Twitch

Sideshow announced their Planet of the Apes line awhile ago and now that the figures have begun finding their way into collector’s hot little hands it’s the perfect time to assess the line. It’s probably fair to say that fans of the franchise have had a middling time of it when it comes to collectibles. Besides a few high priced model kits and t-shirts fans have had to revisit the DVD’s of the films and TV show or watch Tim Burton’s dubious 2001 remake. To be fair Hasbro did release a series of 12” figures to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the original Planet of the Apes film but their collectibility left a lot to be desired. Fans can now pick them up on the secondary market for much les than their original price.

I’m betting the same won’t happen with these Sideshow products. Besides offering the same high quality and dynamic packaging as all the figures in their 12” line Sideshow is also offering far more figures and showing far more imagination in the way they approach their line. As of this writing there are 10 figures and one very large polystone statue of the lawgiver which in and of itself is one of the most creative Sideshow polystone pieces I’ve seen outside of the LOTR line. At over 18 inches tall and a whopping 10 lbs this is no doubt the crowning piece of any POTA collection that doesn’t also include actual props from the film.

The Lawgiver piece is especially interesting for anyone who has enjoyed the POTA stories beyond the kitsch value that has sometimes been assigned them by critics and academics. Representing the greatest of all ape prophets he is nonetheless a symbol of religion gone wrong, religion at the service of the state instead of truth and yet it’s hard to ignore his more or less true depiction of man as a destructive creature that the apes must contain and control. Of course the POTA franchise always criticized human hubris. No matter what species the characters were, or how over-the-top the franchise got it was still fairly thought provoking and much has been written exploring POTAs sociological, political and even theological aspects.

The ten figures currently offered for pre-orders breakdown as follows. There are 2 versions of Dr. Zauis, one version each of Cornelious, Zira, 2 Gorilla Soldiers, a clean shaven Astronaut Taylor, bearded Forbidden Zone Taylor, and a loin-clothed Taylor/Nova two-pack. Several figures have sold out but should be available on the secondary market but with runs as low as 500 good luck finding them for their original price.

The 12’ figures come packaged handsomely in bright colorful boxes. My only complaint, and it’s a minor one, is the lack of poster art on the packaging we’ve seen thus far. Hopefully at least a few of these boxes will be emblazoned with the fabulous posters that I remember seeing.And there’s a decent chance of it since the Sideshow rep I spoke too also confirmed that several more figures are in the works. Besides General Ursus, a lobotomized crew mate, or a resin sinking rocket I’d give my eyeteeth for some environments, a nuclear bomb temple or some Beneath figures that have removable faces revealing their hideous scarred visages.

Til the new figures are announced at Toy Fair 2005 remember “the only good human is 12’ plastic human.”