Who Framed Roger Rabbit Flexies from LJN Toys

(just incase you forgot where you were. More blogs at ragingnerdgasm.blogspot.com)

Check out the whole photo archive of these and many other toys at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ragingnerdgasm/sets/72157630575332860/with/7569764938/

For all the potential Who Framed Roger Rabbit had for toys, Disney sold it way too short. I think handing the license to LJN was probably the worst thing they could have done, worse than just not making toys period. I know I'm talking about the same company that brought the world Thundercats, Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, Voltron, Tigersharks and the ever iconic WWF Superstars but let's face it LJN had more failures than successes. Don't even get me started on their video game productions, I don't want to get into a Angry Video Game Nerd-esque rant here. LJN produced two lines of equally crappy figures and I'll be honest, I like them. I'm a complex guy, I'll talk trash about something for years but hold onto it because I like it. If there were better toys available, I'd buy them and throw these up on my BluJay store. Till then I'll talk about these.

(the LJN logo; no gold at the end of that rainbow)

There was two lines of Who Framed Roger Rabbit toys from LJN as I stated earlier. One was a series of 3 inch articulated figures; Judge Doom, Eddie Valiant, Roger Rabbit and Wiseguy Weasel. These were fairly bad, even for being released in 1988. They were painfully stiff looking figures that made happy meal toys look more desirable. Not only were the figures cursed with bad articulation and horrible likenesses but they were strangely flat, as in the figures had little to no girth at all. Anyways, I own Eddie and Roger only because they came in a collection of Super Powers figures I bought nearly a decade ago off eBay. More recently I got the Benny the Cab while on vacation in Orlando at a flea market. I barely even relate Benny to this line because 1) he saw limited release in America and was on clearance when he showed up overseas 2) he's far nicer than anything made by LJN between 1988 and their death in 1995.

(seriously, this is the only toy LJN did right in this whole line)

(this was made by McDonalds years after the movie and it's better looking than most of these figures)

(eh, this was made by Applause and shows no one has really done Roger Rabbit justice in toy form)

LJN made a series of bendy figures based off the movie and called them Flexies. I have a strange love/hate relationship when it comes to bendy toys. Some of them are really interesting like some of the old Advanced Dungeons and Dragons figures or some of the old AHI monsters but most of them look like old and chewed on Gumby figures. The Flexies in comparison to the basic action figures were giants, nearly 3 times the size. They suffered from the same strange "squished flat" disorder that the action figures did but this time they made 6 different characters for kids to spend their hard earned chore money on. I have a vague memory of seeing these at my local toy stores when I was a kid and I remember them bearing large red clearance stickers almost immediately. Competition was tough during the year of 1988, He-Man was still a contender, GI Joe was prevailing, COPS was just about the best value for your money, TMNT was starting their inaugural year and it didn't look like anything could stop Transformers. I know I just keep bashing LJN but if any other company had the rights to the toys we (or maybe just me, I could be alone in my assumption that this series sucked) could have had some bad ass toys.

(this is a good bendy figure)

(these on the other hand....)

Roger Rabbit

He kind of looks like someone dropped a ton of bricks on him. They did get the color pallet right though. The ears a bendable along with the torso, arms and stubby legs. Congratulations if you can get them to hold a pose though, the rubber is just slightly too thick to allow the inner wire to retain a shape. Don't get me wrong though, in hand the make you reminisce about your days playing with LJN WWF wrestlers. I like the idea of big sturdy toys that you can bludgeon a sibling with, it brings a certain amount of joy to my dark heart. Roger also comes with a set of handcuffs to recreate those memorable scenes from the movie. They are nothing really special but they do the job. Side note, LJN made a giant Roger Flexies that I somehow really want to own for stupid reasons. I guess it's because I already own this unholy hexad of figures, might as well purchase their overlord.



Jessica Rabbit

I have a strange obsession with Jessica Rabbit. When I was a young lad I had what could be described as a "thing" for Jessica Rabbit and Betty Boop. Being 1988 and being a boy of six years of age, I was fairly impressionable. Sadly, they never made what I considered an acceptable figure or doll of Jessica Rabbit. The only positive thing I can remark about this Flexies figure is one of two characters from the line that retain poses. The cloth accent to complete the illusion of a full skirt is more annoying than appealing. Under the skirt (yes I looked) reveals the top part of the dress becomes just a one-piece swimsuit and the skirt is made out of a cheap and sandpaper coarse fabric. But it does pose and retain those poses, there's something to be said about that. Meh!


Wiseguy Weasel

I loved the design and concept of the weasels in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. They were the perfect archetype for a villain's henchmen / minions. Loyal, lethal and dumb as a box of LJN video games. Wiseguy suffered the squished flat syndrome his action figure counterpart did, which is a shame because I think he was about the most screen accurate figure from the line. He includes a yellow plastic linked chain that wraps around his waist, which I have no idea what part of the movie that's from. He also has a gun molded into his hand which makes him the second best figure in the line, at least in my honest opinion. I miss cartoon violence.


Eddie Valiant

I'm just going to get this out of the way, I like Bob Hoskins a lot as an actor. Any man that plays Smee in two totally different productions of a Peter Pan based movie has my vote for being one of the most underrated actors of all time. He was also Mario Mario in Super Mario Bros : the movie and that film holds a special place in guilty movie pleasures section. He also drank heavily to get through that movie and I find that kind of cool because sometimes I waish I could do that to get through work. This Flexies and the action figure both suck, there isn't any other way to put it. No redeeming qualities at all. The color of the suit is also this horrible fecal brown, the kind of suit you'd commonly see in a thrift store. The kind that was used for a funeral but stripped off the corpse just before they cremate it. My mind goes to strange places, sorry but it's the best visual I can paint. Eddie also comes with the same handcuffs as Roger which makes this figure even more boring, if that was a possiblity.


Baby Herman

This is my favorite figure from the line. If it wasn't for what amounts to possibly mild ADHD I'd sell the set and keep this figure. It's the only time I'm aware of they made a Baby Herman in "adult" form. I wish he had a cigar accessory or came with his baby stroller instead of the highchair. The highchair accessory is kind of lost on the figure, he doesn't really "flex". I do like the fistful of cash Herman is gripping onto, which reminds me I also liked Wiseguy Weasel solely on the fact he has the gun molded into his hand. I guess that makes two figures I'd keep if I could convince myself to sell the rest.


Judge Doom

Here is where I was hoping for the figures to wow me, they didn't. The action figure Judge Doom was a let down, for an intimidating movie antagonist his action figure and Flexies toy gives the impression of an angry old man wanting you to get the fuck off his lawn. Both toys also came with a vulture which was never in the movie in the first place. Would have made for an awesome pet / companion in the film but to package it with the toy is confusing. I mean it's really conflicting, I would have loved to have seen that vulture added to the movie. Fucking LJN. He also comes with a cane but it's little more than a black plastic stick.



In the end, I guess I'm fairly happy I have these in my collection. I like them but only on the surface, they look great on my wall of carded figures and they are good to use as an example of what a bad bendy figure looks like. Past that, they remind me what a poor company does with a great license. For a modern example look at anything made by Jazwares. And the level of fail in these figures doesn't taint my memories of the movie, I was a grown man before I owned any of the LJN Roger Rabbit toys. That's the strange appeal of vintage toys, they are nostalgic but they may not be the best representation of the characters you love but the toys hold a soft spot in your heart anyways.

Your weekly Nerdgasm 03/25/13

(A logo you can trust. You have no idea how hard it is to get Optimus Prime and Skeletor in the same room.)

Your weekly Nerdgasm!

Capcom gave me reason to love modern games again

                                   

                                              (oh yeah, this is the good stuff right here.) 

I got two words for you; Ducktales, woohoo! Seriously, Capcom this week broke the news that they were making a revamp of their ever so popular NES Ducktales video game. Not only did they have the news, but the trailer was ready, showcasing the game play and graphics. Backgrounds are 3D rendered with all game sprites maintaining a very cool "hand drawn" effect. Capcom says the game will be very similar to it's predecessor, with a main room complete with stage select options and new playable levels such as the McDuck Money Bin. 

                                   

                                    (I'd play this level for hours just because I loved the music)

The trailer showed the Money Bin level as well as the Amazon and Transylvania, but didn't show fan favorite levels the Himalayas or the ever popular outer space level. The outer space level was everyone's favorite level and the music from that level is in just about everyone's top 5 NES game soundtracks, outside of Metroid, Legend of Zelda or SMB. What's the deal Capcom, don't play with our hearts like this. Anyways, the fanboys and fangirls squealed with anticipation after watching the trailer, even getting to learn many developers and coders for current games hold Ducktales in highest regards (the original game ran on the MegaMan engine for crying out loud and your cane was both pogo stick and golf club!). The game will be available on PSN, XBOXLIVE and WII-U networks for download, costing $15. Which is a real deal considering any of us who owned an original one most likely paid $50 or so back in the 90's. But please Capcom, don't forget your loving fans on STEAM (such as myself).

I guess Teenage Alien Ninja Turtles is still a go

(credit to toysrevil.net for the picture)

Much to everyone's dismay, TANT (which is dangerously close to TAINT) is still in pre-production with Michael Bay gunning to ruin everything from your childhood with confirmed Megan Fox as April O'Neil .I wonder if him and the Dwayne Johnson have a running bet to see how many awesome properties they can trash? I wonder if April will be a stripper instead of a news woman? I wonder if the fanbase will allow this movie to happen?

(the face of evil!)

Anyways, the first actor to join the cast as one of the four turtles/aliens/brothers is Alan Ritchson (Aquaman on Smallville), allegedly taking the role of Raphael. That....that's actually OK with me. But when you say actor they mean voice actor, right? WRONG! The turtles/aliens/brothers not be animatronic suits but motion capture ala' Avatar styling. This.....this I'm cool with too because the actors will have to emote and actually act instead to trying to match up voice tone and infliction to puppeteers in suits. So TANT brings me through emotional ups and downs and not even one second of film has been shot. I'm holding out till I see who the villains are going to be since they are keeping really hush about it.

                                                     (was this ever confirmed legit or not?)


Boldly going......to mess my pants

Between trailers for Iron Man 3, Star Trek: Into Darkness and pictures from Pacific Rim, I can't contain the awesome. Seriously, it's going to be a great summer season at the movies. Not to cheap out on you in the third article, I just feel all three of these developing stories deserve their own blog entry this week so I'll leave you with the following.

Don Bluth Game Trilogy

About Don Bluth

Many of us in our late 20’s to early 40’s are very familiar with the name Don Bluth.  He started his career working for the Walt Disney Studios as an animator.  He didn’t start making a name for himself until shortly after Walt Disney died in 1966.  After such a sad event for the company, Bluth was granted the opportunity to directed several animated films such as “The Rescuers” and “Pete’s Dragon”.  During the 70’s ,the quality of Disney animation was dropping and there were fears that the Disney Studios might shut down.  As a result several artist including Bluth went on and created their own company called Don Bluth Productions.  As an animation house they went on and created many of the 1980’s and early 1990’s animated classics we all still recognize such as “Secret of NIMH”, “An American Tail”, “All Dogs Go to Heaven”, "We're Back: A Dinosaur's Story", lets not forget that never ending series “Land Before Time”, and his final major project in (2000) “Titan AE”.  

Bluth's Game Ventures

What a lot of people forget is that Bluth also pioneered into the world of video games for several platforms in the 1980’s.  The most memorable ones are “Dragon’s Lair” (1983), “Space Ace” (1983), “Dragon’s Lair II: Timewarp” (1991).

Through the years, these games have been release and re-release in several platforms.  In each released the gameplay was extremely frustrating as you play along a non linear storyline that had questionable reaction to the controllers.  However regardless of how frustrating this made players, these games hold a special place in our lives.  In fact its influence is so epic, that these games have come back in a modern gaming platform known as the Apple iOS systems for our iPhones and iPads.

You may ask yourself what company would be brave enough to tackle such an iconic a frustrating game? Well; none other than EA Games, who else.

 Dragon’s Lair

 

When you first see the game on the trailer (back then or now) it looks like a movie and you wonder what the game is like. The game play features a sequence of arrows you have to hit with your controller in order to make it through the dark castle to rescue the princess. I compare it to a torture version of the Simon game with gorgeous visuals. The sad part is that at times you know you have hit your controller at the right moment but you still die over and over again.  Most of us witness more epic deaths than epic progress but luckily the animation is good and funny.  After a while, people who are dedicated to play this game develop a list of favorites death scenes.  

As bad as the game play is you will be amazed that is has been released in Arcade form, Sega CD, CD-i, Game Boy Color, NES, PC, DVD, HD DVD, Blu Ray Disk, Playstation Network for PS3 and PSP, Nintendo Wii, DSWare, and iPhone and iPads.  You will also be amazed to know that there’s a second game to this series. So I guess the fans do love punishment.  

The Dragons Lair app is available at the Apple's App Store for only $0.99. Shortly after opening the app you will realized that nothing has changed. This includes the poor maneuvering, the confusing game play but with the awesome death scenes that taunt you in your tiny iPhone screen, you'll continue to play it over and over again.

Dragons Lair App
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dragons-lair/id341833414?mt=8

Drgons Lair Comic Book App This is also available to download for free, however the app comes with one free comic, but you have to pay $1.99 for the other comics.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dragons-lair-comics/id500760670?mt=8 

 Space Ace

So imagine you just picked up not just one but maybe two next generation games including this golden oldie called Space Ace.  Both  “Dragons Lair” and “Space Ace” were released in the same year trying to market on this new technology.  Sadly, because they were both developed around the same time, the technology did not get any better. They simply carried the same problems over to another game. So yes, this game is equally frustrating but it’s also a classic.

Just like it’s predecessor the game has been release multiple times as well. This game has been released in Arcade form, 3DO, Amiga, Apple IIGS, CD- i, Jaguar CD, PC, Atari ST, Sega CD, DVD, Blu-Ray, Wii, DSiWare, iPhone,and  PS3.  This game makes it part of the Don Bluth Trilogy games.

Unlike Dragons Lair that only cost you $1,  Space Ace will cost you a few more bucks.  At the App Store you are looking at around $4.99 for the game, but you will have the same fun frustrating time you had the first time you played it with a joystick.

Space Ace
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/space-ace/id314133588?mt=8


If the App experience is not your cup of tea, keep in mind you can picked up all three of the games for the Wii so you can enjoy it with not just yourself but also taking turns with the family.  

Article by Ana Bruja-Khayos

RAGING NERDGASM NO QUARTER ARCADE - Lee-Lee's Quest and Lee-Lee's Quest 2 from Adult Swim games

FLASH GAME FUN- RAGING NERDGASM NO QUARTER ARCADE!

Lee-Lee's quest is a jump back to the classic side scrolling 2D platformer us 20 to 30 something year old folks grew up on. You play as the title character Lee-Lee; a blue, ball shaped and surprisingly male voiced "adventurer" with what looks like a hood ornament stuck to your forehead. Your goal, journey through several stages full of foul-mouthed, insult slinging geometrical people (cylinders, upside down pyramids, cubes and other shapes) and other pitfalls to save your girlfriend Luu-Luu (a baritone voiced "female") ! All while listening to repetitive music, trading insults with a surly folk of shape world, picking up what amounts to "power ups" and watching very similar backdrops.

In the end; your girlfriend isn't your girlfriend and not even a girl in the first place (and I'm fairly sure she's/ he's not even your friend and the protagonist may actually be a sociopath), you senselessly murder every living thing in your path and collect, of all things, shovels along the way. It's a great, nonsensical game that entertains the player with hilarious banter and the constant belly-aching of the main character during his misguided quest. Achievements are unlocked along the way and unless you look at an online guide, you don't know what they are unless you aimlessly achieve them in the first place. The game designer delights the player with all the crazy side scrolling 2D platformer quirks you loved and questioned as a kid.

Part Two picks up where the last one left off. Actually, it pretty much starts the same way the first one did except Luu-Luu is pregnant (confusing drama bomb) with the boss character's child! And now, you are off again, chasing after the he/she you love though some fun and colorful levels that take the same formula as the previous game and multiply the awesome factor. You get all the same fun character banter along with a couple of random appearances of the game's creator, Marcus Richert, that get cut short by the main character's sense of being upstaged. More "power ups" show up this time and if you neglect to pick them up repeatedly, they will chase you down and force you to use them. Also, some throwbacks to classic gaming show up in game play so look out for them.

Main point I want to make about these games is while they may seem incredibly easy to beat, take your time. The most entertaining thing about both games is the banter between characters. Also, all the characters from both games are voiced by Joshua Tomar.

Television Series: Code Monkeys

DVD blog from my wife Ana Bruja-Khayos

Every so often my husband and I wonder in the the magical world called "Movie Stop".  Once inside we roam the isle for some time looking for something unique you wouldn't normally see on mainstream TV, internet, or in this country.  Other times we, simply looking for short, films and TV series that have fallen out of most peoples minds.  One these gems is the show "Code Monkeys".  For only $4 and we simply could not resist.

Code Monkeys aired for two seasons on G4 back in 2007-2008, and was mainly seen by their main demographic, Nerdy Gaming 20 somethings. The show has an 8-bit look that will remind you of youtube's "8-bit theater", and will literally sucks you in if you grew up during the 1980's playing games on the Atari, Nintendo NES, and SEGA systems to mention a few. The shows fallows a pair of game coders in the early 1980's at a company called "Game-O-Vision".  The company has a colorful crew of characters that are everything but ethical, and creating cocky games like Hobo Killer,  Nacho Time, Cracker Barrel (where you shoot Crackers in a Barrel),  Red Ronda (teaching girls about their period),  Ninja Pirate Robots, Big Ass Dolphin to compete against their two highest competitors Bellecovision (main competitor) and the Pretendo Corporation.  During the show you will see awesome guest stars appearances from the film, music, and gaming industry.  Hidden innuendos and crude humor is what makes this show just totally awesome, whether you are sober, drunk, and for some influence by recreational substances.

The only negative is that only one season was release on DVD out of two.  There's where rumors that season two was going to be released in early 2011 through the SHOUT exclusive website, but so far no Season 2 to be seen. Each season holds a total of thirteen episodes, and you will recognize voice actors such as Dana Snyder also known as Master Shake from Aqua Teen Hunger Force.  In the end Code Monkeys, is truly a great buy to have in your personal collection.   I give this series 5 out of 5