Before Christmas and The Christmas Spot can begin, we have another Christmas toy to look at. This one comes courtesy of Super7 and its Super Size line. The Super Size line is a line of vinyl figures that stand around 17″ in height. These are big figures, and being that they’re vinyl, they’re not really articulated. They’re kind of like jumbo versions of their ReAction figures and some of them are basically direct adaptations of that line. They’re also really expensive and when you combine that with how much real estate they take up it makes it a hard line to truly collect.
Last year, Super7 went after my heart by adding Scrooge McDuck to their line of Super Size offerings. And it wasn’t just Scrooge McDuck in his adventuring attire, it’s Scrooge as Ebenezer Scrooge from Mickey’s Christmas Carol, one of the greatest Christmas specials of all-time. How could I resist? Well, there were two-hundred and ninety-five reasons for me to resist that temptation. The MSRP basically made this one a nonstarter, even if I wanted it badly. I just couldn’t see myself spending three-hundred bucks on a vinyl statue. It just wasn’t going to happen. Lucky for me, waiting paid off. Recently, Amazon had a sale on this particular figure and it dropped to a tick over half-off. At under $150 bucks, now we’re talking. I even gave it some thought overnight, while also allowing the wife to maybe consider it as a Christmas gift, before pouncing. Now I have a new Christmas decoration for 2023 and, I have to say, I’m pretty pleased with my decision.
Scrooge arrived in a massive, brown, shipper. On it lists the product and it would appear this figure is one of 1,004. For a $300 vinyl toy of a cartoon duck, a thousand units is probably all that was made and it’s not really that surprising that some made it to the clearance section. Inside that brown shipper was a plain, white, box and inside that was the product’s box. It’s a glossy, deep, purple box with shiny gold trim. On the front and back is a silhouette of Scrooge from when he’s searching his room for spirits before going to bed and it’s done in a glossy rose gold. On the top is a simple Disney logo and on the sides it reads Mickey’s Christmas Carol. Actually, on one side it says that, on the other side it reads Alice in Wonderland Queen of Hearts. Whoops! I’m assuming all of the boxes feature this misprint and that mine isn’t unique. It’s definitely the type of goof few companies would spend money to fix.
Inside this box is the actual figure. Scrooge is in a blister bubble with one zip-tie at the right arm. Getting him out is rather painless, and once removed he stands with relative ease on a flat surface. Scrooge is depicted as he was before retiring for the evening so he has his purple cap and gown on. To the top of the feathers on his brow, he’s just a tick under 17″ and pretty dense so he has a nice weight to him. The cap and gown are done with soft goods and it’s a plush material so it brings in its own texture. It doesn’t really match the look of the animation as a result, but it does add a little more prestige to the presentation than just a flat material. The hat is removable and it just rests on his head. There is a stiff insert sewn into the front of it to help it maintain its shape and it sits on his head just fine. There’s no easy way to remove the gown if you would rather Scrooge be naked or if you wanted to dress him up in something else. You would have to attempt to disassemble the figure to get it off, or cut it.
This is a vinyl figure, so the presentation is pretty simple as a result. Most of it is done with colored vinyl. The eyes might be the only area that’s actually painted. Even so, it looks really nice. There’s a softness to the finish which is customary with vinyl and since it’s a matte finish it works really well. Scrooge has a scowl on his face which is befitting the character and the hair on the back of his head is done in gray which is consistent with his presentation in the short. The glasses are glued in place and have clear, plastic, lenses and look great. The right hand is in a gripping pose while the left is open and flat. If I have any criticism to levy here, maybe I’d have shaped that left hand in a more natural, relaxed, position, but it’s fine. And he looks good with the hat on or off so take your pick.
Excepting the clothing, the only accessory here is a lit candlestick and holder. For what it is, it looks great. The flame is a translucent yellow and the holder is bronze in color. It fits over Scrooge’s index finger with relative ease and it’s not too heavy either. As for the articulation, if you’ve ever bought a vinyl figure before then you know there isn’t much to be found. Scrooge actually has more than I would have expected. Every joint is a simple swivel and he has one in the neck, shoulders, wrists, diaphragm, legs, and ankles. The diaphragm is actually surprising and nice to have. It’s the only spot that allows for some nuance as you can make Scrooge look like he’s peering around the corner or something. Rotating at the legs will pitch the figure forward or back if you want him more hunched or not. The ankles aren’t particularly useful though to the point that I’m surprised they bothered as it’s the one joint you can’t hide. The rest are either hidden by the clothing or just not plainly visible.
This Super Size version of Scrooge is really one of those “what you see is what you get” type of releases. I will say, pictures don’t really do the figure’s size justice. It’s pretty damn big and feels big, even if it’s not much bigger than some quarter scale figures I have. Mostly, it just looks really nice. I love this thing. Would I have loved it at 300 bucks? Maybe, after the sting of paying for it subsided. The price I paid for it puts it in the range of a lot of quarter scale stuff. It’s even a lot less than the sixth scale Mondo figures I love. Those figures are true action figures with a lot of paint, accessories, and articulation. The comparison to a quarter scale figure, like a NECA TMNT release, feels more apt though. While those figures have more stuff and more articulation, they’re pretty heavy and I basically find a pose they can handle and leave them.
This is a figure that doesn’t need a whole lot of articulation. The vinyl toy approach is what works, and it turned out really well. It reminds me of the old store display characters, some which still exist in Disney World, that would be motorized where just their head rotates and an arm might go up and down or something. My mom even has one of Winnie the Pooh, somewhat ironically, in a nightshirt with a lit candle. I love that aesthetic and if I had more resources (and more space) I’d go after vintage items like that. I’d also probably have the Super Size Brave Little Tailor Mickey Mouse, but I truly have no where to put such a thing. With Scrooge, he’s a Christmas decoration so I can find somewhere to place him for a month out of the year, even if it’s a bit cumbersome. I basically do the same thing with a Christmas tree each year. If you’re like me and a have love for the cartoon this character is taken from then you’ll probably love this item. I can’t really recommend it at full price, but I definitely endorse it while it’s available for around the price I got it. Aye Super7, you drive a hard bargain.
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