Villains 1: Magic Kingdom Under Attack

Last year, with the help of some readers, we documented the Villains 1 invasion of Florida. Well, after laying low for a while, they recently were seen around the Magic Kingdom. Apparently they thought The Swiss Family Robinson’s Tree House was a prime hideout location.

Bad Pete protects the ammo.

Bonsai takes lookout in the rocks.

Cruella stands guard on the bridge.

Kaa slithers up a rope for a surprise attack.

Madam Mim practices her potions.

Prince John relaxes in his cabin upstairs while the other Villains do the dirty work.

What is the old hag doing with all that fruit?

Governor Ratcliffe mans the cannons.

Shan Yu plots the course of attack.

Stromboli plays around in the music room.

Ursula is in charge of the water supply.
Jafar guards the treasures.

Vinylmation Speculation: Tracking down Villains 1


Over on twitter @artisticdoodle send out a mass tweet saying,
“Heads up, Villains 1 may be out of print. Out of stock at DLR D-street and at my local Disney Store and not listed on DisneyStore.com. D-Street and local Disney Store have no idea if they’ll get anymore. D-Street sold their last case last week. Local Disney Store has been out since the first day of the BOGO free promo.”

We just want to put the word out and see if anyone else is experiencing the same thing in their local Disney Stores. Usually, Disney likes to print a set for almost a year, and it’s only been half that long at this point in time.

With the announcement of Villains 2 coming, are people buying these up?

What say you, the vinylmation fans?

On 7/12 @faultytext reported, “Villains in Vogue @ DHS was out, as was D-Street Orlando last I checked. I hope they return. Missing some!”

Villains Invading D-Streets 5/6/11

It looks like the Disney Stores couldn’t keep the evil Villains contained. Now it seems that they will be taking over both D-Street stores on May 6th. They even got the California Store to open at 8 AM!

Evil Reviewed

We received our Villains 9″/Jr combos today. Which one is your favorite? What do you think about Disney releasing these limited edition figures in select Disney stores? What is the most fair way to allow collectors to get limited edition items? Keep them at D-Streets or put them online?

Maleficent 9″ and Princess Aurora Jr

Maleficent is one of the most striking figures yet. The colors are vibrant. The face is drawn really well and is in the perfect place on the figure. I like designer Oskar Mendez’s use of gloss on the head and hands and matte finish to the clothing.

The Jr “Sleeping Beauty” is the first full representation of a “Princess” as a vinylmation. Here’s hoping to see some more, and in 3″ size!

Julius 9″ and Minnie
Mouse Jr

Another nice placement of the face, giving him a big chin. Artists Gerald Mendez’s design is very exaggerated and cartoonish. Great detail with the stitches and gloss finish.

Minnie Jr’s face is drawn remarkably well on the Jr. Great color.

Mickey will come as the Combo Topper for Park 6, (April 1st)

Jumba 9″ and Stitch Jr

The Jumba figure doesn’t work for me. To be honest, I don’t think Artist Dan Beltan captured Jumba’s character. The eyes look crossed. Also, I get he has a blue tongue, good idea, but it looks awkward. He’s missing his satchel and a few hairs on his head. And I’m fairly certain the coloring is a bit off on the clothing. But hey, I like the stars in the ears.

Stitch Jr is basically Stitch from Park 5 shrunk down… and like his predecessor, it doesn’t look right. Stitch needs to be drawn more cartoonish and exaggerated.

Maleficent 9″ Vinylmation Sold Out

Update: 10:30AM All the villains 9″/Jr combos are sold out online. Also as of this time, all the Villains 9″/Jr sets are sold out of the Tampa Disney Store (and we suspect any other EST store). Tampa only had 8 Maleficent sets (and the family in the front of the line bought like 6).
Well it didn’t take long. At some point between 2am EST and 730am EST the Disney Store Online put the Villains 9″/Jr sets up for sale. As of now, the Maleficent and Aurora set is sold out. Interestingly, they also put up a package where you could buy all 3 9″/Jr sets. That is currently sold out also! Each set is a Limited Edition of 700.

Maleficent and Sleeping Beauty: Up Close and In Hand

Here is a tweet from @zoekatherine on March 12:

“Sleeping Beauty Vinylmation! She is so cute! This is the first princess Vinylmation made! So exciting! :)”
She purchased these at the Mission Viejo, CA store. They also had the Jumba/Stitch and Julius/Minnie combos on the shelf as well. The Villains 9″ + Jr combos are not scheduled to be released until March 21st according to a Disney Blog post and the Disney Events page. Looks like some Villains escaped early. Here is a list of the stores Disney announced will be carrying these Villains:
Stockton Street, San Fransico, California
Mission Viejo, California
Cherry Hill, California
Fashion Valley, California
Montebello, California
Santa Monica, California
International Plaza, Tampa, Florida
State Street, Chicago, Illinois
North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois
Freehold, New Jersey
Times Square, NYC, New York
Roosevelt Field, Garden City, New York
Northpark, Texas
Zoe has been collecting Vinylmation since Park 2. Her favorite is Ariel from Park 2. Here are some more great pictures she sent into us.

Ep. 009 SMRT-1

Ep. 009 SMRT-1
On today’s episode we talk about and review the Villains series, the WDW 40th Anniversary, and take a look forward to the Cutesters Too series.
Listen Now:
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Breaking News Alert: Villains on the loose!

We were afraid of this. We heard rumors of a country wide bad guy break out today. And it looks like it is true. Facts are still a bit cloudy right now, things are happening very fast. We are getting in pictures from eye witnesses as we speak. Villains are being spotted around the country… up to no good I bet. We will keep you updated as news breaks, but please be careful out there! And if you see any Villains, get a picture for us, but do NOT try to apprehend. They are considered armed and dangerous.

Update: 9:42pm EST
This is an URGENT news bulletin from Destination Vinylmation. We have been very wrong about our misunderstood Villain friends today. They come in peace and will do us no harm…. Is he gone? Good. Needless to say we were frightened when Prince John found our secret DV recording studio just outside of Orlando. He demanded air time, so we let him sit in on our podcast.

Please, whatever you do, do not underestimate these Villains! They are still out there! Find them all… before they find you! Good night everyone… we are signing off for tonight. We will be back with more news soon. If you don’t hear from us tomorrow… well, take care of yourselves.

Update: 9:21pm EST
Breaking News from Key West, Florida. An evil foe has been spotted soaking up some rays on the beach. An unnamed lifeguard on duty says he overheard Ratcliffe discuss plans to overthrow Rick Scott and take over the Governorship of the state. We are your source for updates about the Villains reign of terror today. Stay tunned…

Update: 9:06pm EST
We are still getting reports of Villains on the loose. But I’m beginning to think they are not all bad. Maybe they are just enjoying a day at the theme parks after being locked up for so long?

Update: 7:46pm EST
We got word from a Universal cast member that Miss de Ville was just enjoying the Harry Potter ride. I’ll give her that, it’s a great ride. But what is Stromboli doing down in Ft. Myers, Florida? Checking out the beaches? I don’t think so… thanks for the picture Cliff. Keep your distance, but keep your eye on him.

Update: 6:58pm EST
We have been tracking these bad guys all day and so far they have only caused minimal damage around Florida and the US. But this… this is just blasphemy. Is there no loyalty to Disney for these evil creatures? What evil could they be causing at Florida’s theme parks?

Update: 6:09pm EST
This is the best shot we’ve received of who we believe is the mysterious leader of the Villains. His crew has been wreaking havoc in Orlando today after busting out of jail. We thank this brave tourist for sending in this picture from outside the Arabian Knights dinner theater.

Update: 5:18pm EST
This photo from and anonymous source at NASA shows a Villain, looks like Shan Yu, hanging around Kennedy Space Center. Is he catching a shuttle launch or stealing national defense secrets? Keep on the look out for suspicious activity in your area today.

Update: 3:41pm EST
We received this photo from a camper in the forests of Ocala, Florida. It’s a bit blurry, but it looks as though our fearless contributer was rushed to snap this photo. It looks to be Mickey’s infamous arch-rival Pete walking around looking for trouble. It seems that Pete may have spotted this photographer, we hope he is OK. Stay safe people, hopefully these Villains will be rounded up quickly.

Update: 2:06pm EST
It looks like The Witch, we can only assume, is poisoning Florida’s Orange supply. How does this compare to her poisoning of Snow’s Apple? It is unfair at this time to compare the two crimes, but she needs to be brought to justice. Keep sending in your tips.

Update: 12:43pm EST
The baddies have been spotted slithering up the Florida Highways. Thanks to a brave motorist for risking his life snapping this pic for us. Where are they going? What do they want?

Update: 11:48am EST
What evil is brewing at the Florida Hotel? An anonymous hotel employee sent this photo in and says some shady characters have been checking in this morning.

Update: 10:57am EST
A Villain is spotted lurking around the Florida Mall in Orlando this morning.

Always right behind the good guys…

Super Rumor-

We got word from the twitter friend (@keithkrebs) that Disney’s Vinylmation Villains 1 series may be out in some Disney Stores as early as Friday, January 14th. This comes only one week after the release of the Animation 1 series. Steven Miller told use when we interviewed him last year that they would be coming in January, but on January 4th, “The Buzz” had an image that said, “Spring 2011”. This weekend at the parks the Star Wars set comes out. Would they release two at the same time??

We shall keep you updated, but while you wait check out our regularly updated Villains Explained blog post for information.

Villains Explained

Update: 1/20/11 We now have photographic proof of the price of a single blind box. $9.95 in US ($12.95 in Canada). We also know that the triplet is Pete! Thanks to @keithkrebs!

Update: 1/15/11 Disney’s Vinylmation Blog has announced the “official” released date as January 31, 2011. Villians 1 is a Disney Store exclusive and according to the blog will be released at “select” Disney Stores in the US and Canada. (Although some Disney Stores have them already out).

Update: 1/14/11 At the Star Wars release several people said their Disney Stores said they would release Villains on January 28th. So that’s the newest rumor. We’ll find out later today if any stores have them out today.

Update: 1/12/11 It’s been rumored that the set might hit Disney Store shelves as early as Friday, January 14th. It’s only two days away, so we’ll see soon.

Update: 1/7/11 Click here to see what each blind box and the case will look like.

Update: 1/4/11 Check out the teaser image we found at “The Buzz” (one of Disney’s online blogs). It seems to confirm that the Villains Vinylmation will be out in Spring, so that changes when we thought they’d be out from January to March, April, or May.

Update: 12/30/10 I thought I’d take today to update our blog posts with new information we received since the original leak back in November.
We now have the turn arounds of all the Villains and know the chaser (see below). We also know the artists of each. The set will be available in Japan first, and then come to the United States later in January. The set will also be released ONLY in Disney Stores.

11/26/10- And there’s more! We also found the first figures from the Villains 1 set! (As rumored) Interesting to note that there are no extras or accessories with this set (so far).


Banzai

From: The Lion King (1994)
Voiced by: Cheech Marin
Vinylmation Artist: Jim Valeri

It’s clearly a spotted Hyena. Shenzi has bangs, Ed has his tongue hanging out, Banzai has the thicker eyebrows that seem to be represented here.
He is one of the minions of the evil Scar. Which makes this an interesting choice. I like how they are including the “side kicks”, leaving us anticipating more with future Villains Vinylmation releases.


Cruella de Vil

From: 101 Dalmatians (1961)
Voiced by: Betty Lou Gerson
Vinylmation Artist: Dan Beltran

They did a great job with this one. They captured her evil face perfectly. The body was going to be challenging, Cruella is a very thin character, but she wears this big coats, and they used that to their advantage to fill out the body.


Kaa

From: The Jungle Book (1967)
Voiced by: Sterling Holloway
Vinylmation Artist: Oskar Mendez

With a hypnotic gaze, this seems to be a figure of Kaa, as opposed to Sir Hiss from Robin Hood (Plus Robin Hood already is represented in this series by Prince John)
Also an interesting choice, as the Bigger Bad from this movie was Shere Khan. With two tigers in the Animal Kingdom set, did they want to avoid another tiger so soon after?



Madam Mim

From: The Sword and the Stone (1963)
Voiced by: Martha Wentworth
Vinylmation Artist: Kyle Jensen

She took many forms during the movie as she battled with Merlin. This is a great idea to include the Black Cauldron’s bubbling brew as the body.



Pete

From: Steamboat Willie (1928)
First Voiced by: Billy Bletcher
Vinylmation Artist: Enrique Pita

With the overalls, hat and evil growl, this is one of Disney’s very first Villains. Pete first appeared in a more “bear” like form in the Alice Comedies. This representation however is clearly from his more well-know Steamboat Willie role. Pete is Disney’s oldest continuing character, predating Mickey, Pete was first archenemy to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. I LOVE the black and white design! This is Pete’s second Vinylmation appearace. His first was as a chaser from “Have a Laugh” where he was represented in full color as Conductor Pete from “Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip” (1940).

Update: 1/20/11 Pete is the triplet (3 Pete’s in each case)


Prince John

From: Robin Hood (1973)
Voiced by: Phil Harris
Vinylmation Artist: Enrique Pita

I loved Robin Hood when I was a kid, and so I personally enjoyed this Villain and it’s inclusion in this series. Thanks Disney!


Ratcliffe

From: Pocahontas (1995)
Voiced by: David Ogden Stiers
Vinylmation Artist: Enrique Pita

Great representation here of Ratcliffe’s evil smile! I love the color in this character too. The one thing here… Disney isn’t bashful about adding accessories… where is Ratcliffe’s signature tall hat?



Shan Yu

From: Mulan (1998)
Voiced by: Miguel Ferrer
Vinylmation Artist: Dan Beltran

This is a perfect representation. I love the use of Mickey’s nose as Shan Yu’s big, sculpted chin. And I like how they are not afraid to use the whole canvas to add little things. Anyone know what it says in his ears?


Stromboli

From: Pinocchio (1940)
Voiced by: Charles Judels
Vinylmation Artist: Jim Valeri

Stromboli is such an over-sized animated character, and they captured that in the head of the Vinylmation. Stretching his face over the entire head and extending the beard down the body really draws your attention. Great use of the ears to represent the curtains on the play stage.


Ursula

From: The Little Mermaid (1989)
Voiced by: Pat Carroll
Vinylmation Artist: Enrique Pita

Absolutely perfect representation. Ursula was made for Vinylmation. The head fits perfectly, using the nose for her big mouth. then the body of the Vinylmation is slightly rounded outward and Ursula’s body represents perfectly onto it. Then, instead of filling the bottom half with her body, they use the feet to add some water and her tentacles. Brilliantly done Disney


Queen/The Witch/Old Hag

From: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Voiced by: Lucille La Verne
Vinylmation Artist: Gerald Mendez

In her “Old Hag” form and with an apple that is poisoned for Snow White. They captured her wickedness. I like the way they extended the face down into the body. they could have done many things with the ugly long nose, but I like the idea of drawing it downward instead of just letting Mickey’s nose represent it. The drawn on apple is a great touch, but did they experiment with actually sticking an accessory apple onto her hand? And what’s on the back? Do we get the Queen on the other side? Or is that reserved for a future release?



Mystery Chaser

From: A Disney Movie
Voiced by: You?
Vinylmation Artist: Kyle Jensen

Well, the most obvious choice for the chaser is Maleficent. When ever there is a group of villains, in anything from toys or video games, Maleficent is always there watching over. But there are some other groovy choices – Captian Hook, Jafar, or the Queen of Hearts – just to name a few. What do you think the final villain in this set will be?

Update: 12/30/10 To avoid spoilers, we hid the image of the chaser (now confirmed). To see who it is and what the Vinylmation looks like just click on the Mystery Chaser image.

Breakdown of Boxes: (Click photos to enlarge for detail)

Biggest note is that the character they have chosen to represent the Villains set is Ursula. (Which is great because she is one of the best looking designs).

The other note is that there is a number 1 with this series. So that makes us think there will be a Villains 2. W00t!

Information from various Disney Sources. The Buzz and the Vinylmation Vault
Case photos from toyark.com