Disney Nerds Collection Corner: Funko

Have you noticed the new figurines with these big heads and little bodies? Maybe you’ve seen them in the parks or at local retailers? Did you see the latest accessory for the parks, the mini backpack featuring your favorite characters? If you have, then you have seen a part of what Funko has to offer!

Funko is an amazing company that is offering people a chance to collect and show their love of ANYTHING, not just Disney. I had the chance to speak with Funko Marketing Specialist, Katie Howland, and discussed this cool company!

 

First off, What is Funko?

Katie: “Most people think it’s a toy company but actually it’s a pop-culture company. So we create collectibles as well as apparel and accessories. So we are known for our Pop figures which are our iconic like big-headed little-body figures but we also do backpacks. I’m sure you know of Loungefly and at the Disney Parks, it’s really prevalent there. I mean you walk into any Disney shop and Loungefly is a part of it so we’re a pop culture company. One of our slogans is everyone is a fan of something and it’s really true.”

Wait, isn’t Loungefly a different company?

Actually, it’s not. It’s a part of the Funko company and they offer an amazing selection of apparel and accessories. A lot of Disney fans know of Loungefly by the mini backpacks and wallets that all sold all over the Disney parks but they have a line of clothing, accessories (jewelry, phone cases, and more), and their bags and wallets! I’d called this the wearable part of the company to show off your fandom.

 

I would say that the biggest part of Funko right now is the Funko Pops that Katie mentioned. They are those big-headed, little-body characters that just seem to be everywhere right now. Disney is one of their licensees. There are Pops of Disney, Marvel, and Star Wars characters and you can bet that any and all films coming out this year and the future will have a line of Funko Pops.

Why would I like Funko Pops?

Why not!? They may look like toys but as Katie said, they are not. They are collectibles. Funko Pops are a piece of your fandom that you can bring home and display proudly. They are also a piece of nostalgia, you can collect Pops of almost anything even pop culture icons of the past. In fact, they did a huge line of Mickey’s to celebrate his 90^th birthday and they explored different times of Mickey’s life. There are Mickey Mouse Pops from his Steamboat Willie days all the way up to today!

How do people get into Funko?

First, I recommend checking out their Netflix documentary “Making Fun: The Story of Funko.” It’s a great way to look at where Funko began. After that, just buy what you love. I asked Katie what advice she’d give to people who are just beginning to collect Funko and this is what she said:

“I would say collect what you like. It can get really intense and involved to try and collect everything Disney or everything Star Wars or everything Marvel. Those are three of our biggest licenses and we make a lot of product for it and I know when I first started collecting I was like, “I have to get them all even if I don’t like it I have to get it” and so your collection can get really big and really fast so definitely collect what you like and just kind of narrow it down a little bit.”

Where can I get Funko Pops?

Funko has products that are available in the parks and are exclusive to the parks but there are also retailers that you can get Funko Pops from at home or online. Be sure to check out Funko, Target, Wal-Mart, Walgreens, Hot Topic, FYE, Books A Million, Barnes and Noble, Box Lunch, Amazon and more for Pops!

The Best retailers for Disney will be Hot Topic and Box Lunch but there are also subscription boxes!

Hot Topic offers a collectors box that is called the Disney treasures box. They come out almost every 2-3 months and feature exclusive Pops and other Funkos items celebrating a Disney film. Their last 3 boxes were for The Lion King, Aladdin, and Dumbo.

Amazon also has boxes and these are automatic subscription boxes and are mystery boxes. There is a Marvel: Collector Corps box and a Star Wars: Smuggler’s Bounty box. These boxes come out every other month. They’re released on opposite months which is great if you want to get both subscription boxes. The theme is different for every box and features exclusive Pops and items for each box. July’s Marvel theme was Spider-Man: Far From Home. August’s Star Wars box theme is going to be Pod Racing.

But where’s the best place to get them?

There’s no one perfect place to get Funkos and here’s where your level of collecting plays in. If you just want to casually collect Pops then you can just browse any of the places I mentioned and get whatever you like. But if you want to dive into being a big collector then you will have to check out everywhere!

For example, Funko will release a series for a new movie like Toy Story 4, The Lion King, and even the upcoming Frozen 2 and this series will be available at all the retailers. Then some retailers will get exclusive Pops or other Funko products from this series that you can only get at that specific retailer. These exclusive collectibles will have something different. They might have a different pose or they will be chrome/metallic, flocked, diamond, glow-in-the-dark, or a chase Pop. In other words, if you become a big collector and it’s a series you like then you will want these exclusives!

Wait, what is flocked, diamond, chase, etc?

Funko almost has its own language. They will have Pops that have a little something special to them and they will show that on the Pop’s box with a sticker that says what it is (flocked, diamond, glow in the dark, chase). Here’s a breakdown of what each means:

• Flocked- Pops with a fuzzy coating
• Diamond/Glitter- 2 different types of Pop and they both have a sparkly coating but diamonds have more sparkle!
• Glow-in-the-dark- Pops with glow in the dark paint
• Chases- Rare Pops that are a variation of the original design. These are like the holy grail Pops for the collectors because you odds are around 1 in 36 to get a chase Pop but the odds vary.
• Exclusive- Each retailer will have a sticker on the Pop box saying it’s exclusive to that retailer. There are also exclusive Pops for conventions like Star Wars Celebrations, Comic-Con, and D23. Also, there are Pops that are exclusive to Disney Parks!

So since there are stickers on the box should I keep them in the boxes?

This is going to be a debate between all the collectors. Some keep their collection in the box, some take them out. I say do what you want. I asked Katie what she does and her response was perfect:

“So I’m actually half and half. There’s reasons for both. So the reason why I’m in box right now is because my desk space is limited and I can stack the box and so I can have more Pops on my desk. And the artwork is phenomenal on the box, it gives that little added piece to the Pop. but my husband at home, he’s also a collector and he’s out of box and I really like seeing the Pop. Sometimes there’s just something about the Pops out of box and you can see all the details. For example, on Forky you can flip him around and there’s the Pizza Planet engraving on the back of Forky and that’s just a really cool detail that if you didn’t know and if you were an in box collector you wouldn’t see it so typically when I do get a Pop that I really like, even though I’m in box I will take it out and look at it because there’s details on the back that you might not see if you’re totally in box.”

Personally, I’m just like Katie. I’m an inbox collector but I will take my Pops out of the box to look at the awesome details of them.

Wow, there’s a lot to Funkos and Funko Pops!

I know it can be overwhelming but I promise, the world of Funko is fun! It is a community of collectors and fans of pop culture. In fact, all of us Disney Nerds would fit right into this world. All you have to do is start! Collect your favorites! I asked Katie what her favorite Pop was she said:

“I actually have the Pop Ride of the Splash Mountain. So it’s the Briar Bear and the Briar Rabbit on the log ride going on the drop and that is one of my favorites so it was my first park exclusive and it’s been a crown jewel in my collection.”

My favorite in my collection would probably be my Figment Pop from Epcot’s 35^th celebration. Figment is one of my favorite characters. It was also my first park exclusive but not my last!

So what do you think about Funko and the Pops? Do you want to know more about them? Want to know when new Disney, Marvel, and Star Wars Funko products are coming out? Then let us know! Email me at Morgan@thedisneynerdspodcast.com and we’ll be sure to bring you more Funko fun and news on their products!

 

Thank you to Funko and their Marketing Specialist, Katie, for all their info and the photos!