Oooh boy, remember when little sets like this used to fly off the shelves all the time? It seems like we got a new one every couple of months at least, and now we’re down to what, 1 or 2 a year…? Although not on the “Premium” level of the more well-known stuff on thicker cards, I can actually appreciate getting this kind of artwork for $1.19 a pop rather than the usual $5.99.
The artwork on the cards resembles the spines of an old VHS collection and like some other sets the edges of one card line up with the next. They actually form one big circle, as the bottom half of “Aladdin” on right side of The Lion King (5/5) lines up with the top half of “Aladdin” on Peter Pan’s (1/5) left edge.
I wish I could find official names for these sets (would it be so hard to print the damn thing somewhere on the cards!?) but on eBay it seems to be known as something like the Disney Classic Movies so that works well enough for me. Here’s what we got:
- 1 / 5 – Peter Pan – Baja Hauler
- 2 / 5 – Beauty and the Beast – ’49 Merc
- 3 / 5 – Aladdin – Boom Box
- 4 / 5 – The Nightmare Before Christmas – Kool Kombi
- 5 / 5 – The Lion King – The Vanster
Now generally the Baja Hauler doesn’t do much for me…maybe it’s the white frame, maybe it’s the contrast of the blue and green…I’m not too sure, but whatever the case I think this truck has loads of visual appeal. It looks fresh – light – springy – despite it being a big boxy truck. The artwork is impressive both in its level of minute detail and the amount of color squeezed into such a space. The left side features Peter and the other children, while the right sees him in combat with Captain Hook and Tinkerbell watching over. The bright colors of the characters’ costumes play well with the deep blues, purples, and otherwise shadows of the backdrops. Oh and the backdoor opens to reveal usable storage space inside!
Next is the ’49 Merc, a decidedly modern-looking vintage car. We get small scenes from Beauty and the Beast on the sides; the right features the titular characters and the left sports Belle and the other castle inhabitants who’ve been transformed into dishes, flatware, and the like. And there’s that white frame again! What I really love about this guy is how it catches the light. There’s a base coat of rosey purple but in the light you can see the purple dusted over by a glittery / shimmery indigo-blue sort of color. The effect in its entirety makes it look like it’s 2 colors at the same time.
Then there’s the Boom Box in support of Aladdin, drawing inspiration from somewhere between family kid-haulers to urban bass machines. We get some fairly intricate artwork featuring several characters on each side, further accentuated by shadows of various heights of the Taj Mahal in the background. Yet again we get that white frame!
The Kool Kombi has been everywhere lately; this time it’s adorned with artwork from The Nightmare Before Christmas…an appropriately weird flick for an appropriately odd car. The matte black gives it a truly dark and dreary tone and we get spot-on artwork of Jack, Sally, that scientist guy and the dog-thing. Everything down to Sally’s stitching has been given the utmost in care and consideration. (Oh yes, and again with the white frame!)
Then we get to one of my favorites, The Vanster. This design has always appealed to some kinda retro-modern sensibility in me. Decorated in homage to The Lion King we get some nice poses from several of the film’s main characters. What I like most about this piece is the deep, metalflake turquoise that makes up most of the ambient background. I like how it’s kinda dark and cool but also calm and inviting. And it goes real well with those white wheels (and white frame!).
All in all I think this is a pretty decent set of cars – it may even skew just a tiny bit girly. The small bits of art are all immaculate, though I can’t help but wonder why so much empty space is left unused. The running theme of white wheels / white frames gives the set a sense of cohesion, plus the white wheels look great with most color schemes. Anyway I guess that’s about all I got on the subject for now, so until next time!