Animal Mega Muppet (2002)
Figure & Set:
Packaging:

Produced by Palisades

Features:

• Collar and chain
  
• Two drumsticks
  

Asking Price: US$25.99

My Advice: Own It.

Sweet mother of God. It's a foot-tall Animal action figure, guaranteed to scare the living crap out of all the other figures you own. Let's face it--foot-tall Muppet figures are cool as hell to begin with, but the people at Palisades did not stop there.

First of all, you've got a stunning fourteen points of articulation--shins, hips, waist, shoulders, upper arms, wrists, neck, jaw and...get this...eyebrows. That's right, the trademarked "Lowered-Eyebrows Look" from Animal (normally done when he's panting for breath) is quite doable. So is the dropped jaw about-to-charge look. Just amazing stuff. The wrist and ankle manacles are all movable and can spin--if for some reason you want them adjusted--as well as the collar, which hangs loose and can be turned so that the chain falls where you wish.

The attention to detail and the intricacy of the plasticwork here is extremely impressive. The most obvious thing you notice is the hair on Animal's face, which looks perfect. But then once you pick him up, you notice that the texture of his skin is...well, truly, a Muppet's skin. Not to mention the fact that the paintjob on him is just flat out flawless.

A word must be said about the balance of the figure as well. We've all been frustrated as hell to find that the cool looking figure we just got might look cool, but it won't stand up to save your misbegotten life. At first, looking at Animal here--with his knees bent, leaning forward stance--I thought we were doomed. And it's one thing to have a five-inch tall figure fall over, but a foot-tall figure careening off your desktop is another matter entirely. Very quickly, though, on the first try, Animal stood up no problems. The stance was perfectly setup to balance him in an upright position. I can't tell you how impressed I was by this.

I wish I could come up with a detraction for this figure, but I'm at a loss. Any Muppet fan will want to snag it immediately.