With thanks to Oilyvalves for lending me a review copy!
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| Thanks also to Caffe Bolero, Worcester for the table :P |
As happened with G4, merchandise for G5 of My Little Pony is inching its way onto the shelves, at least on this side of the Atlantic. We still don't have much, but things are very gradually improving. This Tattle Tales book and figure set is an example, and since it's now easily available to us in the UK it's probably about time I wrote something about it. Get ready for the lowdown, folks! Just make sure you're "3 years and up", all right? Wouldn't want you to see something unsuitable for your age...
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| At top left, you can see how everything fits together |
From the publicity photos and the fact that both series are published by Phidal, you might be expecting something similar to the My Busy Book collection. In fact, Tattle Tales is quite a bit smaller than that – roughly speaking, think A5 rather than A4 and you won't be too far off. Inside the front cover, the top part holds a, well, holder for the small figures within. It's fairly fiddly to fit back once you remove it, but not too bad. The bottom part has the removable board book, which causes fewer problems.
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| That's my Pipp, conscious of the camera as always |
There are four pony figures in the set. Can you guess which one gets the short end of the stick? Got it in one. This is rubbed in a bit by the fact that Hitch is quite prominent on the front cover – and in the story itself, although even there he's given the second-class treatment. I suppose it's spoilery to say too much, but the very last page of the storybook does rather underline Hitch's position as the fifth-gen Applejack. See the last para of this review for a few more details. It's a very simple tale about the ponies learning to work together, but no complaints about that.
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| Cutie marks on one side only, in traditional Hasbro fashion |
On the plus side, the figures themselves are really quite nicely made. For the price, that is: don't go expecting custom quality. They're slimmer than the magazine-mounted figures, but that's the general level you're looking at. It is good to see very different moulds being used for Pipp and Zipp, though: no repeat here of the infamous early days of G4 blind bags, in which Fluttershy's model was simply a recoloured Rainbow Dash. There's a notable variety in height, with Izzy the tallest, followed by Sunny, Zipp and Pipp. Yes, all those "smol Pipp" memes live on!
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| Not the most imaginative cover design, but it's bright and cheerful |
In truth, there's not a lot more that needs to be said about the Tattle Tales set, since I suspect that nearly everyone likely to be reading this blog will be getting it for the figures rather than the storybook. I personally wouldn't be keen on paying much more than a tenner for the set – but at that price it is, if not quite a steal, nevertheless a pretty solid purchase. It's not as if there's much choice just yet when it comes to small G5 figures, after all. Just... can we maybe have a Hitch as well next time? Please?
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| A very rare sighting of your genial host('s hand) |
Edit: on second thoughts, I will say a little about the book itself, so avoid if you're really fussy about even minor spoilers. The book introduces the mane characters, starting with Sunny and then progressing through Izzy, Hitch, Zipp and Pipp. Each gets a double-page spread, though (why does this seem so inevitable?) Hitch's section has only one pic of the stallion himself, with the other side taken up by... Sunny and Izzy. Right at the end there's a wrap-up about how the ponies ("with Hitch") are off on an adventure.
At the time of writing, you can pick up Tattle Tales for £9.59 from Amazon UK.
It's strange how that Hasbro were hyping Hitch up as the first main male character in the franchise, however they don't seem to do much with him merchandise wise compared to the other four.
ReplyDeleteIt'll be about their bottom line, I guess, and maybe he just doesn't do too well commercially. I have no idea.
Deletethe very last page of the storybook does rather underline Hitch's position as the fifth-gen Applejack.
ReplyDeleteWell, barnacles. I know it's not as clear-cut as deliberate malice – it's almost a guarantee that what's going on here is Hasbro produces far less of Hitch because all the market research, tracking and sales of his solo figures (as opposed to bundles) show there just isn't a big enough demand.
Basically the same trap that the Disney Princess line falls into, making less of the Princesses that don't sell as well, thus intensifying the problem. Which is probably what happened with Applejack too, though given my 2018 fandom entry, I can't attest to that directly.
I hope Hitch gets more of a chance to shine in the merch lines' future, though given we're going to start seeing character introduced in the special/show soon, that could prove trickier. Imagine if one of the new players ended up more prominent in merchandising than Hitch! That would be… discouraging.
There's a notable variety in height, with Izzy the tallest, followed by Sunny, Zipp and Pipp.
That's a little inaccurate to the source material, as Zipp is actually slightly taller than Sunny, or at least the same height. Though truthfully Hitch, Zipp and Sunny are all so close in size and height that depending on what screenshot you're looking at, you could swap the height order any which way, though I myself have it at Hitch -> Zipp -> Sunny. something to bear in mind going forward! Though I more noticed the proportion differences in the film, with Izzy being slightly stockier, Sunny slightly slimmer, and so forth.
That's a little inaccurate to the source material
DeleteOfficial MLP toys, inaccurate? Say it ain't so! ;) I'm sure the fandom will get right on this, but on G4 form it may take Hasbro and their licensees a tad longer. :P
The problem with Hitch (for me) is that he's boring. He has no personality quirks and seems to be just there to react to more active characters. He's useful for presenting the status quo view of things as a contrast to the others, but since when does that excite anybody?
ReplyDeleteNow that's interesting, as a common view among my immediate circle was that Hitch was a more satisfying character than they'd expected from the initial "he's the sheriff and he sticks to the rules" previews. Maybe James Marsden's voice acting helped, and that could be a problem when the series has to get by without him. But right now, Hitch is probably second equal favourite of mine among the Mane Five, level with Izzy and behind Sunny.
DeleteThat is also interesting, and I would have to second Logan – not just among those I interact with directly, but in virtually all areas of online interaction I've witnessed, and polls, when people rank the Mane 5, it's virtually always Sunny, Izzy and Hitch shifting around the top three spots (granted, Izzy wins most of the time), while Zipp/Pipp are stuck in the last two spots. Understandable, it reflects how well the film utilised them, and how prominent they were.
DeleteYes, Hitch is no Izzy, and truthfully, he's probably no Sunny either. Certainly, in his role in the plot and group, I can't dissuade anyone from seeing him as the token guy if they are inclined that way. Not in the way Spike was, who was made out as a butt monkey. More like a reversal of shows (live-action and animated) from decades past where you had one token female in a cast of males and their role/personality was, sadly, little more then reacting to the craziness of the males. And I'm not complaining at reversing that, we all need and want great female characters.
But I think even if one is not won over by Hitch's satisfying arc and earnestness in the film (no joke, his "I want to do my part" bit is my favourite moment in the flick), I would have to debate the personality quirks moment. He doesn't get as much humour as Izzy, sure, but between his laser focus on litter, "saving" a kid, his hilarious tracking monologue with the bunnies, the ridiculousness of his disguise (and that fake moustache), and many more, he's definitely got quirks. Even if a lot of him is reacting to what's going on, he's got enough oddball-ness to how he carries himself (for a property aimed this young with the edges sanded off) that he's not boring. Least to me, anyway.
I will concede that, like most of the cast, he's designed as a movie character for this one story, without a clear-cut personality and path for the new series. Truthfully, only Izzy comes ready-made for moving to the series, at least in the same way the G4 Mane 6 were designed to have complex, relatable personalities suited to numerous adventures and slice-of-life stories. That's not to say characters can't be expanded personality-wise in directions not even hinted at in the film (Zipp and Pipp are basically banking on this), but it's certainly harder.
And Logan's totally right, James Marsden's voice was honestly no less important to his character than Kimoko Glenn was to Izzy, and I think Hitch stands to lose by far the most in that department and how it affects his character in the new show.
Of course, the Make Your Mark special and show could come out, flounder on his character, and make me look like a fool in hindsight. And, you know, sometimes that happens. But sticking to the film, the above will remain true no matter what the rest of G5 does.