Main characters = most common?

[CherryPizza]

Bear with with, people, I need to ponder.

Just went to an amazingly amazing screening of the first two Toy Story movies in 3D. While I was watching the second one (which, btw is my favourite one so far. I realise this probably puts me in the minority), it resonated with my toy collecting sensibilities as it always does. However, this time, a whole new thought was striking me. Since Muppets are by far my 'main' collection, I wondered if I could get thoughts from people here.

In the 'real' world (whatever that is), would it really be the case that Woody (the main character, the star of the show, the one whose name is in the title of the show) would actually be the sought-after toy that would finally make the collection 'complete'? If you're looking for a final piece to add to your collection of a certain Muppet product, is it ever Kermit, Piggy or Fozzie that ends up being the elusive 'hard to find' toy?

Just to quote some of my own experiences:

When the collecting the Schleich PVCs from the late 70s, Zoot was the hardest of the lot to get hold of.

With the Fisher-Price Stick Puppets, Scooter/Animal were the ones that I had to wait and hope to find.

Today, whenever I read of people trying to find those last few Palisades figures, it is almost always a search for an obscure/fan favourite character (unless it's for a rarer variant or exclusive of a main character).


Yes, I realise that the story would not have worked unless Woody was the 'missing' toy, but that doesn't stop my overactive mind from seeking your thoughts.

 

[Drtooth]

Considering we're talking about the Toy Story movie here, I just want to discuss that exact part with you.

Now, as far as I can remember from the movie, Woody's Round Up was a long lost TV series from the 1950's. Andy would have had to receive the toy as a hand me down. and which he carefully played with it over the years, keeping it in good enough condition. Now, bare with me. Woody would have sold out, and anything unsold would have been lost forever. Now, considering the show was from the 50's all the other Woody's would have had to have been lost, or just in poor condition. Stinky Pete, the apparently unloved one in the cast was found (as his back story says) rotting on a shelf no one ever bought.

Here's what I'm thinking... Al has to have been in his 40's, if not late 30's. Now, he could have had SOME of the stuff, or easily tracked down everything else... but a Woody was hard to find in good enough condition. Remember, Al mentioned "If you only had your... HAT!" So, even if these were fairly common, the hats could have gotten lost (Accessories that aren't glue or molded on tend to do that)...

As for the Muppet figures, hard to find doesn't so much have anything to do with the popularity tier of the character in question... it usually has to do with demand. Kermit and Piggy from the first Palisades line up were double packed while Dr. Teeth and Bunsen were shortpacked. There were quite a few Piggys and Kermies that were still on the shelves, making the others rarer. When they changed to one of each character, things were different.

Nowadays, it's very common to see a popular Muppet action figure go for a fortune, while certain smaller characters are still on store shelves if you know where to look. I know Dr. VanNeuter sat on shelves long after the toy line finished.

 

[CherryPizza]

Ah yes, that's true. I guess there is more than one route to making a particular character more rare.

Actually, as I was typing my first post, I was thinking of an end-of-year episode of an Australian soap that aired in 1990, when Ninja Turtles were the big thing. There was slight drama when the father of a Turtle-obsessed girl could not get hold of any Turtle toys at Christmas; all the shops seemed to be sold out of them.

One well-meaning but out-of-touch lady arrives with an April O'Neil toy that she managed to find, all gushing about how she's saved the day with a Ninja Turtles toy. The father tries his best to feign appreciation, and then someone else just walks by and makes some comment about it being the booby prize toy that seems to be all anyone can get.

 

[beaker]

One well-meaning but out-of-touch lady arrives with an April O'Neil toy that she managed to find, all gushing about how she's saved the day with a Ninja Turtles toy. The father tries his best to feign appreciation, and then someone else just walks by and makes some comment about it being the booby prize toy that seems to be all anyone can get.

Is it odd that I'm almost 32, yet any mention of the Ninja Turtles to this day gets me excited?

When the collecting the Schleich PVCs from the late 70s, Zoot was the hardest of the lot to get hold of.

With the Fisher-Price Stick Puppets, Scooter/Animal were the ones that I had to wait and hope to find.

Does it make me a bad Muppet fan to say I am way more fond of Muppet show Schleich/Applause/Comics Spain PVCs, Fisher Price 1978 action figures and Jack in the Box 2003 action figures than I am about the Palisades figures? Maybe it's just my age, but all my friends prefer the 3 3/4 scale of 80's figures(which is NOW the trend again) than the giant grotesque Mcfarlane 7" styled figures. I prefer a cartoonish look with Muppet merchandise, but I know Im in the super minority, but I like having smaller figures do to the amount that can be produced as well as I dont like how much room bigger figures take.

And yes, I LOVVVVE Toy Story 2 even more than the first(I prefer Jedi over Empire Strikes Back and New Hope, so Im weird); yet sadly I can't say the story of Toy Story 3 excites me much(it takes place in a daycare? Ugh...) I'm a big fan of 80's Pixar too.

 

[Drtooth]

Ah yes, that's true. I guess there is more than one route to making a particular character more rare.

Rarity is only character driven if the character is so popular that all the merchandise sells, or if the character is so obscure that very few of the run of the merchandise features them. It's all supply and demand, basically.