Review #600: When Kermit's in a Trenchcoat, You Know It's Gonna Be Good.
Written: Sep 20 '03
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Pros: Unbeatable Kermit sculpt, bonus accessories, cute aliens.
Cons: No hat to pretend Kermit's visiting Sesame Street.
The Bottom Line: Say hello to Kermit's little friends.
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For those Milestone Epinions, I always try to choose something close to my cold black heart. And more often than not, it will have something to do with my friends, my family: the Muppets. For #600, I’ve chosen Palisades Toys’ Koozebane Kermit Action Figure. “Koozebane?” you may be thinking? But this is Trenchcoated Kermit as I’ve seen him dozens of times on Sesame Street, interviewing the Three Pigs and Cinderella and such. No, you’re mistaken. That Kermit would be wearing a hat. And since Palisades doesn’t have the Sesame Street license outside of my dreams, this is most definitely Koozebane Kermit.
During early seasons of The Muppet Show, Kermit had a recurring bit where he would visit the Planet Koozebane, and interview or observe the residents of that planet. A dark set, with red skies and steam vents, Kermit would lurk among the rocks, watching Koozebanian mating rituals and trying to communicate with jars of liquid creatures. It was really just an excuse to have some bizarre looking puppets blow stuff up, which is really the whole theme of the Muppet Show, I suppose. Anyway, as other recurring sketches were fine-tuned, like Veterinarian’s Hospital, Pigs in Space, Muppet Labs, the Swedish Chef etc., the Koozebane sketches faded into obscurity. Thankfully someone remembered them, though, because now we’ve got the best Kermit action figure yet!
Koozebane Kermit is only the third Kermit figure Palisades has made, the first being “naked” Kermit and the second being Tuxedo Kermit. And like Tuxedo Kermit, Koozebane Kermit is a retail exclusive. So you’ll only find him at Target, like you could only find Tuxedo Kermit at Toys R Us. The first thing you’ll notice about Kermit is that he’s not alone in the package—not by a long shot. Kermit comes with a mini Koozebane playset and five Koozebanians.
Kermit is dressed in his traditional tan trenchcoat, grey slacks, white shirt and striped tie. The clothing is remarkably well sculpted and painted, with the trenchcoat especially worn, wrinkled and detailed. He’s not quite “Columbo,” but he’s just right to be a Reporter Kermit. He’s not wearing any shoes, because flippers are meant to be seen. Kermit’s “skin” has that wonderful Muppety texture that Palisades has been putting on these figures since Series 1, and it adds realism to the figure.
Because Kermit is dressed, Palisades was able to include more articulation than on the Naked Kermit. So he’s got jointed elbows, wrists, shoulders, neck, legs, and feet, making him much more poseable than Kermit of yesteryear. He also comes with a little microphone, so he can report on the goings-on of Koozebane.
The mini-playset that Kermit comes with is a shrunken version of a Koozebane Playset that had been tentatively planned; even though this is small, it’s very detailed and together with the Koozebanians really sets the stage for Kermit. A greyish rock outcropping about waist-high to the frog, it has several level spots so you can pose the aliens in various positions, and has blackened craters from all of the explosions that happen on that freaky world.
The aliens include a male Koozebanian, who’s orange with a funnel-shaped mouth and a sort of feathery/scaled body; the female Koozebanian, red with a hose nose, long eyelashes, and a big smile; baby Koozebanian looks like an upside-down strawberry with eyes, and there are two red Merliodops mounted permanently on the base. Think of red “Whack-A-Moles” and you’ve got the Merliodops. The adult Koozebanians both have moving arms, and are great additions to the Muppets line.
This is a great pack of action figures and toys for the price of one figure—and Target is happily selling this for the same price as their other action figures. Many retailers who land an action figure exclusive will add a dollar or two to the price, knowing that collectors will be clamoring after that special figure. Kudos (or another granola bar of your choice) to Target for keeping the price down—even though there are six characters in the package.
If you know anyone who’s a fan of Kermit, or the Muppets in general, this would make a fine gift—it’s only at Target, and will be in stores from now until Christmas, accompanying three different waves of Muppet shipments to the big red bullseye. So grab one for your boss, your sibling, your kids, your friends. Because a year from now, you’ll wish you had.
The next wave of Muppet Action Figures is going to include Gonzo and Camilla, Janice (yay!), the Muppet Newsman, and Pepe. So start saving those pennies now. You can thank me later.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 8.99
Type of Toy: Action Figure
Age Range of Child: Whole Family
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Epinions.com ID:
JediKermit
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 in Movies, Kids & Family, Books |
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Member: Quinn
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Reviews written: 2122
Trusted by: 597 members
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Books, Movies, and Toys. Is there more to life?
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