If today’s group of Buzzes were a food group you would place them firmly in the Junk Food group. Sugared cereals and Fast food are known for their cheap attempts at attracting the elementary set by offering trinkets and toys. I believe I have something from every Disney/Pixar promotion of this type ever done.
From left to right we have a Little Green Man (LGM) mini bobble head from Kellog’s, a Buzz “Puppet” from Burger King, a small plush beanie Buzz from Kellog’s, another mini bobblehead cept it’s Buzz, and a Toy Story flip book from Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
The mini bobble heads were a huge promotion for me. It was 2003 and at the time I was a Pastor to children in Kansas City and every child in my church knew I loved Buzz Lightyear. I must have gotten 15 little Buzz and LGM bobbles over the month or so they were available. One young man, age 14 or so, drilled a hole through the head and threaded a huge silver chain through it. He presented it as “Buzz Bling”. Did I mention this was an inner-city church? Classic memory. You can buy your own, still in the bag mint for around $6 on ebay.
The huge Buzz “Puppet” from BK is simply a wonder. I put the word puppet in quotes because that’s how it was promoted although there is literally no way to control any portion of the figure… oops just checked… you can kind of control the arms. Here, let me show you….
The vast expanse of a timeless place…
First there’s this huge flap that’s supposed to be his backpack. Opening it reveals a large hollow cavern taking up the space between the head and the hips. You can kind-of fit your hand inside to control the arms. I’m now realizing that I’m not the right size to be controlling it. It was sized for a child to be sure.
If the Buzz doesn’t fit you must acquit.
I can’t say I really like this thing. It’s very poorly proportioned and constructed, the three-button panel on his right chest is colored wrong (supposed to be blue, green, red) and he just doesn’t present well. He along with most of the items I’ve shared this week stay in a storage bin in my closet. He’s selling used on ebay for between $9 and $12. Found this great BK commercial that aired back in 1995 promoting the Toy Story puppets. You can see how they’re being used… properly.
Mr. Kellogg’s plush beanie is pretty good for a free prize at the bottom of a cereal box. I have two of them and they both suffer from that weird thing going on with the right leg. It’s almost like we caught him roller skating just after he pushed off. The face looks good on this one. A lot of times Buzz can look evil if they get the eyebrows and grin wrong. An example being the BK Buzz. Again I have to point out that the three-button panel is again wrong. It’s not blue, blue, red. Nice try though. Only freaks like me would even notice. I realized that it was promoted as a beanie and I guess technically he is. His arms and legs are stuffed and there must be all of 5 “beans” in his chest area. Didn’t want any other Buzz collectors to get up in my grill. Cause there are so many of them and all.
Flip book is nothing the crow about. Like all of the other prizes it was originally in a cello bag. Being out of the bag makes it worthless. It shows two scenes from Toy Story. Rex roaring on one side and “Look Buzz An Alien” on the other. The book is promoting Toy Story “Now On Video!” so it’s from just prior to October 29, 1996. VHS rentals totaled $5.1 million that first week. Over 21 million VHS copies sold the first year.
BONUS!
Found this right before posting! Another Kellogg’s promotional item from a box of Buzz Blasts. It’s still one of the coolest CD’s I’ve ever seen. I’ve never listened to it but it has three tracks: 1. Buzz Lightyear, 2. The Claw, and 3. I Am Game. Kellogg’s, Disney and Pixar… they must have been fast friends.