I'm really glad that Lon Chaney's Phantom of the Opera still gets lumped in with the classic Universal Monsters. He's from the silent era, so he predates the classic Universal Horror period of 1931 to 1960, and the film is in the public domain. Still, I think he belongs as he's one of Lon Chaney's strongest creations and he just feels right at home next to the other classics. I like him better than Claude Rain's Phantom from 1943 and I'm glad NECA picked him for the second series of Toony Terrors focused on the Universal Monsters. I'm excited to review the Phanton as he is one of my favorites. So... let's address this figure's height: He's 5 1/2 inches tall. Yes, this year's theme is The Incredible Shrinking 31 Days of Toy Terror, so wouldn't you expect a shorter figure? I originally wanted to just do minifigures and shorter stuff, but I really want to work these guys in. Besides, these are shorter than your standard horror action figures, right? Yeah, of course. Let's go ahead and count the Phantom! Join me after the break...
Height: 5 1/4ths
Articulation: Balljointed ankles, swivel shoulders, swivel wrists, and a balljointed head.
Accessories: 2 swappable portraits.
Non-Scalper Price: $15 to $19 dollars
NOTE: I have a stand pictured with the Phantom. This is not included with the figure! It's a DC Collectibles stand I had in my box of stands which fits him well.
* While he has the animated style that the Toony Terrors line delivers, this is also a really darn fine depiction of Lon Chaney's Phantom. The likeness, the costume, and the pose all work together and feel like both an animated depiction of the character and yet still very true to Chaney's performance and look. His fancy suit looks accurate, especially considering how stylized the figure is, and the way it's depicted as moving and flowing while the Phantom is wildly gesticulating is excellent. There is some precise paintwork here, too, and it's all neat and clean, enhancing the simple and crisp animated style.
* The portrait is excellent. The way the eyes dart left, the uneven teeth, the turned up nose; it's all just ghastly and wonderful! The paintwork on the teeth is just excellent and really captures the look of the character. NECA's out here making portraits as impressive in a stylized, animated line as other companies are making in their "realistic" styles.
* Erik also comes with a second portrait, like the Bride of Frankenstein and the Invisible Man in this same series. It's his initial disguise in the 1925 film that looks like a standard mask of a regular male face wearing a scarf over his mouth and the strange black cap that is what keeps the mask on over the Phantom's face. It's not my ideal way to display this figure but it's a terrific extra and very well done.
* Like a few other Toony Terrors before him ,getting the Phantom to stand upright on his angled feet is a difficult task and I couldn't make it happen. Why did NECA not include a stand here? I know not every figure in the line does but when the figure is mostly pre-posed it seems like a weird oversight not to include one. Other Toony Terrors figures have included stands, so including a stand isn't unheard of for the line. I grabbed a DC Collectibles stand and it's working just fine, but I wish NECA had included one for him.
If you're looking for more of the Phantom of the Opera then check out my review of the Sideshow Phantom of the Opera (Silver Screen Edition), Funko's ReAction The Phantom of the Opera, Super7's ReAction of The Phantom of the Opera as the Masque of the Red Death, and The Phantom from Monster in My Pocket.
For more Toony Terrors check out the following:
These Toony Terrors are so much fun!
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