Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Walt Disney Classics Collection

Whenever I work the gallery floor ("Cinderella's Balcony") at work, I get to look at pretty much every type of Disney collectible in existence. Jim Shore, Lennox, Armani, Giclees, that one Lion King sericel that so one buys, that $10,000 original Tiki Room painting that has been in the store forever, petite prints, posters, postcards, Precious Moments, the new Art on Demand machine that no Guest ever really goes nuts over but at least 70% of the Cast Members already have something picked out (including myself). Yeah, that's the gallery. And out of all of the different collections we have up there, my hands-down favorite is the Walt Disney Classics Collection (WDCC).

The WDCC is really special, to me, because every color used to paint the figures are the exact same colors that were used in the original film. Not to mention that th
e WDCC figures are replicated to match the films as much as possible, as opposed to those Ariel Armani figures with the stylized distorted faces or the Starlight Originals that are totally awesome in design but are absolutely hideous close-up (Maleficent dragon is totally bad ass, but Maleficent herself has a face that only a mother could love.... if she's lucky).

Right now I don't have any WDCC figures, but I'm starting to really get into them. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, so I won't buy any figure that looks distorted no matter how much I love the character (remember my Ariel snowglobe? So far she's the height of sculpted perfection in my opinion, and I haven't bought any Ariel figure after her since). There was a really great limited edition Mulan WDCC figure released a couple of years ago, titled "Triumphant", but on the colored version, Mulan's face didn't look quite right. Anyway, the following are the WDCCs that I've found that really get me hyped up and excited about the whole figure line and pumps my collector's adrenaline to the max.

The One With My Name On It
Title: "Perfectly Poised"
Character: Mulan, Mulan (1998)
MSRP: $150
Size: 8 1/4"
Release Date: September 18, 2007

So far out of all of the Mulan figures and dolls that I have tracked down, this is "the one". "Triumphant" depicted Mulan riding Khan while wearing the
Crest of the Emperor and equipped with Shan-Yu's sword. Although that outfit is my favorite (and Khan looked awesome to boot), the facial sculpt for this one is just so much better (and settling for my second favorite outfit isn't so bad =P).

The One I'm Keeping an Eye On
Title: "Hop Low"
Character: Hop Low, Fantasia (1940)
MSRP: $45
Size: 2 3/4"
Release Date: Some time in 1998, I think

This one I managed to find on eBay and I'm not letting it slip past me, considering how old it is (the au
ction has 3 days left on it). From the first Fantasia film, my favorite segments have always been "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" and "The Nutcracker Suite: The Chinese Dance". Pretty much everything else puts me to sleep. When I saw the little mushrooms at the Fantasia Gardens mini-golf course at MGM studios 8 years ago, I flipped out. Hop Low is so freakin' adorable, I don't know how anyone can not love him.

The One I Can't Afford... Right Now
Title: "A Dress A Princess Can Be Proud Of"
Character: Princess Aurora's Dress, Sleeping Beauty (1959)
MSRP: $545
Size: 9 3/4"
Release Date: March 19, 1999

Out of all of the Princess dresses, this one is my favorite. And it has to be pink. I was watching this one on eBay, where it's goi
ng for around $150 (which is really good considering that it's from '99 and it's a limited edition piece of 5,000 units), but I'm keeping away for now even though I technically can afford it. I think the aesthetics and sculpt of this one is absolutely amazing. AND it comes with a removable glass encasing! =O

The One I Have No Spac
e For
Title: "A Tea Party In Wonderland"
Character: Alice, the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, Tea Party garden, Alice in Wonderland (1951)
MSRP: $395
Size: 5 1/2"... wait a minute. I do have space for it. o_O
Release Date: Some time in 1998

Okay. I'm stupid. I do have space for this. Anyway! The
Mad Tea Party is my absolute favorite part of Alice in Wonderland. I'm also quite obsessed with the theme park ride. This is from the WDCC's "Enchanted Places" line and is a limited edition of 4,500 pieces (there's also one of the White Rabbit's house). I found it on eBay and is currently going for $50 (WHUT.). The auction still has 3 days left on it, so we'll see how much it goes up by.


The One I'll Get If I Have a Wad of Cash to Spare
Title: "Royal Fanfare"
Character: The White Rabbit, Alice in Wonderland (1951)
MSRP: $75
Size: 3 1/2"
Release Date: January 2004

OR

Title: "Come On, Lucky..."
Character: Lucky, 101 Dalmations (1961)
MSRP: $150
Size: Lucky - 2 1/2", TV - 8"
Release Date: 1996 (was in production until 1999)

It's a toss-up between these 2. Both are on eBay, although Lucky costs a bit more... Oh the agony!

So there you have it! My current WDCC "wishlist". This is a great website if you want to look at what has been immortalized in figure form so far. Oh yeah, and there's also a Walt Disney Collector's Society. It costs $50 to join, and your membership includes an exclusive figure for that year (last year was Ariel and this year is Cinderella) and a pin of that figure. There are also WDCC figures that only Collector's Society member's can buy. I may join next year if the figure is any good (there's a great "Members Only" Steamboat Willie Mickey figure at work).

Until then!

2 comments:

Sheenz said...

I LOVE THE WDCC! I keep looking all over the net for good pictures. Thanks for the site! I'll probably make an entry about it too. You're so lucky you get to see them all everytime haha. The Alice in Wonserland one is one of my favorites. Hope you get what you want soon!

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Right now I don't have any WDCC figures, but I'm starting to really get into them. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, so I won't buy any figure that looks distorted no matter how much I love the character (remember my Ariel snowglobe? So far she's the height of sculpted perfection in my opinion, and I haven't bought any Ariel figure after her since). There was a really great limited edition Mulan WDCC figure released a couple of years ago, titled "Triumphant", but on the colored version, Mulan's face didn't look quite right. Anyway, the following are the WDCCs that I've found that really get me hyped up and excited about the whole figure line and pumps my collector's adrenaline to the max.
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