Poncho Pete’s 9″ Preview–Maleficent and Prince Phillip
fairy tale
noun
Definition of FAIRY TALE
This genre, for many people, is synonymous with Walt Disney. Snow White, Cinderella, Pinocchio, Dumbo, the list goes on and on, but did you know that Disney stopped the Fairy Tale business for 30 years from 1959-1989 and now the rumors have it that Disney may be done with the genre completely. Is this a good thing? Is this a bad thing? Will Rapunzel be the final princess? Who knows? But the focus of this preview is the Fairy Tale that came to life in 1959 and then led to a long dormant period of similar movies from Disney, the aptly titled, “Sleeping Beauty.”
“Sleeping Beauty” has all the classic Fairy Tale elements:
A Princess–Check
Three Fairies–Check
A Villain–Check
An Unbeknownst Betrothed Hero–Check
A Spindle With Cataclysmic Capabilities
A Dragon–Check
A Fight Scene–Check
A Kiss–Check
A Happy Ending–Check
And Last, But Not Least– Awesome Lego Representation–Check
Now that you are all up to speed on Sleeping Beauty, let’s talk VInylmations. 1/2 of this vinyl combo is Maleficent, the villain (and Dragon) who is one of the most infamous in Disney lore. She shows up on Artwork, T-shirts, Movies and even in Fantasmic.
She has also been represented in Vinyl form a couple of times already by the Vinylmation team.
With her likeness rendered in so many different forms and media (including two pricy vinyls), the pressure is on for another Maleficent to deliver something great and unique. How many Maleficents does one home really need, after all? 
I’ll admit that I was highly skeptical when I saw that she was hitting up the 9″ Animation 2 roster after just appearing in Villains 1. But not a person to hold a grudge, I wanted to look at this vinyl without prejudice.
As you can see, they decided to go with the Dragon representation for this vinyl as opposed to the Villains 1 hybrid. I really feel as if they captured her evil essence. I love the fire coming through the cracks in her teeth. The evil green in her eyes is perfect. I might have chosen a different background for her horns other than the purple shown in her belly, but that is just me being nit-picky.
Going to her backside, the wings and tail really work. And even though there is a whole lot of plain black, this villainess wears it well. I love the swooping of her tail as it contrasts with her wings.
Now to Phillip, our hero in the story. Major kudos. Starting at the top, the thorns in Mickey’s ears are highly creative and add a great scenery effect. His red cape is true to the movie and having it wrap the bottom of Mickey’s head takes away from the distraction of the puffy cheeks of the Mickey mold. The uniform has many nice details in the front, especially the belt and shoes, which look great. In looking at Phillip’s back, we see the continuation of his brown hair and red cape. The billowing nature with the variation in red color and shadow is a touch that could have been skipped, but I am personally glad they went the extra mile and appreciate the detail that went into making him seem like he is in the fight of his life. Finally, the addition of the sword really pulls Philip together and transitions him from young kid to potential dragon slayer.
An edition size of 1200 is about perfect for this set. Maleficent has a strong following and this set is very well done. I am not sure what I kind of supplies the on-line store received, but we have yet to see a 9″/3″ combo with an edition size over 1000 sell out in a few days. That being said, if you are hoping to add this duo to your collection, I would do it soon as not all collecting stories are fairy tales with happy (or inexpensive) endings.
Fantastic review Pete. IMO – Average Vinyl. Not sure but something is missing – Maybe some flames or smoke or something.
And you forgot a Maleficant Dragon – Back of Fantasmic
You are so right. Fantasmic is one of those vinyls that has stood the test of time. I keep liking it more and more. Probably in my Top 3 of all time favorites.
With this Maleficent, I guess I love the simplicity and accuracy of it. I also like that the 3″ creates a great scene with the 9″. I love how they tell a story….something not many combos do. Will wait and see if I still like it this much down the road, but having it in hand right now, there are very few combos I like better.
Excellent review, but I would have loved to see 3D wings or maybe an actual tail!
Not since M2 Gonzo & Camilla have I seen such an appealing 9″/3″ set, Mazel Tov to Animation #2!