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REVIEW:
DISNEY STORE PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 6" FIGURES
By Thomas Wheeler

Easily one of the most popular movie genres to come along in recent years has been Disney's two (with a third on the way) movies based on PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN, one of their most popular theme park attractions, which initially opened in 1967. The movies have been so popular, that the ride has been overhauled to accommodate some of the characters, notably Captain Jack Sparrow, a quirky, yet somewhat charming, rogue played by the often just as quirky Johnny Depp.

Pirates are everywhere now, especially in the toy aisle, and while there are action figures based on Pirates of the Caribbean from a company called Zizzle, in a 3-3/4" and 6" size, the Disney Store, of course, wanted to turn out their own merchandise. This includes a line of 6" action figures, two of which I was sent recently for a general observational review.

For starters, the figures are in some very creative packaging. They're sealed in plastic on all sides, not unlike a Marvel Legends figure, but the "bubble" in which the figure appears is designed to look like a huge skull. Nice touch.

The figures I received were Elizabeth Swann, and Will Turner. The workmanship on these figures is nothing short of incredible. The level of both sculpted and painted detail is something that any toy company on the face of the planet should take a good, hard look at, and realize the standards to which they should themselves aspire. The overall detail is on a par with, if not more than, a Marvel Legends figure -- but it's painted more neatly.

Consider some of the sculpting. Will Turner is wearing a tunic under his long coat that is almost comically ornate. Lots of fancy branches and swirls. And yet is has been very carefully sculpted down to very fine detail. There is sculpted texture to his belt, and the pewter-colored belt buckle has been carefully painted. Facial detail is also superbly well done, especially in the eyes.

Now here's what caught my attention on this one. Turner comes with a parrot accessory. And even the bird has an incredible amount of painted detail. He's mostly a brilliant blue, with a yellow underside, but if you take a look at the bird's face, you can see that the eyes have been very carefully painted, there are black spots framing his eyes, and a black beak. The sculpted detail on the feathers on the entire bird is amazing.

Elizabeth Swann is also a very impressive figure. Her outfit has a great many buttons on it, and each one has been carefully painted. There's a good painted and sculpted texture to her hair, and the face is similarly well-detailed.

Articulation looks to be excellent, almost to Marvel Legends levels. Head, arms, an arm swivel just below the shoulder, elbows, wrists, well- articulated legs, knees, and ankles. And most of the articulation points blend in surprisingly well with the highly detailed sculpts.

According to the package back, there are six figures in the line. Two versions of Captain Sparrow, two of Turner, as well as Elizabeth Swann and, of course, Davy Jones.

On the whole, I am very impressed by what I see here. One significant factor is that the Disney Store's figures are much better articulated than the same-size ones marketed by Zizzle everywhere else. A visual inspection of those revealed that they're quite limited in their articulation. Even their 3-3/4" figures are lacking a knee joint. As for Disney Store's 6" Pirates figures, these figures show every evidence of being carefully and intricately designed, produced, and painted. There's a fairly wide range of Pirates of the Caribbean toys available just now, but if you want what look to be the most impressive of the lot, in the "small-to-medium" scale, then I would definitely consider heading to your nearest Disney Store, and checking out their 6" line of PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN figures!

They definitely have my recommendation!