Out of the Toybox (75): McFarlane at the Movies

 

Two decades later it is hard to remember what a phenomenon Mike Myers and the Austin Powers craze was for a while. Not only was the first movie (1997) hilarious, but it was also a bridge between generations, a mediation between the Sixties and the Late Nineties. Almost a meditation about how we could move into the 21^st Century, remove the dross of the past, and still retain our identity. But in 2002 came Austin Powers: Goldmember and that was the end of the franchise. People had had enough. When an action figure of the character Fat Bastard came out, it was actually labelled Fat Man on the card, as it was deemed it would be objectionable since, as a toy, children might see it.  Austin's glasses did not survive.

[The only reason I have these Gatekeeper figures from Little Nicky is because it came in a two-pack with a 'Bigfoot' figure.]

Also seen here are action figures from The X-Files movie (1998), the Adam Sandler vehicle Little Nicky (2000), Bob and Doug McKenzie (from both SCTV and their movie Strange Brew 1985), and Don Corleone from The Godfather (1972).

Beginning in 1998 McFarlane began releasing a series called Movie Maniacs, typically featuring one monstrous character per movie franchise. Here are the three versions of The Thing (1982 movie), Brundlefly from The Fly (1986 movie), and Darkness (Legend, 1985).

Sleepy Hollow (1999), Twilight (of all things) 2008, Beetlejuice (1988), Ghostbusters (1984), Edward Scissorhands (1990), The Crow (1994), and The Blair Witch Project (1999).

While researching Movie Maniacs, I saw that this was coming out this year:

What are they trying to do to me?!