Moe (The Simpsons)

Secretly, Moe is my favorite Simpsons character. He’s got the dream job of being a bartender, he answers to no one, he has experience as a boxing promoter, and he owns a huge deep-fat fryer! Could his life get any better? Sure, he gets hassled by Bart on the phone - but besides that I’d like to be Moe.

Once again, Playmates has done a great job of bringing a Simpsons character to plastic reality. They really nailed his rat-faced likeness. He’s wearing his white apron and comes packed with a cloth for wiping down the bar, a foaming mug of beer, and a phone. The only real problem, besides the ease you can lose the small pieces, is that the phone isn’t freestanding. I had to rig up a small wooden “L” to support the phone. Aside from that, the basic execution is near flawless. The emphasis is on playability, which shines through almost every aspect of Moe. He’s tough and the compatibility of the accessories with the other Simpson figures raises it a notch. But what really brings it up is that I finally have a figure to play bartender for McFarlane’s Bob and Doug McKenzie. And strangely enough, Bob and Doug’s beer bottles fit in Moe’s hands! Someone was obviously thinking outside the box when they crafted Moe.

While Moe’s detail doesn’t rival that of any of McFarlane’s work, it does capture his cartoon likeness. What’s disappointing is that the playsets don’t give Moe much to say (at least on the ones I tried him on). He fits right in with any playset he’s installed on - he just won’t have anything to say. Standing him on his own isn’t a problem either. Poseability is not stunning since he’s only got seam joints at the neck, arms, and waist, but coupled with some other figures in the series in a diorama or displayed on a shelf this didn’t bother me one bit.

Moe’s a fun figure that balances between great play toy and solid 

display piece. And if you want to complete your collection of Simpson toys, go get him now! (Heck, buy two - one to play with, one to store away just in case.)

- Omni