Pros: A boombastic, optimistic version of the Simpson's favourite clown...
Cons: ...which is ripe with inaccuracy.
Krusty: Hey hey, kids! Who do you love?
Audience: KRUSTY!!
Krusty: How much do you love me?
Audience: WITH ALL OUR HEARTS!
Krusty: What would you do if I went off the air?
Audience: WE'D KILL OURSELVES!
It seems that although The Simpsons is one of the most popular and famous TV programmes still on air, few truly appreciate its intricate genius and all-inclusive satire which appeals to almost all audiences. As an example, reviewing the past reception of television in its introduction, it was believed that TV was a family event, something to bring families together to watch programs. However, it was soon obvious that this wasn't to be, as different sectors of the family enjoyed their own tastes in what shows the TV had to offer. The opening of The Simpsons, which I'm sure we've all seen a zillion times and now promptly ignore, clues the viewer into its cleverness, as the entire family rushes home to watch The Simpsons on TV together - citing the fact that unlike most programs, The Simpsons has something for everyone and is a show that all can watch, despite the majority of its content being aimed at the adolescents to adults age group.
Everyone's favourite clown Krusty is a good example of this - despite being the nation's most loved entertainer who is enjoyed and loved by children all over, he lives a seedy life of gambling, drugs, prostitution, drinking and god-knows what else. He taunts and hurts his co-stars for audience amusement, sells shoddy merchandise, runs horrible camps, and is generally a bad egg. Though I recall watching The Simpsons as a child and always thinking of Krusty as a good character, only noting his dire shadiness when viewing the show through adolescent eyes, in the same way that most child-fans of The Simpsons have. However, this figure, which is a near-perfect representation of Krusty's clown self, portrays him as the kid's fantasy rather than the actual creep that he is, which is my main gripe with this near perfect figure.
Krusty stands 5" tall from his big red floppy shoes to his crazy green hair. His sculpt is near perfect, from his crazy big green clown pants and his purple shirt, to his made-up face with bright clown makeup and his white gloves, all the way to his tiny blue bow-tie. He looks dead-on to his cartoon self, if not a little too jaunty happy. He's in scale with the other World of Springfield characters, and also lacks articulation like the others. He weighs in with the typical four joints - arms, head and waist - and none offer much poseability. But, as we've become used to with the WOS figures, this isn't a huge gripe.
The Intelli-tronic sound feature of the WOS figures is of course included with this figure, and this figure has some of my favourite lines in the playsets. For the uninformed, this feature involves placing the character on one of the pegs in a WOS Environment Playset, and pressing a button to hear him say lines from the show related to the playset. To date, Krusty has 17, including my favourites:
- "Stole, made up, what's the difference?"
- "Man, you'd think the quality would dip after 5500 shows!"
- "Man, look at all the crap with my face on it."
- "I plead guilty...ooh, I mean not guilty!"
A complete list can be found at the Simpsons Collector sector in the BONUS!!! below.
As with most of the other WOS figures, my favourite thing about Krusty are his great accessories. Krusty comes with five accessories, all of which are great; firstly, he comes with a nicely detailed albeit simple video camera, which he can hold, and which fits into the WOS Krustilu Studios nicely. Secondly, he comes with a heap of crappy Krusty merchandise, including detailed Krusty Fries, a Krusty Shake, a Krusty Burger and a box of Krusty O's, which have "Flesh-Eating Bacteria in Every Box!" These accessories combine a simple paint job with detailed stickers to make the accessory look authentic in the World of Springfield, and can be used with other characters and playsets for full use. For example, the Krusty Burger can be held to eat by Homer, or can be put with other at the Krusty Burger playset. What's missing here, then? Krusty doesn't include his signature cigarette, for one, which he smokes after a show, or in between a break, or during his show. I would also have liked a replacement head for him to wear, with a more dismayed, pessimistic and depressed facial expression, which is much more suited for the clown.
Overall, Krusty is an average figure, and fits in well with the other World of Springfieldianites nicely. I'm dismayed that his true nature isn't shown in this figure, which is predominately a children's toy rather than a figure for mature collectors. Fortunately, as this figure was released in Series 1 of the WOS figures and we are now in Series 9, a variation of Krusty called "Busted Krusty" featuring the clown out of his makeup, in jail clothing and with a down expression has been made. I recommend buying both - if you can find this one, however. Being from the first series, it is somewhat of a collector's item, and not easy to locate. However, I still recommend this figure, and he's a must for WOS collectors.
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BONUS!
Want more information about the World of Springfield line plus a list of all the action figures and their sayings in each playset? Check out the Simpsons Collector Sector, here: http://www.simpsonscollectors.com/
This is Part 3 of my coverage of the World of Springfield line by Playmates.
Part 1, Mr Burns, is here
Part 2, Homer Simpson, is here
Suggested for: Simpsons Fans
Bang for the Buck: 5 - Don't pay more than retail
Best Feature: Accessories
Durability: Excellent
