Donkey (Shrek) by McFarlane Toys

As of this writing, Shrek has yet to hit the theaters. But already the toys are all over the place and so we begin our coverage of this sure-to-be-popular series with Donkey (6").

Eddie Murphy provides the voice for Donkey in the movie, but it’s obvious the animators (and in turn the sculptors) also used him to create the character. Look no further than the head. The brows are slightly inclined and the toothy grin has Eddie

Murphy written all over it. Layer that with the jaw gibbering action, and you have the quadruped version of Mr. Murphy. (Parents, don’t worry he’s not doing stand-up routines!)

Donkey lacks great amounts of articulation. In fact, there are only three. The neck swivels and so do the ears. That’s it. The tail looks

like it should turn but it doesn’t. (A departure from articulation out the wazoo that’s become expected from McFarlane.) However, the lack of articulation means that breaking miscellaneous parts off isn’t easy, which makes it safer for younger children to play with. The gibbering jaw action is a perfect action for Donkey to have and is "activated" by pressing a button on the back of his head. The button doesn’t stand out since McFarlane has incorporated it into the strip of hair, which runs from his head down his back. Donkey fits very easily into small hands. My 21-month old son can’t play with Donkey enough and I have to pry it out of his hands after he falls asleep. For him, operating the jaw is important since he attempts to feed Donkey everything. Even when gunked with food and orange juice, the jaw action still works. Washing Donkey off with some lukewarm water makes him sticky-free, but it remains to be seen how this will affect the mechanism inside Donkey’s head that operates the jaw. And be warned, Donkey’s feet can mark up walls and floors.

The base that comes with Donkey is practically essential for keeping Donkey standing if he’s on display. The sculpt is such that only three of the legs touch the ground, and if not on the base falls over quite easily. Detail and likeness are very good. Sometimes likeness is sacrificed when toys based on movies are released. (While this hasn’t been the case lately, it’s a legacy that has not been forgotten.) Donkey easily manages to look like his movie counterpart. Closer examination of the head reveals that the eyes are attached separately, which means we’ll likely see variants of Donkey with repositioned eyes. The paintjob is very good on both the base and Donkey. There’s no oversplash or spotty paint, even with the eyes. He’s good for display but he was really made to be played with and if there are kids in the house, he won’t spend much time just sitting around. Watch the bulrushes though. They fall out fairly easily and I recommend securing them with some strong adhesive before they get lost.

Good present for the kids.

- Omni