-Review and Photos By Andy Jones

We have been anxiously waiting for Playmobil the Movie to hit theaters, and while that is DECEMBER 5th!! we got to wet our whistle a little bit with the playsets. And if these sets are any indication, this movie is going to be tons of fun.

Del’s Food Truck

I don’t know the entire story behind the movie, but we know that Marla (Anya Taylor Joy) ends up in the magical world of Playmobil and must track down her brother Charlie. She teams up with Del, operator of this food truck, to explore different playmobil worlds to try and find her brother. This food truck playset is jam packed with accessories. Everything from utensils, Del’s toothbrush, and a bunch of food truck food like burritos and burgers. It feels like everything is included and I had fun finding a spot for all the accessories. Actually that was difficult, I felt like they give you so much with this set!

The roof lifts off easily, as does the roof of the cab area, so you can place the figures inside. The back doors open as well. There is a ladder for Del to climb up top, and space to lie out and gaze at the stars. I really liked the amount of accessories you get and all the aspects of living in a food truck are well represented.

Emperor Maximus in the Colosseum

One of my favorite playmobil sets ever is the Roman Colosseum. So I particularly liked this callback to the theme. My favorite part of the Colosseum where the marble statues, so I was tickled they included two new ones with a different look in this set. This one has several figures, including the Black Knight with removable helmet, Charlie the Viking, Maximus and Knight Marla. This gives you enough to play with, but is also a superb backdrop for displaying figures.
I liked Marla’s armor, and she can holster a sword and a dagger. I also love Maximus’s face. I’m slowly getting accustomed to the animated playmobil look (smaller mouths, pupils) but of all the faces, I like Maximus’s the most.

Robotitron with Drone

This drone is fun for flying around, it shoots two missiles, the propellors move pretty fast, and there’s a retractable grappling hook. This set also comes with Robotitron who originally appeared in the 80’s Playmo Space line (I have one). I love all his wheels. He has a lot of personality for a robot. It’s a little weird getting a playmobil playset without a klicky figure, but it works for this (I also haven’t seen the movie yet). The drone is fun, but I wish I could clip Robotitron or a figure to the top maybe. Overall it looks sweet. I can’t wait to see how it appears and operates in the movie.

Playmobil The Movie Figures Series 1

Let’s say you want to bring home some of the magic from the movie, but aren’t sure which set to pick up yet. Easy, grab one of the blind-packed Figures and get a fun figure from the movie. It’s a surprise! In ours we got a pirate. This is sweet, I love getting pirates, but I’m also going to try my hand at grabbing that Cold-War era Eastern European soldier. That looks awesome. Something of note, this isn’t their Figures Series 22 (or whatever number they’re currently on) this is it’s own series based on the movie, number 1. Which means we could possibly get another series with another 12 figures, and help flesh out the playmobil worlds present in the movie. I’ll keep my eyes peeled.

Charlie With Prison Wagon

I can’t wait to see how this plays out. Kind of a mix of pirates, Romans and general mayhem, this prison wagon features a huge crossbow, a grappling claw and a jail that fits a playmobil figure. It’s lead by a chariot and pair of horses. I love all the figures that come with it. A lot of them look like pirates, check out my pics to see all these sweet tattoos! You can separate the wagon from the chariot for all kinds of adventure scenarios. There’s a raised disc for securing playmo feet in the chariot, and a figure can hold onto the reins. Something to look out for, though the set had a combo feel of pirates and gladiators, there was also a mysterious piece of technology. How does this play out? Can’t wait to see when the movie comes out.

Marla with Horse

I like this sign that points to the different playmobil worlds. This would have been real handy in my display years ago when I had pirate ships on one shelf and knights on another. Again, I’m real curious what happens here, why does she have a bag mostly full of silverwear and two coins? I guess we’ll find out. She can ride the horse with ease.

Marla in the Fairytale Castle

I really appreciate how this movie has a female lead to draw you into the playmobil world, but there are both boy and girl playsets featured. This fairytale castle is another real good piece for some flavor from the movie but also a terrific display backdrop. Like the Colosseum, this gives you enough to play with and recreate some of your favorite scenes without having to plunk down some major coin for a full blown castle. There are tons of details and accessories to have lots of princessy fun including a unicorn and fairy godmother. I also liked all the animals and accents.

Rex Dasher with Parachute

I think so far I’m liking super spy Rex Dasher the most. I love his expression so I’m hoping his personality matches my expectations on screen. We’ve had fun in the past with the playmobil parachutes, and I love that Rex’s face is on this one. The construction is real solid. This is not plastic-wrap flimsy stuff that only lasts a few times, it’s a tent-like vinyl with a mesh underside and works great when airborne. Toss him off a high space and watch him soar into the action.

Rex Dasher’s Porsche Mission E

Whoooooo, this is the set of all sets. This is the gem. This Porsche is slick, stylish, and remote controlled. It looks great on display, but you gotta give it a spin. Either use the included remote control or download the app and control it from your smart phone. I recommend this option because you can drive it simply by tilting your phone in the direction you want to steer. This is tons of fun and easy for kids to maneuver too. Also on the app there are a few sound effects you can activate. I also love turning the headlights on and off with (either) remote. The roof pops off to easily set Rex behind the wheel. He also comes with all kinds of hand held spy gadgets including a laptop, a tablet, and a high tech device. The tail lights are also super slick.

Also, to be eco friendly, this Porsche is electric in the Playmobil world as well. This comes with a car “charging” station that plugs into a slide-out panel near the driver side door. This toy requires batteries, but I love how this world is encouraging “real” gas-free vehicles. So I really like the app based remote control, but I found the included remote control to be a little clunky. It wasn’t old school enough to be classic James Bond, nor modern and slick enough to be Jason Bourne. It works, and kids can drop it and it still works so there’s that.

I also wanted to show you the Mission E model next to the playmobil Porsche 911 Carrera. It too had light-up headlights and tail lights, but is not remote controlled. Again, this set is great for collector display or kids hands-on fun. This is my favorite from the entire set. I can’t wait to see it roar to life on the big screen.

So go see Playmobil The Movie this weekend in theaters, then bring home the fun with playsets from your favorite scenes. I’ve had a 35 year love affair with all things playmobil and I’m so excited to see them take it to the next level. I really thought Netflix’s Super 4 was a fun adventure, but here we can see how it plays on the big screen. And here’s my final thought. I want to take full credit for Anya Taylor Joy’s participation in this film. I made a spoof line of playmobil toys based on her break-out role in Robert Egger’s The Witch (below). Joy retweeted the link, which I firmly believe really got her interested in playmobil, and now she’s voicing the primary role in their first feature film. Coincidence? I think not. Go see Playmobil the Movie, only in theaters!

Review and Photos By Andy Jones

Review Samples Courtesy of Playmobil

[See image gallery at www.figures.com]

---

Keep up with all the latest toy news by following Figures.com on Facebook and Twitter!

To buy action figures, take a look at Hobby Link Japan, BigBadToyStore.com, TheToySource.com, Toynk.com, and BriansToys.com.