“Once again we must fight for the freedom of our home. Are you ready?” -Queen Angella. Princess of Power, “Portrait of Doom”
The problem with being a little too busy to keep up with toy news this year is that I’ve felt really disconnected to some of the toy lines I collect. Reviewing the figures typically brings everything back in a rush; I pick up a cool figure and it’s like an express train right back into something I really love. It’s been that way for a lot of the MOTU Classics reviews in particular. Lizard Man, Ninjor, & Oo-Lar have all been great examples of it.
But I’m just not feeling it with Queen Angella. Some of it is likely because my affinity for POP is a late development. My interest in POP is more about me going back as an adult fan to appreciate it instead of a straight nostalgia trip. That said, some of it is from the figure too.
I feel like I should be ecstatic. This character is probably one of the most prominent ones we’ll be getting this year (why it took so long is beyond me). She’s the leader of the Great Rebellion and kinda the matriarch of POP, She-Ra being the hero notwithstanding. And, if we forget about Spritina (the hot twigget we’re probably not getting), Angella finally completes the group shot that preceded each episode. POP collecting is slow business, y’all. I’m glad she’s finally here, but the figure just isn’t bowling me over.
Looking at the sculpt work, everything is solid there. The new boots, new skirt (it’s still a skirt piece, we’ll get to that), the shoulderpads, torso, and head sculpt are all well done. The wings, on loan from DCUCs Hawkgirl are some of my favorite pieces in both lines now. If I saw this figure in prototype grey, I’d probably be plenty excited.
The problems crop up once we get to the execution, the paint, and when I put her on display. We’ve long covered the skirt problems for the MOTU ladies. Nearly all of the MOTU/POP girls wear leotards in the various canon. The MOTUC hip articulation cannot handle leotards. It’s great that the thigh cut has been moved up under the furry underwear on the guys, but it just doesn’t work as well on the girls. Some figures, like Teela, just look like they’re wearing a skirt and its fine unless you’re a stickler and/or wanted waist articulation. The waist joint was added with She-Ra who wore a skirt proper and it worked great. After that though, the leotard-wearing girls started to end up with this bulky, soft plastic underwearesque piece that tried to emulate the leotard, but looked like a diaper. It wasn’t cool. Trimming it down didn’t work either as it revealed the “dreaded” articulation. On Angella, we have a new variant of this issue. The tip of this piece is now glued to the interior lower torso joint. It clearly wasn’t sculpted with that in mind since it just ups the bulk at the hips and creates weird contours along the thighs. It was a nice attempt, but it’s another bad fix in a line of bad fixed.
Then comes the paint. Most of the paint is great! The detail on the skirt is nice. The lower & upper legs match (low bar here, folks). The bodice piece of her outfit looks a little unpainted. I like the toy details being added here, but some paint could have been added there to flesh that detail out too. The shading on the wings is amazing. The paint on the face would be great too… if her eyes were just even… Damn. Continue to Page 2…
She doesn’t look too bad to me, and I’ve seen worse eyes on more expensive figures. I don’t recall the height issue between mother and daughter back in the day, but lots of woman are taller than their mothers.
Interesting the first thing you mention is Angela reuses Hawkgirl’s wings. I guess the “we can’t cross the lines!” mantra is gone? Sure, I don’t expect a DC character to start wielding a power sword (looks at Thanos BAF wave Thor), but not many complained when Beast Boy got a green Zoar pack in, but the MOTUC body for DKR Bats got a lot of flack on this issue. I’m less sure about the GB vs DC Movie Masters suits. some definite likenesses, but sizing was off. DCUC suits were definitely bigger than both.
The reason I point this out is not only because the wings have now been used for MOTUC, but the (pinion?) joint has been modified to be larger and they are also being used for the new “CRE*ATE A WWE Superstar” line, with Rey Mysterio’s “Lucha Set” having the wings on his eagle harness. Altho that line has some weak azz joint connectors. Mattel really dropped the ball as these feel like cheap dollar store figures.
Also, isn’t that blue Merman packed in the DC/MOTU set with Hawkman, who also used those wings? #synergy?
Yes, it is interesting that they cross the lines now …
Maybe Mattel was afraid of a total protonic reversal?
Nutlich claimed there were rights issues that they couldn’t use parts across the lines. I could see this if something was particularly branded by DC (Bat-whtever), GB (gear/ghosts), or MOTU (power swords), but a bird, or a suit/body that would need new parts to create certain characters? not so much.
Good summary.
Yeah, I’m not feeling her either and didn’t know why. At the time I attributed it to line fatigue and didn’t search my feelings any further: “It’s not you Angella, it’s me …”.
Now I’m not so sure – maybe it IS her? 🙂
Excellent review and great comics, as per.
I like this figure, but I’m not thrilled with it. I’m not completely overwhelmed with thanks that it finally got made, that it’s a magnificent blending of Vintage Toy and Filmation Model Sheet styles, or that it effectively completes the Great Rebellion Bigshot roster. And as mildly disappointing as they are, I’m not totally underwhelmed by the lack of established scale, the slightly askew eyes, and the fact that it’s just another angeloid winged female character amongst bazillions. I suppose I’m just whelmed by it.
Also: good to know I’m not the only one who thinks Spritina is ridiculously hot.
I really like Angella and think I’d definitely put her near the top of the list this year so far. I just love her overall appearance (and thankfully the eyes on mine came out OK) and the execution of the wings. The sword is indeed a new sculpt. It actually matches a specific sword from Secret of the Sword.
I really like her, but her eyes and height detract a little bit from the experience.
I also liked Angella, but I agree about her height. Not because the difference between her and Glimmer, but I think she should be taller.
The eyes on mine are well painted and I love her wings…who knows the 4 Horsemen could use Gothitropolis legs to our Hunga the Harpy…
I would love to see a pink shield too and I would prefer her with a longer hair.
I like this figure. My daughter keeps saying she’s ugly, not sure if she’s kidding or not. By my figures eyes are fine. Also, she’s shorter because they removed a centimetre from her waiste to fix the leotard issue, which does look much better. Line her up with Flimmer and look at her midsection. You’ll see the difference. I’m pretty happy with her overall.
Oh that last pic man! Rolfcopter!
I’m with you 100%. I wouldn’t necessarily blame it on fatigue (although, I suspect that may have something to do with it). I like Angella, she hits all the right notes and I can’t think of anything I wouldn’t change. But I literally took her out of the package, checked her joints, put her up on the shelf, and that was the end.