How Miss Piggy Broke My Heart...With a Karate Chop
Written: Nov 21 '02 (Updated May 07 '03)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Durability: |
 |
|
|
Pros: A must-have character--the hair-down version is a gem
Cons: Lack of texture and realism that the rest of the Muppet toys have
The Bottom Line: The hottest bacon on two legs gets a stripped-down Palisades Treatment.
|
|
|
| JediKermit's Full Review: Palisades The Muppet Show: Miss Piggy 6" Figure |
Palisades Toys has just won a lifelong fan and my undying gratitude. If my firstborn weren’t so frigging cute, I’d package him up and mail him right off to them. Their new line of “The Muppet Show” action figures is the most detailed, well-designed, comprehensive line of Muppet collectibles ever produced, and is sure to go down in Toy History as one of the best toy lines of all time.
And YES, smarty-pants, there ARE Toy Historians!
Of the five action figures in the first wave (Kermit, Piggy, Dr. Teeth, Bunsen and Beaker), there’s only one weak one. And that one, loath as I am to say it, is my own true love, the radiant Miss Piggy. Miss Piggy stands almost six inches tall, and everything that’s RIGHT about the rest of the action figures, they’ve done WRONG with the Pig of my Dreams.
For example, the texturing. On the other four figures, they’ve done an outstanding job making the texture of the figures realistic (in Muppet terms), giving them a felt, foam rubber, or furry texture that befits their puppetish natures. On Miss Piggy, she’s got porcelain (or porcine) smooth skin, more like a cartoony drawing of Miss Piggy than a sculpture. Which is fine, and this cartoony version of her does look good, but it doesn’t fit in with the “vision” of the rest of the line of toys. If they had watched their comrades’ show, “Sesame Street,” maybe they would have realized that “one of these things is not like the other.”
Another detail that Palisades changed (per request of Jim Henson Company, the way I understand it) is that
Miss Piggy has slimmed down quite a bit. Not as much bacon on those pork loins. She’s looking good, don’t get me wrong, but not as accurate to the porker that we know and love. She looks more like a Marilyn Monroe than a Miss Piggy. So this may be the idealized version of the Pig that Henson wanted to see in the toy line, but the reality is a bit heavier. Her arms do look right—slender, gloved, and she’s got enough joints built into her arms to give her the flexibility for a loving caress or a karate chop!
Anyway, those are my gripes with the action figure. The face sculpt does look good, even untextured; she’s wearing a dark purple gown (again, different from the pale lavender she usually wore on the show) and her trademark elbow-length evening gloves. She’s got a slit going pretty far up her leg, which is nice (and yes you can see her panties…I know you’d check just like I did…) and saucy (barbecue saucy!). Her blonde hair is pulled up in a bun kinda thing at the back of her head, and there are a few strands hanging down behind…it’s a nice enough look for her, but one that she wore so infrequently that I found myself wishing that she had been mass released with her honey-colored locks hanging down to her shoulders. There IS a variant available from EB, which has her hair “down,” and it looks much better than the “hair up” version. Look for that one.
Miss Piggy’s accessories are very nicely thought out, and include a real feather boa (she looks HOTTTT with it wrapped around her shoulders), a hand mirror, and a vanity with an oval shaped mirror. All in purple, naturally. She also has the Muppet Show base/stand that the rest of the figures have. In her case it’s more necessary with the others—when you’re that tall and you’re just standing on your little hooves (in high heels no less) you’re more apt to fall over. The one accessory not included that I wish had been is her little dog Foo-Foo…he would have made up for a multitude of imagined sins.
Despite my gripes with the figure, She is a Must-Have. She looks great with her frog (my friend Tim discovered that he could ride her piggy-back)(don’t take that any further) and with the rest of the Muppets; if you can still find the “hair down” version at EB, you’ll have a real diva on your hands. She’s one of the classic characters of television and film, and she’s a wonderful addition to any Muppet or toy collection. Pig her up today!
**********************************************
MORE Muppet Action Figures? You BET!
Series One
Kermit the Frog http://www.epinions.com/content_81549233796
Dr. Teeth http://www.epinions.com/content_81569549956
Dr. Bunsen Honeydew http://www.epinions.com/content_81822191236
Series Two
Fozzie Bear http://www.epinions.com/content_85935820420
Crazy Harry http://www.epinions.com/content_98525613700
Floyd Pepper http://www.epinions.com/content_98514865796
Gonzo the Great http://www.epinions.com/content_98463813252
Series Three
Scooter http://www.epinions.com/content_91825081988
Lew Zealand http://www.epinions.com/content_91457293956
Zoot http://www.epinions.com/content_91549830788
Rowlf http://www.epinions.com/content_90764316292
Playsets
Muppet Labs with Beaker http://www.epinions.com/content_81755606660
Electric Mayhem Stage with Animal http://www.epinions.com/content_98538262148
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 7.99
Type of Toy: Action Figure
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
JediKermit
|
 in Movies, Kids & Family, Books |
 - Top 100 |
|
Member: Quinn
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Reviews written: 2189
Trusted by: 601 members
About Me:
Books, Movies, and Toys. Is there more to life?
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.