Toys from … I dunno where …
My kids have a new favorite little friend. They call him ‘Dave’. He is a Cthulhu. He has two cute little friends that come in the box with him They are people screaming themselves into insanity in the best possible H.P. Lovecraft style …
In one of the most bizarre marketing schemes I can recall, a small company called Dreamland Toyworks has produced a series of toys based around the H.P. Lovecraft Cthulhu mythos, and they are being wrapped up and used to further promote the recently released Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened adventure game for the PC. The game is a wonderful juxtaposition of the two fictional worlds – you have mysteries and puzzles mixed with horror and tests of mental stability.
And something that looks like, and is packaged like a kids toy yet states on the box ‘Not intended for children under 13’. You really have to take a look at these things. The site doesn’t show them in all of their glory, with the ‘Victims’ torn apart so you can see their innards.
My wife calls it ‘disturbing’, and my younger son is a bit freaked out, and has chosen to believe that ‘Dave’ is actually a nice Cthulhu who just wants to make friends but gets upset when people freak out and start trying to kill him and occasionally freaks out and drives people insane. My older son just thought it was cool that you could see their guts.
I’m not much of a collector – I didn’t go out and grab the Bioshock Collector’s Edition to get my very own ‘Big Daddy’, so this has me a bit befuddled. Is this the type of thing that people look to buy as a collector? The toys themselves are build for playing – they don’t feel like things meant to be stuck on a shelf. What are people doing with things like this? I can see collecting certain items from games for display, but things that look and feel like something from the Little Tykes store at the corner of Lucifer and Gehenna …
… and to make it even more bizarre, my kids have taken to singing a twisted theme song to the tune of ‘My Little Pony’ …
September 22nd, 2007 at 8:27 pm
And on a fairly unrelated note, I nearly got my men’s hockey league team to call itself the Deadly Cthulus late last week, but was narrowly defeated in a close vote by “Green Dragons.”
Not sure the intended target for these toys, but I can see them being bought up by Goths the world over. I expect my daughter will be asking for a set shortly, and she’s only about 25% Goth. 🙂
September 23rd, 2007 at 8:12 am
It’s a generational thing. You’re an old man and the young people today are retaining their youth a bit longer than ever before – you understand this Mike, unlike your own contemporaries you’re still a hardcore gamer. So there’s a giant market for action figures based on horror movies and other stuff kids shouldn’t play with.
Hey, let the market rule I say. The real problem is that store owners are stupid and have no idea how to shelve this stuff. I find Texas Chainsaw guy and other horror characters amongst the kid action figures all the time in local stores.
That said, I get the Cthulhu thing. I think I want your action figure dude. But then again, I have an office and a GamerDad rep to maintain 😉
September 23rd, 2007 at 9:42 am
The juxtaposition is the main attraction here. It’s why this is funny.
With these new vinyl Cthulu figures, there’s also some crossover here with designer toys, a market that has just exploded with whimsical figures. This Cthulu will sit on the shelf nicely with your Dunnys, your Munnys, your Smorkin’ Labbits, and your Gloomy Bear.
GamerDad, we tried to get Toys R Us to split up the McFarlane figures with the rest of the action figures. Nobody cares, basically. It’s funny though – they’ll stick the most horrific Clive Barker figure out there, but I bet there’d be a freak out if the latest Shunya Yamashita girl was mixed with the wrestling toys and Star Wars figures..
September 23rd, 2007 at 9:51 am
“How odd it looks!” said Miss Kitty Fluffington. “Very non-
Euclidian.”
AWESOME!
September 23rd, 2007 at 6:31 pm
I agree Simon – you get Spawn toys and toys direct-linked to other R-rated movies and M-rated games, but any anime-chicks would have the TRU folks fainting …
We love “Dave” … the kids’ latest game is to have the Victims running around screaming until they pop in half with their innards showing (really just red) and then they collapse in hysterical laughter …
September 23rd, 2007 at 7:20 pm
Ah kids. Anyone who thinks they’re all super-sweet and innocent hasn’t really known one.
I was in Target the other day (hooray! Toybiz Spider-Man and Friends style DC figures – got Henry Batman and Superman!) and they had some Wrestling figure that looked like Britney in her latest MTV bodysuit. Just a muscle girl in a bikini to make the other action figures stand up and take notice? Loved how it was shelved right next to the aforementioned Bats and Supes in Toddler proportions. Brilliant!
September 23rd, 2007 at 10:28 pm
It’s funny you mention wrestling figures, because the women have typically been really toned down compared to the on-screen versions (whereas the men are usually exaggerated in their plastic counterparts), but Sam just bought a new figure today and it had a new girl on the back. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen them do a bikini figure. A quick search shows that there are more.
Now all they have to do is stop making them look so ugly.
September 24th, 2007 at 2:44 pm
I love the tales of the plush Cthulhu. I have one that’s been driving the other denizens of the depths known as my desk insane for several years.
The guy who designed My L’il Cthulhu was none other than John Kovalic of Dorktower and Munchkin fame. He has a couple other versions as well. Or if you prefer, he will also knit your DOOOOMMMMM!!!
September 25th, 2007 at 10:01 am
H.P. Lovecraft would be very, very confused. 🙂
I think kids are always strongly drawn to scary stuff. Seeing it made into a playable form may take the monsters out of the shadows and be reassuring.
September 25th, 2007 at 10:26 am
That was a hilarious one, Colleen! This stuff is all great. I have never been into collectibles ever … so it is amazing to me every time I stumble into this world.
March 1st, 2008 at 11:38 pm
pathetic