This month, Funko released the last box in their first year of their Disney Treasures subscription service. Themed Ever After Castle, this is the second box in the first year to sell out prior to the end of the subscription window, following last October’s Haunted Forest box. Thanks to the Pop! Vinyl 2pk anchoring this box, quite a few people are over the moon with the contents of this month’s box. Let’s take a closer look.
Now, before we get into the internal contents of the box, we get our standard patch and pin for this box. The patch features Lumiere, the enchanted candlestick from the animated classic Beauty and the Beast (which is set in a castle, so I guess it makes sense). The pin features one of Disney’s OTPs (one true pairs), Donald Duck and Daisy Duck. While their is nothing castle about them, they do fit in the “ever after” portion of the theme.
Hopefully soon, Funko will hand out the completer patch for this first year. Since all six of the patches were curved to form a circular border around a supposed seventh patch, it would be nice to get that last patch.
Opening the internal part of the box, I noticed off the bat that there was no “map” explaining the contents of the box. I enjoyed the other five boxes containing this informational paper. I miss it not being in this one.
First up in this box was the item that was hinted at that ultimately caused the box to sell out: Wedding Ceremony Ariel & Prince Eric.
This 2pk features Ariel and Eric from the final scene of The Little Mermaid, as well as the final section of the both of the movie themed rides as Disney California Adventure and The Magic Kingdom.
This is a great variation of Ariel, as we have previously seen her as a mermaid and in her various dresses while on land. This is also the first time we have gotten Prince Eric in Pop! form. Hoping the popularity of this 2pk will lead to versions of Eric in his sailing outfit, Ariel “freshly” out of the sea, Eric’s Dog Max, and Ursula as Vanessa.
Next up is a cute little Pocket Pop! Keychains 2pk of Lady and the Tramp. Another product representing the “ever after” part of the theme.
While the keychains are removable, Tramp was actually top heavy with the piece removed. I prefer to have them removed while on display.
The last item in this box is the next in the Mini Tins line. With each of its’ five predecessors, a themed tin contains a Funko Mini. For this month, the tin featuring Mickey and Minnie’s houses from Toontown in Disneyland contains a Minnie Mouse Mini… a Minnie Mini… cute!
Overall, to me this was one of the better boxes for the first year of Disney Treasures. While I was led to believe that there would be more Theme Park themed items throughout the year, and at least one box left a lot to be desired, the value for the full year was there, I believe. There were a couple of stand-out pieces, a few pieces that highlighted the awesome parts of the theme parks, and overall a lot of fun. Yes, I might have been harsh in the moment with a couple of my previous reviews, but looking at the line as a whole, Funko did a good job. Can they do better for Year Two? Yes. However, they could have done a lot worse.
Matt Norris
I would not be surprised if the pivot to more general Disney items was less losing the plot and more business. There’s a bunch of people that love the theme parks, but there’s a significantly bigger market for people that love the characters.
I agree Nick…. it’s just not how this subscription service was sold to us in the beginning… and I know a few people who probably would not have gotten the yearly subscription if they knew that there would have been less and less focus on the parks.
The noses on the lady and the tramp are magnetic. I’m hoping for a scuttle, triton, vanessa and fletsum/jetsum in a future box.
I’m disappointed that the Castle itself never saw the light of day – when the service started, it was heavily implied that Funko would be doing an actual castle pop for this box (similarly to the rides). I feel like these last few boxes have a few pieces of filler – the Minnie Mouse mini, and the Donald and Daisy pin don’t really feel close to the theme.
However, as disappointed as I am, I can see why this appeals to collectors. I’m curious to see how they approach the second year.