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Film & Television Series Toys & Collectibles

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

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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’ droll one pagers became household familiars when, in 1964, ABC television launched The Addams Family series based on the clan’s outre exploits. Composer Vic Mizzy’s finger-snapping earworm of a theme song helped the show burrow its way into the American psyche and pop culture history.

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Wednesday is no small fry as a Poptator from Super Impulse

Elevated to main character in the 2022 Netflix series Wednesday the impish Goth fledgling has once again proliferated the spirit of the times. The Netflix series spins Wednesday as a High School sleuth. A Nancy Drew for the end-of-days. Her protective compadre, Thing, is always nearby to – well – lend a hand.

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Captured mid-dance, Royal Bobblehead’s Wednesday is an FYE Exclusive

Big Beat from Badsville…

Boomer aged Addams fans will remember Wednesday being portrayed by the late Lisa Loring. In season 2, her quirky dance “The Droop” (meant to lend Butler Lurch a groovy charm and impress his inamorata) gave the young actress a chance to show off some impressive James Brown moves. The well performed shuffle, remembered by fans and rediscovered by vintage TV enthusiasts and YouTube spelunkers, was ripe for reinvention in Netflix’ Wednesday reimagining. 

Current Wednesday actress Jenna Ortega interprets the dance (performed to The Cramps forever awesome “Goo-Goo Muck”) as an angular set of moves. She intertwines flamenco with austere 80’s new wave and beatnik hand jive. Think Carmen Amaya watching Who Killed Teddy Bear? on the Kraftwerk tour bus, with Robert Fraser driving.

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Get a helping hand harvesting your micro greens with JE’s Thing inspired Chia Pet

Head Scratching History…

Why a seemingly staid, still mid-Century minded, general public took to the surrealistic scenarios of the show (and its competitor The Munsters) is worthy of a sociological dissertation.

I’m tempted, but for now we’re simply going to offer up a glimpse of the latest Wednesday related items available for your collecting enjoyment that we saw at The Toy Association’s 2023 New York Toy Fair. These include several Royal Bobbleheads statues, NECA’s Toony Terrors, a Super Impulse Poptator, Toy Tokyo Phunny Plush, and even a Thing Chia Pet from JE.

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Toys & Collectibles

Dread Presidents Attack @ Toy Fair 2012

"I am not a creature!"

One Nation Under Gort…
I simply could not let President’s Day go by without giving you a look at Heroes In Action Toys and Toy Tokyo’s collaboration, “Presidential Monsters”. These cloth garbed dolls recast our commanders in chief as classic film creatures; a hysterically horrific spin on American history. Baracula, Monster from the Watergate Lagoon, The Ronmy, Zom-Bush are highlights of the product line. Clever details like The Watergate Creature’s web-fingered victory signs and LincolnStein’s bolt equipped Top Hat (ready to be juiced by the upcoming Doctor Benjamin FranklinStein) will make you laugh out loud. Interns won’t stand a chance against the JFK “Phantom of the White House” or saxophone toting “Wolf Bill”. Not that they did in reality either.

Better Than Voodoo Economics…
In addition to the 7 currently available action figures, there are plenty of others to come. Prototypes displayed at Toy Fair included Andrew Jackson as Nosferatu (my personal favorite) and Teddy Roosevelt as a white furred Yeti. Also coming is a ghostly George Washington as “The Spirit of ’76”. Apparently Sarah Palin is also in the wings with a Vlad the Impaler spoof.

Ken Pierce and I had a great time chatting with the folks at the Toy Tokyo booth during Toy Fair 2012 and it’s always a treat to visit their store in Manhattan’s East Village. Be sure to check them out for a mind-blowing array of collectible goodies.

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