Review of Captain Hook - Disney Premium Format Statue

Introduction

When Sideshow first announced they had picked up the license to do Disney characters in their Premium Format series, I was really looking forward to movie characters from some of Disney's best live action films, including Tombstone. How cool would a Russell Earp and Kilmer Holiday be standing on the shelf together?

While they did give us a couple live action characters - Rocketeer and Jack Sparrow both have a place of honor in my bar, and you can still pick up Dastan if you're so inclined - it seems that they've had a lean towards the animated side. With Maleficent, the Evil Queen, and Jessica Rabbit, Sideshow has given us beautiful cartoon ladies in flowing gowns.

But if you're going to go animated, you really need to go with a character with an amazing outfit, one that really takes the Premium Format style to it's logical apex. They've finally got that chance with Captain Hook, resplendent in his pirate plumage.

This statue comes in a regular version (edition size of 1000) and an exclusive version (edition size of 350). I'll be looking at the exclusive tonight, but since the only difference is the one additional accessory, everything else I have to say applies to both.

The premium format statues seem to be getting more and more expensive, unfortunately. Hook comes in at $325 for either version. However, some retailers (check the Where to Buy section of the review) have the regular edition in the sub-$300 range.

Packaging - ***
The box is attractive, and inside the interior foam trays the various pieces (there are quite a few this time!) are all well packed. There's even a metal rod tied to his feet with red ribbon to provide extra strength to the legs in transit.

While there is not a Certificate of Authenticity, the edition size and number are printed on both the bottom of the box and the base of the statue.

Sculpting - ****
Most PF's come in a few pieces, three, four, maybe five. This guy requires a whopping nine pieces to be complete, and that doesn't include his extra hand.

Assembly is pretty straight forward though, and the magnets at the hands and hat work great. He has a long metal peg in his back foot to ensure he stays put on the rock, but the small 'ribbons' at the top of his socks are held in place with very short pegs. Watch out for these falling out and getting lost.

There is also a Velcro attachment to place the scabbard on the belt, and this works well and is hidden once it's in place.

The overall look matches his proportions and style from the Disney cartoons extremely well. The thin mustache, large nose and chin, and flowing black hair all look great.

The pose works well too, in a very traditional fighting stance with his hook hand raised. Which hand was a hook has varied from story to story, but for the Disney version it's always been his left.

Remember that these are quarter scale statues, which is approximate for a cartoon character of course. He stands about 21" tall at the tip of the hat while on the rock, with the hook taking it up overall a few more inches.

Paint - ***
While I'm digging on the sculpt, there's a few issues with the paint holding back this score.

There's some rough texture on the socks and shoes, with some bubbling or possibly dirt mixed in. Thankfully this only seems to be an issue in those areas.

There's also a bit of slop along some of the cut edges, particularly around the eyes and shoes. It's not atrocious, but generally B grade work, especially when you consider the price point.

The paint does not include any sort of beard shadow, something that I recall being a facet of the Disney character. Whether or not that's an issue for you is probably a matter of taste, since sometimes the character had it, and sometimes he did not. This difference also may have been between the original movie and the awful Return to Neverland. Even a cartoon villain shaves occasionally.

Articulation - Bupkis
Obviously, I'm not deducting anything here for a lack of articulation, but I wanted to point it out in case your expectation was different. This is a statue, not an articulated figure.

Accessories - ***1/2
The exclusive version has an extra hand, of course, and I'd say that counts as an accessory. This extra hand has Peter Pan's hat skewered on the hook, a nice touch for the display, but probably not worth spending big bucks on just to get it. The sculpt is a little soft, with very little detail work even on the feather. Since both versions were $325 at Sideshow originally, you weren't really spending extra cash, but other retailers are carrying the basic version for $25 - $30 less now, and I'd be hard pressed to recommend spending the extra on the hand if you aren't enamored with it.

So why the high accessory score? Because of the crocodile Tick Tock, of course! I've always wondered if he was a crocodile named Tick Tock who ironically then swallowed a clock, or a nameless crocodile given the moniker only after swallowing the noisy timepiece. This is the sort of question that keeps me up at night.

Tick Tock is huge, and a completely independent display piece. Most displays will probably have him rising up from behind the rock base, but the sculpted eyes and expression allow for quite a few different placements. The sculpt is fantastic - he's huge! - but the paint suffers from some of the same slightly sloppy edges that I mentioned earlier.

Another reason I bumped this score a bit is the inclusion of not just two but three of the ribbon thingies for the top of his socks. I'm assuming the third one is a replacement, on the off chance you lose or damage one of the other two.

Outfit - ***1/2

There's not as much mixed media on this figure as I'd hoped. 90% is standard statue, with just the cloth coat and leather belt thrown in for good measure.

Thankfully, both of these are extremely nice. The fit is excellent, and the coat includes a sturdy wire running through the bottom seam that allows you to pose it nicely in a variety of ways.

Value - **
It might just be me, but it seems like there was a time when you paid $300 for a PF, it lit up, or had extra heads, or maybe came to life and dusted the shelves for you. Now, that's becoming the normal price, and it's not easy for those collecting them to absorb.

With a less complicated outfit than someone like Jack Sparrow, and therefore less mixed media, I docked this guy slightly in this category. His saving grace is the large croc statue, which really adds quite a bit to the overall display.

Things to Watch Out For -
Be very careful around his mustache, since the thin points can break. They used a slightly less brittle material, thank God, so they can take a minor tweak or two, but still keep them very much in mind when handling him.

Overall - ***1/2
Disney's Hook is sort of like Lucas' Boba Fett - you have to ignore some of the on screen buffoonery and just think of him as a visually cool bad guy.

I have two wishes with this statue - slightly better paint, especially on the socks and shoes, and a bit more cloth, leather and metal. Premium Formats should be more than just statues, and the beautiful coat is a great example as to why this format works so well. But more could have been done, especially at $300.

I do love the pose and sculpt though, and the inclusion of Tick Tock as a separate piece is brilliant.

If you can get the exclusive at the same price as the regular, then I'd get it - obviously, you never turn down an extra at no additional cost. But if you have to spend $30 or more just to get the Pan hat on the hook, then I'd think twice about it. With the lower edition size, it's likely to be worth more down the road than the regular, but there's no guarantee either will ever be worth more than the $300 they already cost.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ****
Paint - ***
Articulation - Bupkis
Accessories - ***1/2
Outfit - ***1/2
Value - **
Overall - ***1/2

Where to Buy 
Sideshow is the place to pick up the exclusive, where it is on back order for $325. They also have the regular, but other online options include these site sponsors:

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Sideshow has produced a few other Disney related premium format statues, including the Rocketeer, the Evil Queen, Maleficent, and Jack Sparrow.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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