Back in January of this year, I was lucky to work alongside Brad to debut the news that Jurassic Park would be getting the Pop! Funko treatment. Cut through to Toy Fair, and I was lucky enough to meet the amazing team from Funko Europe. Now, I find myself able to work alongside them to bring followers of The Jurassic Park Podcast some exciting reviews on their new products! We have 6 out of the 7 core figures. Expect reviews on Nedry, the Jeep and Ellie, and the Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Pops! soon when they become available.
For now, let’s look at the Jurassic Park Pops. The first thing I’d like to note, even before we jump into our first figure of Dr Alan Grant, is the box-art we have here. Funko have done a beautiful job in using different fonts and combining them with the Jurassic Park font on one side to create box-art which feels nostalgic and authentic to Jurassic Park. We have the beautiful red colour consistent across the board, and we also have some of the fantastic fossilized artwork which has been seen consistently on everything from the Jurassic Park 25th Anniversary Calendar, to the limited-edition coins. The design blends seamlessly with Funko’s stylized art choices here, creating boxes which look beautiful. We even have the Jurassic Park 25th Anniversary logo – something which just adds to the nostalgic feel whilst making this feel relevant to the year of release. I adore the box-art here, and as a usually out-of-box collector, it is going to be a hard decision as to whether I will display these collectibles in their packaging.
But, enough about the packaging. Up first we have the iconic Sam Neill as Alan Grant. Alan comes in his outfit from Jurassic Park, but in a state before it has suffered the tears and scuffs that we see in the latter half of the film. Here, everything feels very authentic to Grant and his character. All the elements you would expect are here – from his wide-brimmed hat which has some nice curvature to the sculpt, to his red necktie around the collar of his blue shirt. The hat is nicely done – with a much thinner plastic used towards the edges of the hat to make it feel much more authentic. We also get some nicer details in areas like the boots, and the belt – where additional paint-touches are added here and there to ground this character a lot more and just provide those final elements of aesthetic detail. Lastly, for Grant, he also includes the iconic raptor claw – and accessory which I am incredibly glad they feature him holding here. It is not removable, as per Funko’s style, but looks great – and really adds to defining his character nicely. I’m excited to see what happens when this Pop is more widely available, as I would really like to see a Jurassic Park III version repainted!
Moving on from Grant, we come to John Hammond – the creator of Jurassic Park. The famous words of ‘Welcome…to Jurassic Park’ echo in my head every time I look at this Pop. His white outfit is represented beautifully here – presenting a character who perhaps appears pure but naïve. Every little detail is captured here – from texture in his beard, to the straw nature of his hat, and the amber cane clutched in his hand. The sculpting work here is top-notch, really defining each aspect of the character nicely within Funko’s style. I particularly like the glasses here. They have an old, spectacle-style appearance to them – something which works well and looks great.
Moving on from our creator, we also have the legendary Chaotician – Ian Malcolm. Malcolm comes in his all-black costume with black shades and looks as cool as he does in the film. The character’s hair is sculpted in a messy manner, and his sunglasses look ace. I also love how his black jacket is shinier then his shirt – adding nice distinction in the different blacks used here so the character doesn’t merge together too well. Malcolm is also adorned with his aqua-teal coloured jewelry in the form of a ring and his necklace – and this works well to break up the colour black which is predominant on this character.
Moving on from our human protagonists, we now have our dinosaur antagonists. I’d like to start with the Velociraptor. Here, the colours and textures used on the Velociraptor are fantastic. It’s a nicely-scaled piece, and the fact they added the curved claws at the last moment was fantastic in making this figure a lot more accurate. I think the teeth here, and across the three dinosaurs, are done well – and have a nice, yellowing appearance to them. However, I do feel as though this Pop suffers a little from the cartoony style – perhaps looking a little goofy. It is important to remember, however, that this is Funko’s style – and it works nicely within that stylized look.
From here, we move to the Dilophosaurus – one of my favourite from the wave. The colours here are gorgeous – providing lots of contrast across the figure which works well. Everything from the frill to the tail feels sculpted beautifully – and this figure truly stands out as one I’d like to photograph more. I’m keen to hunt down the chase variant of this one!
Lastly, we end with arguably our most iconic dinosaur – Rexy. I love the box here for the T-Rex as the unique design makes her stand-out when compared to the other Pops in the line. This is great and gives Rexy the attention she deserves. I really adore the T-Rex. The colour is spot on, and I feel as though the stylized appearance works a lot better here. Rexy has some phenomenal paint applications that really bring her to life, and the level of intricacy in the sculpt is truly unparalleled. If you pick one Pop up from this line – make it Rexy. So, that summarizes my thoughts on these Pops. Overall, it feels great to have some Jurassic Pops in our collections! Sure – they are very stylized. But once you accept and embrace that style, you will really enjoy this product!
We know Fallen Kingdom Pops are coming, so could we see more from the other films? If so, who would you like to see?
Lastly – a big thank you to Charlotte at Funko Europe for making this review possible. You can follow Funko Europe via the below links. Also, check out even more pics in the gallery below!
