MWC's Votes for the Best and Worst of 2000! 
Posted 12/13/00

But this week, you get to see my picks.  I'll stick with the same categories that I asked you, and we'll see how we compare.  Be patient with this page if you have a 56.6 modem - there are an awful lot of pictures.

You can still vote for your choices for Best and Worst of 2000 by going here - I'll be posting the results of the poll next Wednesday.

Other lines this year that were in the running included the Famous Covers (which were hurt by too few releases) and the Island of Misfit Toys from Playing Mantis.

Dragon did fairly well with both the Winona and Linh figures.  Of course, Hasbro beat us up side the head with various Leia and Amidala versions, and the Defense of Naboo Amidala is a runner up.  Toybiz gave us several X-men, but the 6" movie versions were awful, and the Famous Covers, while much better, we'd already seen before.

That leaves DC Direct, and of their offerings this year, I really thought Zatanna was the top figure.  She gets my nod for this award, although we have a couple interesting competitors that may make it out just before the end of the year - Elektra from Toybiz, and Matilda from 21st Century.  But until I see them, the jury is out.

But the clear winner for me is Dragon.  They had the ultra-cool double jointed elbows and knees a year before anyone else, and they've expanded their body styles and sizes again this year.  Sideshow may give them a run for their money next year once they put out more than one figure, but for now my choice is Dragon.

Sideshow continues to impress me with their work, and while Moore's figures may be nothing more than statues, I can't fault the art.

But once again this year I have to give the nod to the company that started the trend toward exceptional sculpts - Mcfarlane Toys.  Love him or hate him, Todd's company produces the best actual likenesses on the market today.  From the Movie Maniacs, to the movie lines such as Austion Powers series 2 or Little Nicky, to the wonderful children's book Where the Wild Things Are, his company captures likenesses in a way almost no one else can.

One company does do innovative AND attractive packaging though, and they get the award.  That would be Dragon, with their colorful, well designed boxes that allow the collector to remove the figure and it's accessories without any damage, not to mention providing informative text.

I'm hoping we see other companies follow Dragon's lead, particularly in the 12" market.  I realize how difficult it is to make any sort of resealable bubble/cardbacks, but there is no reason that companies like 21st Century and Sideshow Toy can't imploy similar techniques to Dragon with the packaging on their 12" lines.

Best Vehicle or Playset - this was a tough one.  There were two leading contenders, and obviously from the picture above, the Treehouse of Horror playset from the Playmates Simpsons line was the one that squeeked it out.  So who was so close?  The 12" Speederbike/ Trooper from Hasbro.  It's was certainly the best 12" vehicle ever put out for the Star Wars line, but the price point didn't help it.  On the other hand, the terrific value, sound chips, and included figures made the Treehouse of Horror my choice for the number one spot.

Another vehicle that should get a special nod is the Speedracer Mach 5 from Resaurus.  While it didn't do well at the retailers, it is a truly wonderful vehicle.  Great quality and attention to detail, all at an affordable price.

Close second to who?  Oh, that's easy - Hasbro. Consider the big three lines - Star Wars?  80% of the 12" line was barely acceptable, and the distribution on the 3.75" line was awful.  G.I. Joe?  21st Century and Dragon kicked their ass with innovation and quality.  Batman Beyond?  Uh, yea, right.  I think the 100th Edition Batman pretty much summed up that line this year.

I'm hoping that we see Hasbro turn themselves around next year, but considering their big innovations were buying Pokemon and Wizards of the Coast, I don't have a lot of confidence.  At least Mattel still has Barbie, and seems capable of keeping the line alive.  With Joe, Star Wars and Batman, there doesn't appear to be anything to look forward to in 2001.

But this year one line truly stands out for me.  It's a line that could have cleaned up, having a major hit movie behind it and truly unique and unusual looking characters, props and accessories at it's disposal.  That would be the Grinch line of action figures from Playmates.

How bad are these figures? The movie has been number 1 at the box office for three straight weeks, it's two weeks BEFORE Christmas, when every parent on the planet is spending wads of cash, and yet these toys are already on clearance at my local Toys R Us.  Talk about a failed opportunity!

The real problem with this line isn't the Who's - the likenesses for them are pretty good.  The articulation is good as well - no, for this line it's the awful sculpting on the Grinch himself.  He simply didn't translate well into this format, and it's a shame.  There wasn't much imaginative use of the movie sets or props either - other than a couple small vehicles, there is little of real interest. Too bad for Playmates, too bad for fans of the Grinch.

Only one figure has the audacity to take a classic super hero and take him to a new low.  If Spider-Man could see himself in those ridiculous shorts, he'd have the Beach Spider-Man figure from the Spider-Man Adventures line banned from the planet.  Not even Hasbro, with all their multi-colored Batman variations, has treated the character with such utter disrespect.  For God's sake, he comes with a beach ball!

But nothing this year comes close to the atrocity of female ugliness that is the 12" Rosanne RosannaDanna.  Gilda Radner gave us some of the finest characters to ever grace SNL, and yet this is the best likeness they can offer?  I'm always amazed when the estate of someone gives the okay for a train wreck like this.

I don't want to pick on poor Todd though.  I suspect his baseball isn't worth as much these days.  No, instead I'll single out a line that is lucky to have more than a couple points of articulation each - Final Fantasy VIII.

These figures were very attractive in the packaging, but the extremely limited articulation made them far less exciting once they were opened up.

X-Toys isn't well known for doing much in the way of above average figures, but this is terrible.  Sure, you get some decent accessories, but the price point on these was atrocious as well.

Mr. Tweedy's Pie Thrower from Chicken Run gets an honorable mention, since it's nothing more than a recycled vehicle from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

The vehicle I did pick is another recycle, or more accurately, re-release.  The original BTAS Batmobile was one of the finest ever produced, and it wasn't surprising to see the Kenner division of Hasbro re-issue it.  That's an old trick of theirs, and they are the masters.  Unfortunately, they decided that even though it had been five years or so since you could find one on the shelf, they better change the color.  In doing so, they took a classic and painted it up like Al Gore on a Saturday night.

If you've ever visited my Western Action Figure Archive, you know just how nuts I am about any sort of western figure, particularly in 12" scale.  With three more figures planned, this line has me really excited for 2001.