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Hello MousePlanet! It's the Top 5 guy here dipping back into one of my older series about all that Disney Stuff that we all seem to collect, acquire and accumulate. I spent years writing about all of the various Disney merchandise, collectibles and all sorts of Disney Stuff that has managed to find its way onto the shelves and into the drawers of this house. It's been a while since I wrote about it, but that in no way shape or form means that I've given up on the collecting end. At times I feel like I have more stuff than ever before. My dear friend Robert always told me that, "You have to rotate your stuff. Keep a bunch of it packed away and every once in a while rotate what you have on display. That way it keeps things fresh looking on your shelves." Robert and I always put a little too much thought into our various collections, but he was right and I'm about due to rotate some things in an out of my visible collection. The problem is, of course, that there's always something new to collect! With Disney being the massive merchandise juggernaut that they are, there's never a shortage of new, cool things to acquire. That's on top of all of the old, cool things that I'm still on the hunt for. Case in point being the collection I'm writing about today, the McFarlane Toys Disney Multiverse Collection.
One of the cool things about writing for a Disney website is that you can find yourself on certain press email lists. For instance, I have been covering New York Comic Con for MousePlanet for many years now. Since I'm official press, I get daily press releases in my MousePlanet email box alerting me to just about everything going on in the comic related world. As most of you might imagine, that's not just comic books. Far from it. I get press releases for books, movies, games and yes, plenty of press releases on toys and collectibles. When I see the Disney name in a press release, I obviously take notice. Such was the case last week when I saw that one of the biggest names in the action figure world, McFarlane Toys, was partnering with Disney to release toys based on the upcoming mobile game, Disney Multiverse.
Just for a little background, McFarlane Toys is the brainchild of Todd McFarlane, best known as the creator of the Spawn series of comics. McFarlane's industry cred goes back a bit further than the 1992 release of the first Spawn issue though. Todd got his start in the big leagues at none other than DC comics working on Batman and later moving over to Marvel to work on titles like The Incredible Hulk and The Amazing Spiderman. Legend has it that his entry into the massively lucrative action figure industry came after he was partnering with toy giant Mattel on a series of Spawn action figures when he decided he could do it better himself and went out on his own. I couldn't even begin to list the number of intellectual properties that McFarlane Toys has worked with. Suffice it to say that they have released action figures of just about everyone from The Simpsons to Kiss and from Freddie Krueger to Freddy Mercury and everything in between. To my knowledge, this is the first partnership between McFarlane and Disney.
"As a kid, I grew up mesmerized by the storytelling of Disney. The creativity and visual playground of Disney and Pixar in many mediums have enriched all our lives and were instrumental in growing my passion for art, designing, and creating," said Todd McFarlane, McFarlane Toys CEO and Creative Force. "We are excited to collaborate with Disney to create figures for these original Disney Mirrorverse character designs with some surprising twists! We will approach the crafting of each figure with the authentic details and rich storytelling you expect from McFarlane Toys and Disney."
It sounds like McFarlane is pretty excited to be partnering at long last with Disney. But what exactly is Disney Mirrorverse you may be asking? I wish I was able to say that I have a bunch of information about that. But I can't. What I can gather is that it's a mobile game, meaning it's being released for phones and tablets as opposed to video game consoles. It's being produced with a company called Kabam known for producing such mobile games as Marvel Contest of Champions and Transformers: Forged to Fight. You can follow this link to the Disney Mirrorverse site and sign up to receive email blasts with future announcements. Other than that, the website and the early word out there on the game is pretty vague at best. Even the press materials didn't really give away too much. Here is a direct quote from the press release:
Disney Mirrorverse transports Disney fans and RPG gamers into an all-new, divergent universe to battle against unrelenting dark forces. Disney and Pixar characters evolved and empowered in unexpected and authentic ways as Guardians must defend the Mirrorverse from a malevolent threat.
Sounds intriguing to say the least. Luigi Priore, VP, Disney & Pixar Games says that, "The creation of this new universe will usher in new stories and experiences which fans can enjoy in-game and beyond." As a gamer and a Disney fan, they had me at hello. This isn't the first time that Disney has brought its characters to life in a slightly altered video game universe. Fans of Disney and legendary video game franchise Final Fantasy have been enjoying the Kingdom Hearts series of games for several years now and the toy collections birthed from that partnership are much sought after by collectors, this writer included.
That said there's no better place for these toys to be landing than with Todd McFarlane. McFarlane Toys is known for creating extremely detailed figures with many articulation points making them extremely playable or, at the very least, extremely poseable for guys like me that are going to put them up on a shelf. They're widely known in the collectible toy world as perhaps the gold standard in action figure creation. The Disney Mirrorverse Collection looks like it's following in that rich history of Disney storytelling and McFarlane craftsmanship. Let's take a look at some of the images they have released so far of the upcoming collection.
The collection is broken into two size classes. There are 7-inch figures and 5-inch figures. As far as the smaller ones go, what Disney collection would be complete without our fearless leader, Mickey Mouse himself. Mickey seems to be in some version of his Fantasia sorcerer outfit and I'm not too sure what he's holding.
Sorcerer Mickey in his yellow Mirrorverse outfit. ©Disney
Belle is dressed in her winter coat and appears to be wielding a staff with her famous rose at the head.
We'll have to wait and see what power Belle's rose contains. ©Disney
Goofy is wearing a helmet, boots and is carrying what looks like a boomerang.
Goofy seems ready for action. ©Disney
Sulley looks ready for battle with his yellow armor, reminiscent of the Child Detection Agency outfits from the Monster's Inc. films..
Sulley in his new Disney Mirrorverse armor. ©Disney
There are two larger 7-inch figures so far. One is Captain Jack Sparrow with his long coat on and armed with some sort of purple fire-like weapon in his hands…
Captain Jack is always ready to cross blades with the enemy. ©Disney
...and Buzz Lightyear looks…pretty much like he usually looks, but surely ready for battle.
Buzz seems the least altered of the characters so far. ©Disney
I have to say, from a Disney fan perspective, these figures look pretty cool. As I finish writing this, I'm quite sure I'm going to pre-order Mickey, just because…it's Mickey Mouse for goodness sakes, in a new sorcerer looking outfit. Yes. I must have that. The 5-inch collection will be in stores nationwide in August. You'll have to wait until September to physically purchase the 7-inch collection in those same stores. All of the figures are, however, available for pre-order. If you're so inclined you can do so by visiting the McFarlane Toys Mirroverse site.
Only time will tell if this latest Disney video game incarnation will be a hit. No release date has been set as of yet. But the toys are on their way. So make some room on your shelves. I've already got a spot for Mickey. How about you?
That's it for this time. It was fun revisiting my Disney Stuff days and talking to you all about some more cool collectibles. As always, I'd like to hear what you have to say. Click on the link below to share your thoughts on this latest Disney collection. Stay safe and I'll see you some other time with more of that great Disney Stuff that we all love so much. In the meantime, if this was your cup of Disney tea, make sure to check out MousePlanet's own Gregg Jacobs for his once a month look into the world of Disney shopping and collectibles. Gregg and I are kindred spirits when it comes to collecting and acquiring all things Disney. He's a MousePlanet must read for sure.
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