Welcome to Flashback Friday. Each week I’ll be posting a brand new article on a related Pop or Dorbz that’s connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Anything film or television related is fair game. I’ll be doing a short review and then moving on to my thoughts on the piece and series.
Christmas is now behind us and 2017 is rapidly approaching. This Flashback will cover the Friday before Christmas and the Friday before New Years. Today’s featured Pops are from 2014s runaway hit Guardians of the Galaxy. Groot is our highlighted character of the day.
Box Office: Guardians of the Galaxy debuted in theaters in August of 2014 to over $94 million which far surpassed even the most generous of estimates from box office analysts. It went on to gross over $333 million domestically (North America + Canada) and over $773 million worldwide. It was one of the biggest hits of the year and Groot voiced by Vin Diesel played a large role that kept audiences coming back for repeat viewings.
Groot: Groot is an extraterrestrial, sentient tree-like creature in the film. In the comics he originally invaded Earth to capture humans for experimentations. They haven’t really touched on his origins in the film or how he and Rocket became friends but I hope we learn more about their relationship in the next film or in the rumored spin-off.
Description/Review: Dancing Groot is numbered 101 in the Marvel Pop series and has two variations. The first one is Holiday Dancing Groot where he is in a small green pot for plants with a red bow wrapped around it. This design is very similar to what we see at the end of the film where Groot is dancing in the pot to the music playing in the background while Drax is sharpening a weapon. The second variation is exactly the same as the original except that Groot has snow on top of his head and around the base of the pot. Obviously, these variations are not in the film but they do make fantastic collectibles. Both Pops are very adorable and fans have been grabbing them up since they debuted.
Guardians of the Galaxy Set: This is the largest Marvel Pop set to date.
• Star-Lord (47)
• Rocket Raccoon (48)
• Rocket Raccoon (Flocked) (SDCC 2014) (48)
• Rocket Raccoon (Ravagers) (Previews) (48)
• Rocket Raccoon (Flocked) (48)
• Groot (49)
• Groot (Glow in the Dark) (Loot Crate) (49)
• Groot (Extra Mossy) (49)
• Drax (50)
• Gamora (51)
• Star-Lord (Unmasked) (Amazon) (52)
• Dancing Groot (65)
• Dancing Groot (Ravagers) (Entertainment Earth) (65)
• Dancing Groot (Hot Topic) (65)
• Yondu (74)
• Ronan (75)
• Nebula (76)
• The Collector (77)
• Thanos (78)
• Thanos (Entertainment Earth) (78)
• Angry Groot (ToyMatrix) (84)
• Rocket Raccoon (SDCC 2015) (93)
• Dancing Groot (101)
• Dancing Groot Snowy (101)
• Star-Lord (Mixed Tape) (155)
• Cosmo (167)
Both Pops were released in 2015 just in time for the holiday season. The first Dancing Groot was released in various stores throughout the country. The Snowy Dancing Groot was a Hot Topic exclusive and if I remember correctly was selling pretty fast. Both Dancing Groot’s are absolutely adorable and if you are a Groot fan these are must haves for your collection.
Price Info: For the collectors out there you’ll be happy to know that both Holiday Dancing Groot and Snowy Holiday Dancing Groot are still very reasonable in price. You should be able to get both for $10.00 to $12.00. I don’t think it’s very likely you’ll find these in stores so your best bet is to check out websites such as Amazon and eBay. You also might have some luck checking out the Barnes and Noble, Hot Topic, and GameStop websites. Another great source is our very own Facebook group page that you can buy, sell, and trade for anything Funko related. The link can be found right here https://facebook.com/groups/funkopopvinyltrade. Definitely give it a try because we have a fantastic community and most people are willing to work with you.
Please have a very safe and fun holiday season with friends and family. Be sure to keep checking the PopVinyls website throughout the holidays for all sorts of news related to your favorite Funko products.
What are your thoughts on Dancing Groot? Love it? Is it oversaturated? Let us know in the comments below. I will return on January 6th with a brand new Flashback article.
Happy Holidays!
Matt Norris