Toto (McFarlane's Monsters) - Action Figure Reviews

Series: McFarlane Monsters 2,

Twisted Land of OZ

Craftsmanship: 8.7 / 10

- Morbidly disgusting

- Translucency is pretty cool

- Excellent stability

- Very limited poseability

- Fits with the other OZ figures

Playability: 1.0 / 10

- It’ll have Battlecat and Panthor running for the hills (with the kids close behind)

- Reigns and rider will snap under moderate play

- Action Figure: The Lion (McFarlane's Monsters)

- Action Figure: Scarecrow (McFarlane's Monsters)

- Action Figure: Sea Creature (McFarlane's Monsters)

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Toto (McFarlane's Monsters)

by McFarlane Toys

toto twisted land of oz

Of all the OZ figures, Toto is the one that stands out as very… different. The other characters are at least recognizable to some extent. The Lion looks like the Lion, Scarecrow looks like the Scarecrow, etc. But Toto? He’s reminiscent of Jaba the

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Hutt – if he were given legs and see-through skin. And that legless freak of a rider? I really don’t know what’s up with that, and even the included chapters (on the cardback) don’t explain it. (The explanation comes on the last card for the Wizard.)

Regardless of your feelings toward the look of Toto, the figure does at least one interesting

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thing: translucent skin. Backlit, you can see Toto’s insides. If he’s just on display he simply looks gray, with green highlights along the ribcage and some brown warts (or pustules) at various locations. But backlit… he looks even more ghastly.

And ghastly is the name of the game. From the glistening maw forced open with a clawed bridle to the wrinkled bottoms of his back feet, Toto is just plain hard to look at – particularly with those hellish, beady eyes watching you. Toto’s rider is also detailed, along with his “saddle”, but you’ve gotta love that hat. Where do I get a hat like that?

I hope you like Toto’s pose, because you only get three points of articulation, neither of which is any good. Toto’s neck has a seam joint but because of the reigns getting it to move more than a few degrees is impossible unless you want to snap the reigns. The two other articulation points relate to the rider: one at the neck, one where the torso joins the “saddle”. The neck is restricted thanks to the big hat and the torso joint is limited because of the reigns, which are gripped in his hands. Toto is a statue. A pretty disgusting statue but a statue nonetheless.

Playabilty? Let’s get real here, people. Although Toto “fits” in with the rest of the OZ figures this guy is not going to be played with. He is solid, but the rider and the reigns can be ripped apart under moderate play. And he’s terrifying and gross – Battlecat and Panthor will run for the hills.

Toto has some neat features, mainly his translucency, and collectors will do well pick him up. All other, RUN! Or at least, walk quickly – I don’t think Toto can move that fast.

- Omni
(November 25, 2003)