The Truly Portable Pez – Collectable, Cute & Completely Cool!
Written: Jun 19 '04
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Durability: |
 |
|
|
Pros: Fun and functional keychain Pez dispensers.
Cons: No pop up action for the candy, some places overcharge for them.
The Bottom Line: Looking for a cute, cool and detailed keychain? The Pez line from Basic Fun is a great pick!
|
|
|
| Freak369's Full Review: Pez Keychain |
For years now I’ve collected Pez dispensers after getting hooked on them when I was younger and my pen pal sent me a few of them. I was hooked on the candy and never really paid attention to the actual dispensers that came along with them until I found out that one of the Batman ones I’d had packed away was worth a ton of money. That started me into collecting the common ones and eventually led me to buying ones that were released overseas and in Canada. The Pez keychain sized dispensers aren’t anything new, they have been around in one for or another for years now with the earliest being part of a cereal promotion with Lucky Charms and Honey Nut Cheerios. These weren’t key chains but they were the same identical size – so you could say that these were the first generation of “minis” for the Pez family.
One of the biggest things to know about this is that it isn’t an actual Pez product, Basic Fun, the manufacturer received permission to replicate the Pez registered images. This is the same thing that happened with the Pez Yummy Bubbles that Spin Master released; since they aren’t official Pez products, the website won’t carry them so the secondary companies and manufacturers don’t have to worry about people shopping through the Pez Online Store rather than from their vendors. Even so, these cute, colorful and highly detailed key chains are functional and an almost guaranteed conversation starter. So how are these different from regular Pez dispensers? Well, to start with, there’s no spring pop action to push out the candy, you have to flip open the lid and pull it out. Secondly, it only holds a minimal amount of candy [about four pieces for most] so refilling is something that you’ll do often.
The actual keychain component is fairly sturdy but it will break or come apart if it gets caught on something – like going through a doorway or in and out of the car. I’ve lost a few that way and it’s a rather depressing site to see the metal ring hanging from my backpack with no Pez character attached it. These are pretty much kid safe however some of them do have pieces that could break off so resist the urge to hand it over to a small child to play with – especially if they are still in the taste test portion of their life. The head part snaps closed firmly but after a hundred or so opening and closings it will start to wear out, that’s when it’s time to retire it to the display shelf because trust me on this, the last thing you want is Pez candy falling all over the place at the most inopportune moments. These are about half the size of regular dispensers, hence the lack of the spring loading and pop up action. Even so, they are a great way to show your Pez colors and are almost a complete guarantee that someone, somewhere will come up to you and ask where you got it.
Selection
Some of the most popular key chains from Basic Fun include three different Muppet characters – Miss Piggy, Kermit The Frog and Gonzo. You can also pick up The Hulk and Spiderman if you are into the superhero vibe. The Pez clown comes in standard and flashlight form with the latter costing about a dollar or two more than the regular keychain. You can also pick up good old Uncle Sam or the elephant – no donkey yet. A small assortment of animals have been released however Basic Fun doesn’t have any plans for adding some of the more mainstream figures like Bob The Builder or Lion King to their key chain family – it would cost an arm and a leg to get licensing and would make them almost twice the price of the standard ones. The cutest ones have to The Simpson’s – Homer, Marge and Bart – immortalized in plastic! When they were first introduces the Looney Toons ones were pretty popular – who could pass up having Taz, Bugs Bunny or Tweety Bird on their keychain? These were released in 2000 and may not still be in production so if you see them, scoop them up quick!
Price
If you are a retail shopper, your best bet for finding these is Spencer’s Gifts – you know, that funky store in the mall that all the kids that aren’t cool enough for Hot Topic hang out at. Most places charge about $2.95 - $3.95 for these but I’ve seen them for as much as $7.99 at some of the “trendy” stores – namely the small candy store next to the theater that charge $2.49 for a quarter pound of candy. Sorry, I collect Pez but even if this were the only store that carried a certain model – I’d pass on it just on principal. Some sites sell these as sets so you’ll have to do the math on them to see if you are getting a good deal, don’t let them tell you it’s a special set or a promo item – they were all sold as individual items, it’s just their way of trying to make a few more dollars misrepresenting things.
The Bottom Line
These are a great novelty item for anyone that is in love with Pez. If you shop around you can find them for a decent price but beware of stores that are charging more than $4.00 for them. I’ve managed to collect almost every one of them that’s been released in the United States and several from overseas. If you are a Pez collector, these are a great investment for the future since – as you know – eventually they all get retired. If you are interested in getting a catalog from Basic Fun or checking out their website, the contact information is below.
Basic Fun, Incorporated
P.O. Box 1145
Southampton, PA 18966
[215] 364-9676
www.basicfun.com
As always, thanks for the read!
~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~
© 2004 Freak369
Related reviews …
Spin Master Pez Yummy Bubbles
Pez Online Store
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): See Review
Type of Toy: Other
Age Range of Child: Whole Family
|
|
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.