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A Little Scary: Super Impulse Monster High Micro Figures Series 2

Just Another MONSTER MONDAY Super Impulse, purveyors of the smallest toys in the world, have set their electron microscopes on Mattel’s Monster High doll series. For this second release of tiny versions of Abby Abominable, Skelita Calaveras, and Deuce Gorgon join the already available Frankie Stein, Clawdeen Wolf, Draculaura and Ghoulia Yelps.  From Star Trek to The Big Lebowski, Rugrats to…

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Closely Knit Cuties: Super Impulse Zumbies Collectible Dolls

Super Impulse’s Zumbie dolls return from the afterlife with “good juju” to share. Poised on the precipice of the autumnal equinox as we are, it’s time to launch our annual look at new goodies for the upcoming holidays.  First up, a very appropriate collectible for the season of long shadows and scary yarns. High Thread Count… Super Impulse (SI) are noted for their marvelous miniature…

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Spuds at First Sight: Super Impulse's Netflix Series Poptaters

I’ve been following the progress of Super Impulse’s (SI) Poptaters since their launch last year. I was originally grabbed by the shoulders and shaken at the sight of The Big Lebowsky’s “The Dude” rendered as a Mr. Potato Head. The absurd (and hilarious) conflation of Hasbro’s vintage toy line and pop culture characters was a true WTF encounter that turned me into an instant fan. Like the…

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Surrealistic Pillow: Lego's DreamZzz Series & Sets

The Nightmare Shark Ship is just one of the Lego kits based on the DreamZzz Series. Dalí Swagger… The Lego Company’s booth at the 2023 New York Toy Fair offered buyers and reporters a view of the breadth of the company’s original and licensed product lines. From Star Wars to Harry Potter, Ninjago to DC and Marvel Comicbook characters, each skew was featured in its own display case. Lego has…

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Little Things Mean A Lot: Think Super Impulse Miniatures for Valentine and Beyond

Super Impulse novelties will help you stay out from behind the 8 ball on Valentine’s Day. My Tiny Valentine… I’m not a prognosticator, but I can predict your future accurately if you manage to overlook Valentine’s Day. I know, I know! It seems like you just used all your brain cells picking out the perfect holiday gifts for your loved ones. Now V-Day has snuck up on you with an equally…

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This Time It's Personal: Godzilla Minus One

Desaturation Nation… Godzilla Minus One has begun its final week in North American theaters. The newest installment of the 70 year King of the Monsters saga will be highlighted on the big screen by a black-and-white version through its last screenings on February 1, 2024. Director Takahashi Yamazaki notes that the “minus color” iteration “is not just a simple black and white version,” […] “The…

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Frightening Flickers: MoMI Halloween Event

The Museum of the Moving Image recently celebrated the essence of the Halloween season with a gala costume party held on the premises. Located in Astoria Queens, New York – a neighborhood linked to the filmmaking industry for over 100 years – the museum offers visitors a detailed look at the historical and technological gestation of the art of cinema. Hosted in partnership with YELP, museum…

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Wednesday Friday, I'm in Love: Goth Princess in Toyland

Wednesday Addams and sidekick Thing as Toy Tokyo Plush Phunny Dolls. It’s Wednesday Wednesday… Wednesday Friday Addams, the pig-tailed, oval faced, little girl with a deadpan demeanor and a predilection for beheading her dolls, has come a long way since her creation at the imaginative pen of cartoonist Charles Addams.  Originally published in The New Yorker Magazine, the characters of Addams’…

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Pong Unplugged: Fat Brain's VolleyShot Offers Simple & Enjoyable Gameplay

Fat Brain Toy’s VolleyShot at Toy Fair New York 2023 Slap Happy… Despite exponential tech advances in video gaming, Pong is still my favorite. My Dad and I spent hours in front of our 13” black & white TV trying to stop that pesky pixel from getting past our paddles. That is what drew my interest to Fat Brain Toy’s VolleyShot during the Toy Association‘s 2023 Toy Fair New York.  VolleyShot can…

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Whose Nexus?: A Life (House) with "Who's Next"

In 1971, an unrealized sci-fi film concept, the teachings of Sufi Master Meher Baba, an acetate of new tunes, and an inspired jam session with Leslie West, all informed what became the Who’s Next album. 52 years ago today, what is now considered a milestone album in the history of rock music, Who’s Next was released. With a massive Super Deluxe Edition of early 70s Who music looming I had cause…

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'Tater Skins: Super Impulse Poptaters Offer an Array of Fan Favorites

Hot Mash… Super Impulse, famous for their line of impossibly small replications of iconic toys, games and products, showed off a basket full of their Poptaters at the recent Toy Insider Sweet Suite Event. Poptaters are a mash-up of Hasbro’s Mr. Potato Head, and the world of pop culture personalities. A bit bigger than SI’s usual licensed collectibles, Poptators feature characters from fandoms…

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Tot Fun in the Summertime: Toy Insider's Sweet Suite 2023

The Toy Insider’s (TI) Sweet Suite event was back in full swing this past week. The 2023 installment brought together media outlets from across the continent. National news agencies to social app influencers of all ages convened at Manhattan’s Chelsea Pier to alert the public to what will be the most sort after toys throughout the summer and into the year-end gifting season. Secret Origin… To…

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Amazing Journey: American Museum of Natural History Previews Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation

The Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation melds unique organic architecture with the classic facades of The American Museum of Natural History. (Images © 2023 Peter M. Parrella) Come on the Amazing Journey…. I know quoting a song by The Who is pretty cliché for me, but I could not think of a better description of my experience at the newest wing of the American Museum of Natural…

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Banana Bred: WowWee Fingerlings Return

We’re a Happy Family… You’ve heard about the monkey’s uncle I’m sure, but at the recent toy industry event The PlayDate (hosted by The Toy Association and The Toy Insider) I was introduced to the monkey’s cousins! Yes, returning to toy shelves soon are WowWee Toys’ beloved baby monkeys, the Fingerlings.  The original Fingerlings offered an interactive toy pet experience in a very relatable…

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Two Inches of Terror: Diamond Select's "What If..." Zombie Mini-Mates

Two Inches of Terror: Diamond Select’s “What If…” Zombie Mini-Mates

Uh-Oh, Cap is looking hangry and you’re on the menu! (All photos are courtesy of Diamond Select Toys) Diamond Select Toys celebrates the 20th anniversary of their Mini-Mates action figure line with a box set that pays tribute to the Marvel animated series What If… as seen on the Disney Plus streaming service. Mini-Mates are two inch tall, articulated figures that have been designed under a…

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Breaking Views

“It’s Stuff We Like and You Might Too” A Visual sampling of our latest Adventures and Undertakings

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Better Run Through the Jungle: Noble Toys Meets Universal Monsters

Better Run Through the Jungle: Noble Toys Meets Universal Monsters

It’s Monster Monday Again! The Noble Collection’s Creature From the Black Lagoon Bendy Fig captured in a paper craft jungle. “A sleepy lagoon, a tropical moon, and two on an island” is how the lyrics of the 1940 Number 1 hit song imagines a jungle paradise. That’s certainly not what Julie Adams and Richard Carlson encountered when their archeological team traveled down the Amazon in the now…