Toy Review: The Princess Bride Series 1 by McFarlane Toys

At one time, the mere notion of McFarlane Toys, known for R-rated horror and violent heroics, making toys for the clean-cut fantasy-comedy The Princess Bride would have been…well, you know the word. And apparently it does not mean what we think it means. Not only did the action figures become utterly conceivable, but they’re here now, with another series on the way. And while a couple of early images caused collectors to have their doubts, Superhero Hype obtained a set of The Princess Bride series 1 in-hand direct from McFarlane. So do they have issues, as some suspected? Time to take a looksee.

It looks like these and some McFarlane licensed figures now go for $24.99, rather than the standard $19.99 for DC figures (without build-a-figure parts) and Mortal Kombat. Some figures from The Witcher previously saw similar hikes — perhaps individual actor likeness rights add to the cost. Fezzik, as a megafig, hits the same price as similarly sized figures, at $39.99, but he’s less poseable and detailed than some others. Frankly, he should have come in build-a-figure parts like King Shark with Suicide Squad, but that might have bumped the other figures up to $30. NECA passed that price point a while back, but McFarlane seems to be holding back, at least for regular 7-inchers.

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Fezzik also seems to be the controversy magnet, especially since multiple toy companies have Andre the Giant likeness rights. The likeness, from a distance, looks way off. Here’s the thing: it’s not bad. Two aspects seem to have gone mildly wrong: use of younger Andre reference material for the sculpt, and excessively high-contrast digital coloring that looks more like clown makeup than appropriate shading. Up close, it looks better. From a distance, it reads poorly. But in sheer dense plastic chunkage, buyers get what they pay for.

Like many McFarlane Megafigs, his articulation seems more limited, with disc and in ball joints at the elbows and knees. And despite the belt, there’s no cut waist joint there, just under-tunic articulation. (Inigo has the same issue, while Westley’s sash makes a perfect break point for a joint, and does so.) The giant comes with a rock that just barely fits in his hand, and a peanut that’s scaled to him. Compared to the non-giant characters, it’s the Incredible Hulk of peanuts. Maybe it’s one of those soft candy circus peanuts everyone hates.

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Buttercup’s likeness is the opposite of Fezzik’s — it looks better from a distance. She is a lot smaller, but sports the full range of articulation, with double-elbows and knees. Her lower cloth dress hangs nicely behind her, withthe belt pinned to her waist at the back. Still, should anyone wish to pose her in more action-oriented scenes, she can make like Fiona in Shrek 1.

Inigo’s likeness is the winner. Pretty spot-on perfect. The only issue? The McFarlane Toys side-eye. Love it or hate it, with Inigo most will want to pose him looking in the direction his sword points. And that’s much harder if he’s not looking straight ahead.

The hilt on his sword comprises two pieces, and the top one may slide up and down the sword blade. Take care; it’s not necessarily meant to do that.

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Westley/Dread Pirate Roberts’ likeness looks a bit off from a distance, but much better close. It’s another one where the colors may be slightly over-contrasted, but the eyes nail it. For any planned Saw customs, wait for series 2 with its unmasked head and bloody deco.

Each figure also includes the standard McFarlane circular stand with the movie logo on it. It doesn’t do much for Fezzik, but the other figures are so thin and light they can sure use them.

For the most part, the sculpts cover up the wrist and ankle Revoltech-style ball joints. Except for Westley, whose ankles look…well…like that. But hey, the sheath holds his sword, and is attached by a peg joint that rotates to adjust.

Overall, though, these figures look decent in person, and are probably the best we could have hoped. Yes, they have some minor flaws, but they look like who they’re supposed to, and aside from some torso stiffness due to tunic-over-frame, they strike most poses. It’ll be interesting to see how the partly resculpted series 2 turns out.

Note that Cary Elwes is six feet tall. And Andre, while billed as 7’4″ in the wrestling ring, stood closer to an even seven feet. So Fezzik might be just a touch exaggerated in scale there.

Entertainment Earth has The Princess Bride series 1 and series 2 up for preorder, including Fezzik. As they are affiliate partners with Superhero Hype, thsi site may earn fees from purchases made through site links.

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