. Of these, the backpack is really nifty, because it opens to hold the book, and has rubbery straps flexible enough for Robin to really carry it. The marshmallow stick has three marshmallows on it, with one side already toasted—a little too dark for my taste, but you know they’re crisp and gooey inside. The Frog Scout Handbook opens and closes, but doesn’t have any writing or diagrams in it—after Dr. Bunsen Honeydew’s informative tic-tac-toe games, I was hoping for more. There are also some stickers included with the figure, and these are fun—there’s a Fly-Catching Merit Badge, Punk Merit Badge (in tribute to the Deborah Harry episode of The Muppet Show), and best of all, a “Frogger” inspired Dodging Traffic Merit Badge. Nice touch.
I look forward to a naked little frog being a part of my collection someday, but if they had put out the naked “signature” version of Robin, he wouldn’t have come with these great accessories, and more importantly, probably wouldn’t have had the articulation joints that Frog Scout Robin is able to disguise in his clothes.
Rumor has it that we’ll be seeing a Scoutmaster Kermit before too long—and that would be a great companion piece for this figure. So would a John Denver action figure—but I won’t hold my breath for that.
And oh yeah, we bought a Scout-A-Rama ticket from the kid who came to our door today. We’re suckers like that.
Where can you buy Jim Henson’s Muppets action figures? There are a lot of places, and the list is growing. These are already on the shelves at Suncoast, Sam Goody and Media Play stores, as well as EB and EBX. They’ll be rolling them out at Toys R Us within a few weeks, and if it’s more convenient, there are many online sources as well. I happened to get mine from www.boxingcow.com, and they had competitive prices and fantastic customer service.
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Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 8.99
Type of Toy: Action Figure
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Epinions.com ID:
JediKermit
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Member: Quinn
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Reviews written: 2137
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About Me:
Books, Movies, and Toys. Is there more to life?
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