Mr. Potato Head and Spudman Reach 50/100 Milestones.
Written: Oct 08 '05 (Updated Oct 08 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: It's about Mr. Potato Head. Plastic Retro Mr. Potato Head is no carb.
Cons: Those annoying ribbons. Too much repetition.
The Bottom Line: This is a nice item for a collector or Potatophile. Someone with only casual interest may be disappointed.
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| nagels's Full Review: Gil King - Mr. Potato Head: Celebrating 50 Years o... |
As I begin this Epinion, my heart’s heavy with despondency over my Golden Spud’s loss, yet lightheaded with the euphoric dizziness of reaching the century mark here at Epinions. Writing on my favorite topic only garnishes this festive occasion like adding dripping dollops of sour cream to a steaming baked potato.
Mr. Potato Head Celebrating 50 Years of One Sweet Potatois a 32-page book celebrating the 50th anniversary of the legendary Mr. Potato Head and his family. The book’s pages are bound together by three blue ribbons threaded through metal grommets and attached in like fashion to a box appropriately containing a retro Mr. Potato Head.
RETRO Mr. Potato Head
The retro Mr. Potato head does not resemble today’s potato person, but instead replicates the first plastic version circa 1964. Retro Spud has the traditional potato head and also a long lost torso, little stumpy legs, and smallish feet. He rests on a round, gold colored stand that resembles an upside down pie pan. On the pie pan pedestal is written “Happy 50th Birthday” in blue script against a bright orange background.
On Potato Head’s red torso are the initials HB in fancy cursive above a printed “HASBRO”. Permanently attached to his torso are mini hands and feet. Retro Mr. Potato Head stands about 8 ½” tall, 6” of which are his large potato head. This head is not perfectly smooth but actually simulates the look of an actual potato with indentations, gashes and lines, his beauty marks. Attached to the head are removable ears, mouth, nose/ moustache piece, eyes, and a round brimmed hat like one that may have been worn 100 years ago.
This Potato Head is a bit top heavy and easily tips over during handling. It happened several times while I examined him for this review. This might be why his green feet were taped to his stand out of the box.
The 50th anniversary Potato Head is not equipped with any extra parts.
The spare parts tucked into his hinged rear door were added years later.
THE BOOK
Mr. Potato Head Celebrating 50 Years of One Sweet Potatoby Gil King is my kind of book in that it has few pages and lots of pictures. Its 5” by 10” dimensions match those of the box to which it is attached. Using blue ribbon to connect book and box makes the package attractive and gift-like, but makes for an annoying reading experience. I found it tedious and troublesome to turn the pages and even tore the bottom hole of one page while flipping it normally. It’s probably possible to unknot each ribbon to make book and box separate, but it seemed like too much work for me. I read the entire “book” in less time than it would have taken to perform those manipulations.
CONTENTS AND ORGANIZATION
Behind the heavy stock cover and title page is the table of contents:
Introduction
1952-2001:Tater Timeline
Potato Aptitude Test (PAT)
Fast Facts
A Spud is Born
Here Comes the Bride – Growing Pains, Family Tree and Stealthy Career Moves
Pop Culture Icon
In Conclusion
Because of the manner the book is organized there is much unnecessary repetition of facts. Maybe this was a way to expand this tiny tome to its scrawny 32-page size. For readers like myself with poor retention of details, redundancy may not be such a negative.
The two-page introduction, “Mr. Potato Head – An American Tradition, is a synopsis of Potato Head history and lore from 1952 to the present. Colored circles decorate the background and several photos of older Potato Head items embellish the pages.
A four-page timeline accompanied by lots of neat pictures follows the introduction. The illustrated highlights of the famous tuber are sequentially explored, but there are precious few dates in this so-called time line. One item, for example, relates “Mr. Potato Head recognized the onslaught of middle-age when he doubles in size.”Not only are the verb tenses mixed, but also no date is listed for this or most of the other tater nuggets. We only have the highlights listed before and after for reference. I found this to be a major flaw.
After this unsatisfying time-line is a Mr. Potato Head True-False Aptitude Test consisting of ten items. The answers are on the adjoining page printed upside down. Neither the questions nor the answers are numbered so it’s again tedious to match them up. I also found it very difficult to read the upside down answers. Eventually I figured out that all I had to do was stand on my head to read them. Duh!
True or False: “Even today nobody knows Mrs. Potato Head’s first name.”
Answer: eurt
Sorry. I typed the answer backwards so you’ll have to read the book or hold a mirror in front of the monitor to learn the answer!
Following the aptitude test is a two page Fast Facts section. Much of the material here has already been covered on previous pages. One new fact here is that “In 1998, Mr. Potato Head stars in his own animated series on FOX Kids TV.” I enjoyed that short-lived series almost as much as Pee Wee’s Playhouse and lamented its demise. Luckily I still have a few of the Mr. Potato Head Show episodes on tape.
“A Spud is Born” is a three-paragraph page about the origins of Mr. Potato Head. It’s again a rehash of earlier stated facts with a few additions to make it seem fresh. The page has more pictures and decorative colored circles than text.
Next is a page entitled “Here Comes the Bride” about the introduction of Mrs. Potato Head in 1953. She was stylishly dressed and packaged with feminine accessories. Mrs. Potato Head has been and maybe still is a sexist figure reinforcing gender stereotypes. The following might make a reader or two squirm in discomfort.“ Mrs. Potato head was relegated to the house doing all the ‘fun things’ that girls were supposed to do…she does all the things millions of little girls would want… clean the floors, dust, ring a dinner bell.”Her accessories were a feather duster, floor polisher, dinner bell, and vacuum cleaner.
The last 11 pages retell the story of Mr. Potato Head yet again, this time with more embellishment, such as descriptions and history of his Tooty Frooty friends, some new stuff, and additional pictures. Some of the highlights are:
-Becoming the symbolic spokespud for the American Cancer Society’s smokeout campaign in 1987 and ceremoniously surrendering his pipe to the Surgeon General
-Receiving a special award for the President’s Council for Physical Fitness on his 40th anniversary from none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger
-Mr. Potato Head and spouse with the League of Women Voters promoting the importance of our voting process.
-In the year 2000 Mr. Potato Head’s induction into the Toy Hall of Fame.
OverallMr. Potato Head Celebrating 50 Years of One Sweet Potato and its accompanying retro Mr. Potato Head Figure makes a nice present for a potato fanatic like myself. The toy figure is an interesting collectible, though a bit unstable, and the book is fun, somewhat entertaining, but too repetitious to be totally satisfying. The book’s construction is attractive, but gimmicky and impractical. For someone with only a casual interest in Mr. Potato Head and his history, the 15-dollar price is a little steep and the book probably ultimately disappointing.
Recommended:
Yes
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