Sunday, June 30, 2013

McDonald's Happy Meal - LAVAGIRL!

The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D - McDonald's Toys 2005

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that most fast food toys are total wastes of plastic.  I just know there are landfills teeming with random licensed knick-knacks permanently infused with the smell of french fries (and the environmentalist in me hates that).  Occasionally though, there is real thought and design put into these toys and they become the standouts in the crowd.  In 2005 there was a kids' adventure movie titled The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D.  This movie wasn't well-received for the most part (mostly due to the distracting 3-D effects), but the general plot and creativity of the movie appealed to a lot of kids.  The movie received little to no toy merchandising outside of a few weeks as a McDonald's Happy Meal theme.  The toys were great.  The most exciting ones were straight-up action figures of the two titular characters (even the secondary toys were cool, like shark and lava water squirters).  Kids who loved this film would love these toys.  Let's check out Lavagirl below!


The film is about a boy named Max who invents an imaginary world on the planet Drool where two young heroes, Sharkboy and Lavagirl, constantly try to thwart the evil deeds of Mr. Electric.  Early in the story a chain of events happens that leads to Max being transported to his imaginary world and joining in the adventures with his creations.









 
 





 
Lavagirl has a switch on her back that controls a light-up feature.  Mine unfortunately is dead, but I'm assuming it lit up a lightning-bolt-type streak down her torso and legs in an orange (aka lava) color like in the film.  The translucent pink plastic was also probably illuminated as well.  There's a solicitation image from McDonalds below that shows her in a semi-lit display.
 









 
Here's the promotional image showing the backlit "tectonic rift" on her costume.


 
 
 
And here are some images from the movie
 
 
 

 
 
The movie starred Taylor Dooley as Lavagirl, Taylor Lautner as Sharkboy, and Cayden Boyd as Max.
 

 

 

 
The translucency is pretty cool on this figure.  I've mentioned before that a straight-up transparent figure is not something I particularly appreciate, but when used as an accent, or applied with variations and combinations of painted features, I think it can make for a really great presentation.






She has 5 points of articulation.  Her unique leg posture limits her poseability a bit, but not to a severe degree.



 
 
Time for Some Comparison Pics!
 
Here she is with another pink lady, Ben10's Gwen Anodite.


 
 



Cheers!



2 comments:

  1. That's fun! I really like her there with Gwen...

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    Replies
    1. Thanks! I wanted a big group shot of all my clear pink/purple figures, but I was rushed. Next time I review one I'll take my time :)

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