Review: PlayMates Toys 11 Inch Giant Godzilla (2021)
Updated: Sep 29, 2020
One will stand, one will fall. In a time where NECA will no longer be making and selling any more Godzilla figures, PlayMates Toys swoops in and began releasing their Godzilla vs Kong toys a year ahead of time exclusively on Walmart's website. Due to PlayMates Toys reputation with their Classic Godzilla line not many people are too happy with PlayMates owning the master license and pushing NECA out of the competition. Despite the upset towards Legendary Pictures/Warner Bros./TOHO Co. for allowing PlayMates Toys to own the master license for Godzilla, does the 11" Giant Godzilla toy deserve the hate it is receiving or is it all just projection? Let us dive in and find out.
Packaging:
PlayMates Toys Giant Godzilla comes in an open box held together with zip-ties. When Godzilla is taken out of the box his tail will be detached, so slight assembly is required before playing with this toy. The first thing we notice is the new Godzilla vs Kong banner at the top of the box. It is technically the same banner we have been seeing for two years. The differences are the font for the title logo and the images for Godzilla and Kong being fully visible rather than in silhouette. It's not my favorite version of the banner. I think they could have kept both Godzilla and Kong in silhouette and they would have looked just as fine. Beneath the banner, we see a city in flames. Then, we see the Monsterverse logo with the "Giant Godzilla" label underneath.
On the left side of the box, we find the Godzilla vs Kong logo again. Nothing much to talk about other than the title logo is using a similar font that was used for Kong: Skull Island.
On the back of the box, we finally get to see the big picture that fans are debating over. The main focus here is the concept art showing Godzilla and Kong facing off on an aircraft carrier. This image lead to many people debating over whether or not this scene is too unrealistic. To me, I don't care about realism at this point. Giant monsters are never realistic in the first place. I think this is an amazing piece of art that I hope we get to see in the movie.
On the top right corner, we find the new plot summary for the movie. The summary reads, "Legends collide as Godzilla and Kong, the two most powerful forces of nature, clash in a spectacular battle for the ages! The monster war rages on the surface and deep within our world as the spectacular secret realm of the titans known as the Hollow Earth is revealed!" It does not reveal any new info about the movie. We already know that the movie will be exploring the origins of the monsters based on previous story summaries and the possibility of seeing other monsters fighting each other is highly possible.
On the bottom, we see the same logos we saw on the front of the box, but on the left corner there is the website for PlayMates Toys, the movie's hashtag, and where to find them on social media.
Paint, Sculpt, and Articulation:
There is no doubt that just by looking at PlayMates 11" Giant Godzilla it is heavily inspired by the 12" Godzilla figure released last year by Jakks Pacific. However, there are some major differences that suggest this figure is a completely new sculpt rather than using the same mold from Jakks Pacific.