Playmates release awesome stop-motion figure video
By Chad Porto
Star Trek’s Playmate line of action figures gets a new stop-motion video.
Star Trek and Playmates, it’s one of the most famous pairings in franchise history. For the longest time, the two brands paired up to create one of the most beloved lines of action figures in toy history. Starting with The Next Generation, running through the Original Series films, and all the way through Deep Space Nine and Voyager, the Playmates line of figures were a hot-selling item.
Yet, by 2001, the line had stopped making new figures for the current properties, making sure Enterprise was left without a spot on toy shelves. While they came back in 2009 for the first Kelvin film, they didn’t relaunch the line of iconic 4.25” figures.
In fact, the pairing would largely go without until 2021, when it was revealed that the figures would be coming back, and come back they did in a huge way. The Next Generation, Original Series, Discovery, and Prodigy all received figures for the revitalized toy line, and now fans can see what they look like in action with Playmates’ new stop-motion commercial.
Trek and Playmates team up for an ambitious little commercial
The above commercial features Jean-Luc Picard, Data, William Riker, James Kirk, Spock, and Khan getting into it on the bridge of the Enterprise, all while turned into action figures thanks to Q, once again played by John de Lancie.
"In 2022, Playmates Toys returned to the Star Trek franchise with the release of their first wave of 5-inch Star Trek figures. Now the company has created a short stop-motion movie featuring figures from the first wave along with guest star John de Lancie as Q.Stop-motion PlaymatesWhat if Star Trek figures became self-aware? Find out what happens in this short film from Playmates.The first wave of Playmates 5-inch Star Trek figures includes Picard, Data, Riker from Star Trek: The Next Generation, Kirk, Spock, and Khan from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and Saru and Burnham from Star Trek: Discovery. For more details you can check out the TrekMovie review. They are all in stock now at Amazon, discounted to $12.99 each."
The voice acting isn’t great, and clearly, none of the actors besides de Lancie returned to the role, but it’s still a neat little commercial. Plus, the fact the commercial subtly mentioned Riker’s unique way of sitting is beyond hilarious.