My little figurine collection: 1. Speedy Gonzalez

mylittlefigurinecollection

I have been collecting figurines of cartoon, movie and promotional characters for years. The obsession started when I was about 6 years old. I have always had a love for anything miniature and the first figurines I fell in love with were the Muppet Babies figurines released in Australia by McDonald's in about 1986. For some reason they were some of my favourite toys. As I grew up and started discarding my toys, I always held on to them and started buying more. 24 years later I have hundreds of figurines and I cannot help but buy more whenever I see them. I have a few general rules for the types of figurines in my collection - they must be coloured, made of PVC or hard rubber, be about 5-10cm tall, be solid rather than hollow, have no moveable or articulated parts, not be bendable and have no separate stand. There are the odd exceptions in my collection. I decided to start this blog to catalogue the collection (for my own benefit and anyone else who is interested) and give some background as to who the characters are and where they came from.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

1. Speedy Gonzalez

Name: Speedy Gonzalez - "the Fastest Mouse in all Mexico"

From: Warner Bros. Looney Tunes

Height: Approx 5.8cm

Made by: Bullyland

Markings: (c) 1998 WARNER BROS. BULLYLAND
MADE IN CHINA

Where/When did I get him: from a toy store in Rome called Pinnocchio in 2009.

History: Speedy first appeared in a 1953 cartoon Cat-Tails for Two directed by Robert McKimson. The original Speedy was redesigned in 1955 and he appeared in his current form in the cartoon Speedy Gonzalez where he saved a group of mice protecting a cheese factory on the Mexican border from Sylvester the Cat, spurred on by the catch-cry "Andale! Andale! Ariba Ariba!" (Spanish for "Go on! Go on! Up! Up!") The cartoon won the Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Cartoons) in 1955. Speedy was subsequently set up as Sylvester's regular nemesis.